Epiphany was low key this year. A couple of years ago, we invited a priest over for a house blessing and prepared a feast to accompany it. (This was one of the few times the amount of food I prepared lived up to my husband's Rhode Island food quantity expectations. Funny how such a small state loves its large amount of food.) Other years we started the morning off with presents, such as The Three Wisemen set for the girls' Little People Nativity collection. I've also used Epiphany as a time to correct any Santa mess-ups (like realizing on Christmas morning that Clare also wanted a battery-operated kitten like the one Santa brought Meg).
This year, Epiphany fell on the first day back to school. There would be no time for a present exchange in the morning (we rarely make it to school on time as it is) and Monday night of a school week was not a great time for a feast (not to mention an impending single-digit weather cold snap promised to keep any potential guests at their own home). So, it was a quiet Epiphany. While Meg was at school, Clare pulled out the full Little People Nativity set and created her perfect Little People world. She completed it by covering up a section with tissues. "What's the purpose of the tissues," I asked. "It's to hide them from Herod."
Ah Herod...strangely, Clare has been obsessed with Herod this year. While we have four different nativity sets in our house, not a single one includes a Herod figurine (I'm guessing there's never been a nativity set that includes Herod). Ever creative, Clare found a plastic stork figurine and designated him Herod. I walked into the living room one day to see her having the Angel Gabriel give her stork Herod a lecture on how he shouldn't want to kill the baby Jesus.
In the afternoon, I gave Meg and Clare each a book as their Epiphany present. In truth, these books were supposed to have been Christmas presents, but I had forgotten them in the top of my closet. This was a relief because, due to the new baby, I did not have much time for Epiphany present shopping. As temperatures dropped outside and the wind blew in a cold front, we snuggled up and read a beautifully illustrated version of Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. It wasn't a traditional way to spend Epiphany, but it was enjoyable.
This year, Epiphany fell on the first day back to school. There would be no time for a present exchange in the morning (we rarely make it to school on time as it is) and Monday night of a school week was not a great time for a feast (not to mention an impending single-digit weather cold snap promised to keep any potential guests at their own home). So, it was a quiet Epiphany. While Meg was at school, Clare pulled out the full Little People Nativity set and created her perfect Little People world. She completed it by covering up a section with tissues. "What's the purpose of the tissues," I asked. "It's to hide them from Herod."
Ah Herod...strangely, Clare has been obsessed with Herod this year. While we have four different nativity sets in our house, not a single one includes a Herod figurine (I'm guessing there's never been a nativity set that includes Herod). Ever creative, Clare found a plastic stork figurine and designated him Herod. I walked into the living room one day to see her having the Angel Gabriel give her stork Herod a lecture on how he shouldn't want to kill the baby Jesus.
In the afternoon, I gave Meg and Clare each a book as their Epiphany present. In truth, these books were supposed to have been Christmas presents, but I had forgotten them in the top of my closet. This was a relief because, due to the new baby, I did not have much time for Epiphany present shopping. As temperatures dropped outside and the wind blew in a cold front, we snuggled up and read a beautifully illustrated version of Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen. It wasn't a traditional way to spend Epiphany, but it was enjoyable.
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