Redbeard and I have decided that for this year we are starting a new tradition that we are making our gingerbread houses on Christmas Eve.  The point of this is so the little ones aren't in so much trouble for snitching the candies off the houses from the older ones.  Also, since this seems to be a big thing for our kids, when they get older and come back home from college, they'll be off school by that time, so it'll be a tradition that can expand beyond just the young years.

This year I have bought a ton of books.  I finally bought J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy.  I hadn't yet because I was so busy buying "classics", but these are classics to me too, although I have yet to find them on any classics list.  The older I get, the more I realize just how inspired SOME science fiction writers are.  I also bought the first three Episodes of Star Wars, and some of the original offbeat novels (the one by alan Dean Foster AND the Han Solo's Revenge books) that came out between Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, back in the 70's.  I already had bought the trilogy from the 70's and 80's for my daughter, and it sparked an interest in her like I had hoped it would.

Why Star Wars?  I guess it's because I want to facillitate more reading amongst my young ones, and although I read classics to them, I think George Lucas was right - they DO need a hero.  My Venus is not much of a reader at all.  But she has gotten into the movies with Athena, so I am hoping that if we read these as a family, she'll start to catch on.  Besides, it's great memories for me.  I grew up loving The Hobbit (I already own the 50 yr. special edition so I didn't have to buy that, but my paperbacks are long since worn out) - I wouldn't let them watch the movies until they were older, but Redbeard argued with me that their grandparents had already let them watch The Fellowship of the Ring (why don't Grandparents ask how we feel about that sort of stuff???) so I lost that battle, but I won't let Iris watch it - it's much to violent for little ones.  Iris won't even watch the Star Wars stuff because it scares her - she's very sensitive. 

Star Wars for me is a whole other memory.  Back in the 70's there was no "I'll wait til it comes out on video/DVD) - you either went to the movies or you didn't see it.  For some reason my parents were excited about it and drove from Cypress to Houston (back then it was a drive - now-a-days it's all one big mess) to watch it, and I remember driving back in their Dodge hatchback with my feet up on the window (my Dad occasionally yelling at us girls to put our feet down) looking up at the stars and seeing the X-wings and the Tie-fighters dueling it out in the night sky.  I wonder if my sister remembers that?  Anyway, I shared with my daughters my love, and they love the original series as well, but the newer ones - episodes I - III not so much.  I had heard that the books are better than the movies, so that's why I got them to try it out.  Honestly, I got to thinking about it, and I think the reason why they like Episodes IV-VI so much better is because you are watching someone from obscurity beat the bad guy - not watching the hero break down into the bad guy.  But if what I hear is right, reading them in sequence will give a clear vision of choices and accountability, and how love can really be the winning factor.  Which, if you read the giant Killer, goes right along with that theme.  Anyway, I'm very excited about starting these with the kids.  :)  As for the offshoots I bought - I just loved them as a youngster, and thought maybe the kids might too - no classic potential there. 

Anyway, thought I'd share.  Wierd topic for Christmas, isn't it?  I'm filing it under Family History because I've shared some memories, and the Gingerbread house is making memories. 

Hope you are having a wonder Christmas season!!!  :)