We Should Have Named Her Carol

Every Christmas, Molly’s school has a wonderful little production called “The Jingle Bell Ball.” Each class sings two songs. (Check that – the kids in the older classes sing the songs. In the younger classes, the teachers sing while the babies sit there, shake jingle bells, or cry.) Last year, the Ballerinas made their debut – which Molly LOVED.

So Molly’s class has been working on their songs for a month. And I think Ms. Sofi has taught them EVERY Christmas carol. All of them. One will start on the radio, and she’ll sing along. Not just the standard “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” either. She knows, “Deck the Halls,” “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas,” and “Winter Wonderland.” Even, as she calls it, "The rum-a-tum-tum song."

Molly’s other favorite carol is “Angels We Have Heard on High.” (This is one of my all time faves, too… since I have wonderful memories of singing this 1,000 times in high school swing choir.) She learned this from one of our favorite Christmas books Olivia Helps With Christmas. (Seriously, we LOVE Olivia!) So, just like Olivia’s family, I sing the verse, and Molly always let’s go for the chorus…

The best moment for me was when we were decorating Molly’s Christmas tree. (Yes, she has her own tree. More on that later.) She was hanging the ornaments – clustering them all together so all the “friends” could be next to each other (which was making me CRAZY! You have to spread them out!!!)… and she just starts singing in the sweetest little voice, “We wish you a Merry Christmas… and a Happy New Year!”

That’s what Christmas is all about.