I truly do love Christmas In The Night Skies and we go every year, but sometimes...
Let your oldest son participate in a bowling tournament. It starts at 4:30pm, so by the time it’s over you are already in a hurry. You now have 1 hour to get your herd ready, up to the fairgrounds and fed before the fireworks start.
Race through the house trying to remember where you last saw those hats, boots, gloves and winter coats when the kids took them off last February. Hope they still fit at least one kid.
Buy a present ahead of time (admission: one new wrapped toy for Toys for Tots) but wait until the last 30 seconds before you leave to wrap it. What! No Christmas paper? Resort to last Sunday’s comics or the pink birthday wrapping paper.
Upon arrival, you will find the family ahead of you took the last hot dog and your children will absolutely refuse to try the chili. Force your way through the crowds to find a clean table. There will be plenty of seating for four, but not for five. Waving flimsy paper bowls of steaming hot chili and your fork (they just ran out of spoons) is helpful when in combat with 400 people in a feeding frenzy.
Make sure you stand in line outside for hot chocolate, taking your middle child with you. He will then complain he is cold. Zip up his coat, inadvertently catching his neck in the zipper, causing him to scream.
After you have again fought your way through the crowd to where you saw your spouse last, (with 5 cups of boiling hot chocolate), you will find he has moved. Because of the huge crowd, you will spend several minutes looking for him. By the time you fight your way there, it will be time to go back outside to bask in the glow of the bonfire.
Once you finally secure a place near the bonfire (use your stroller as a battering ram), you will find your infant son is upset about wearing that darling snowsuit you went through 4 boxes of clothes to find. Your middle son has quit crying about his neck and needs to go to the bathroom. You will be happy to take him to avoid the deafening whine of the baby. The bathrooms will be at least a fourth of a mile away and while you are there, you will notice the fireworks display has started.
You can now attempt to find your family amidst the glow of bonfires and several hundred people. Once you find them, the booming fireworks will immediately send your baby into hysterics, driving your husband inside. As soon as your husband is out of sight, your middle child will stick his fingers in his ears and say he wants to leave too.
You will force your way toward the building in the dark, with your children in tow. The fingers in their ears does not allow them to hear you hollering at them to “STAY CLOSE AND KEEP GOING!” Finally you deposit your children inside and turn your eyes to the sky to enjoy the fireworks. Never mind. The finale of Christmas music and fireworks is fading away.
Make a mad dash for your car, trying to beat the crowd, but halfway there you discover your eldest son missing. You will find him in a fairly long line ending in a frazzled looking Santa. You will be required to wait 35 minutes so he can sit on Santa’s knee for 15 seconds and receive a candy cane. He will only take one lick (he doesn’t like it) and it will stick to his mittens. You will remove it later. You will eventually reach the parking lot, and load everyone up, but now most of the population of Pocatello is racing you to the exit. Don’t worry, you will have at least an hour to relax before you get home.
Seriously, folks, this is a great fundraiser for Toys for Tots! With the right medication it can be a lot of fun! Please go and support this fun community event Saturday November 29, 2008 from 5:00 to 8:30 pm. Yes, we are going, we'll see you there!
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