fullupwithfire | Solstice Night Blanket Fort Party

Welcome One and All!

Tonight, at least up in the northern hemisphere, is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. My family tradition is for whoever can make it to spend the night awake, holding a vigil for the return of the light and the rebirth of the Sun King. Tonight I offer an open space to anybody who'd like to join me, whether for the entire night or just a little while, to come join in the cuddle pile and await the dawn.

(And if your version of joining in is setting up two feet away and offering good vibes from afar, you're just as welcome.)

So come on in! We've got every kind of blanket you can think of, fuzzy or not, oversized or tiny, weighted or as thin as you can get. We've got stories and songs, crafts and games, dancing spaces, roaring fires, and whatever else you need to get through the dark. We've got sleeping spaces and quiet spaces and loud spaces alike. We've got cider on the stove and eggnog in the fridge and coffee on the counter, snacks of every kind and room to bring your own. We've got hugs and hearts and kind words to remind you that you're here, and we're glad that you're here, and the light will come back.

I'll throw up a couple spots for sharing on a theme here and there -- songs and stories and if anything else comes to mind -- and you should feel free to float your own. Make yourselves comfortable. Have a happy Solstice, everyone. ♥

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Presents-wise, there was always "one can be opened on Christmas Eve, the rest must wait until the day of, when it is properly time and the extended families have gathered in their respective places." And usually a very frenetic round of "everyone contribute a gift under this amount, pick a number, pull a gift from the pile, unwrap it, and then decide if you want to keep it or exchange it with someone else's unwrapped gift."

That's not usually the thing that makes memories. That would be the Mass Dash - I have an uncle who is a now-retired Catholic priest, but while he was active, the night of the 24th and day of the 25th would look something like this:

1. Christmas Eve service in the church nearest to home...unsurprisingly, once there were enough family members who played musical instruments, we ended up being the musicians for that particular service.

2. Leave home church, find open Chinese restaurant nearby. Eat food so as to be sustained.

3. Drive to the church where the uncle will be having services. Often in snow and on roads that were in varying states of plowed and safe to drive on. Much fun had by all.

4. Small snacks in the rectory before the service, which became more of a "Midnight Mass at 10pm" as time went on and the average age of the parishoner got older.

5. Service number two. Thankfully, only singing rather than fuller performance. Also, a specific shout-out from the altar because family.

6. Food and drinks (usually some amount of soft and less soft drinks, along with a sampling of all the foodstuffs given by the parishoners to the uncle that he can't and doesn't want to try eating and drinking by himself).

7. Dispersal to sleeping spaces, to get up and come back together for more drinks, food, and presents on the day of.

It's different now, being so far away, and also with the retired priest and the not really having been a practicing Catholic for a reallty long time, but I have retained the "find somewhere that's open and have Chinese on Christmas Eve" part of the tradition.

And the opening of one present a day early.

Oh wow, that's a lot. But I"m glad you still hold onto the things that work for you. Good, good times.

It seems like a lot, but it was so well-orchestrated that we barely noticed how much it actually was.

Yes, the Christmas Eve present! We didn't do the second part (we stopped having our extended family around when I was pretty young, for one thing), but the "one gift on Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning" was always how we did it. Or technically two -- my mother generally gave us pajamas and a book on Christmas Eve, and we'd wear our new PJs for pictures in the morning.

The other thing was that if you woke up before a reasonable hour to wake the adults, you could get into your stocking.

That sounds like a very busy holiday. I'm glad you have memories, though, and have managed to find parts of it you enjoy.

It works out for us. Although, if you chose wisely in the presents, you might get a clue about any other presents that were going to be available. That almost never actually happened, though.

Solstice Night Blanket Fort Party

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