Secret Santa...and then some!

Once upon a time, I was a stay-at-home-mom. I did it for the better part of 9 years, and, for the most part, I really enjoyed it. Last year, I went back to work.

During the latter years of my time at home, I became involved in the art of paper crafting, much to the joy of my dear friend, Nichole. Those of you who don't know Nichole - she is an amazing woman. Her creativity is staggering! Recently, Nichole started her own company, PaperTrey Ink and it has really taken off. I stole this clever gift idea from her.

We are having a Secret Santa exchange at work. This is the gift I made for my Secret Santa. I know she'll love it (she said she loves chocolate and those are Hershey nuggets in the tin). I plan on making similar gifts for The Boy's teacher and The Girl's teachers.

Speaking of holidays, I have to vent about something. Recently, in an attempt to be politically correct, people have started referring to Christmas Trees as Holiday Trees. Now, I ask you...WHAT THE HELL is a Holiday Tree? It seems people think it is less offensive to the Jewish folk and other non-Christians to say Holiday Tree rather than Christmas Tree. As a Jewish person, I can't see why this is a good thing. To the best of my knowledge, no other religion decorates a tree at this time of year. If it is, in fact, a tree that is decorated with Christmas decorations and used to celebrate Christmas, why would you call it anything else? I do not refer to my Chanukah Menorah as a Holiday Menorah. That would be silly. No one else uses a nine-branched menorah at this particular time of year for anything else. Yes, those who celebrate Kwanzaa do use a candelabra, but it has only seven branches. While I do not know the correct term for the candelabra used for Kwanzaa, I'm fairly certain it is not a Holiday Candelabra.

So...people of the word (or, at least the few of you who actually read this blog), PLEASE...don't call it a Holiday Tree. Stand by your guns and call it what it is...A CHRISTMAS TREE. And - Merry Christmas to my Christian friends; Happy Chanukah to my Jewish friends. Happy Kwanzaa to everyone who celebrates Kwanzaa.