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Living here in the Silicon Valley where it almost never snows, we can’t exactly step out the door and experience a winter wonderland. But with the chill of an overdue winter finally in the air, the twinkling lights of all those decked out houses finally feels just about right. I’d love for my twins to discover the joys of an old-fashioned winter. I want to watch their faces as their feet sink into the crunch of new fallen snow. I want them to behold the sight of sleighs lined up outside a cozy, snow-covered cabin. Cue the Bing Crosby tunes and let’s celebrate winter!
True, Silicon Valley is no stand-in for the wintry slopes of Lake Tahoe. No one gets all fuzzy with Norman Rockwell nostalgia when they head to Silicon Valley for the holidays. And while we can’t ice skate in the glow of The Tree at Rockefeller Center, we can teeter on ice skates in the shadow of palms at San Jose’s Downtown Ice, adjacent to Christmas in the Park. We may be in balmy Silicon Valley, but we can certainly sample a bit of wintertime fun.
So when Gemini Crickets POM of Silicon Valley announced plans for a family holiday party at the library come winter wonderland, I went all dizzy with excitement. After all, who doesn’t love a party? The Gemini Crickets Halloween party had been a rolicking success and with the same awesome event team planning the holiday party, I knew this was a must-attend event. The only catch was the start time of 3pm, smack in the middle of my kids’ naptime. My plan was to tire my kids out in the morning, put them to bed early, and hopefully have them wake up in good moods in time for the party. Of course, only part of my plan worked. My kids spent the morning running around and exhausting themselves (a good thing) and they went down for naps early (another good thing), but then they awoke in horrible moods (not a good thing). But several outfit changes (mom, kids) and mood swings (mom, dad, kids) later, we piled into the mini-van and headed to the party, our moods turning cheerful as I cranked the holiday tunes.
As we turned into the parking lot, a fellow twin mom called me on my cell phone. “The parking lot is full, ” she warned, “There doesn’t seem to be anywhere else to park.” Oh, my - what to tell the kids? We ended up parking across the street in a church parking lot and high-tailing it on foot across the crosswalk of a very busy street, a daunting trip, even in our bright Santa hats. But when we arrived at the room, it was magic. Silvery snowflakes danced overhead as if sprung from the panels of the snowy landscape that decorated the room. Children were happily frosting cookies, making snow globes and crafting ornaments. Sets of multiples in coordinated holiday garb spun about the room looking impossibly cute. Philanthropy donations of diapers and cans of formula piled up. Play group parents gabbed amongst themselves and planned their next play dates. The funky local children’s musician, Mr. David, rocked the room and got the crowd (and this mama) jumping. Meanwhile, a jolly old fellow dressed in red was busy memorizing lists. “Do you have cameras, Santa?” asked one of my boys. Santa looked bewildered. Didn’t he know about the cameras, the ones hidden all over our house to spy on my kids’ behavior, both naughty and nice? Santa nodded.
278 people had RSVP’d to this event but not all came at the same time and most didn’t stay for long. The room, while by no means large, didn’t feel overly crowded; it felt intimate and warm. Call me crazy, but I thought everyone seemed relaxed and happy. Even my cranky family had a great time. Sure, the only crunch beneath my feet came from stepped on goldfish crackers and the sleighs were really double strollers. Sure, we crooned with Mr. David rather than Bing Crosby. But it was fun, it was merry, it was festive and the air outside was cold. Amongst the friends in our community of multiples, this was truly the spirit of a winter wonderland.
Happy holidays to all families of multiples!
Posted by Akemi B (December 09, 2007)
