“Fancy Like Christmas”
Normally, our 25 days of festivities are set months in advance so that we can figure out the logistics to make them all happen. But when Ben discovered that Walker Hayes dropped a spin off of his hit song “Fancy Like” with “Fancy Like Christmas”, it was apparent that this year’s plans would have to be changed. Not only is it a great song, but our family actually did a non-Christmas date night based on the original “Fancy Like” earlier in the year. So with only two days to spare before December began, Ben decided to roll the dice and suddenly try to make a brand new theme happen.
For the day’s festivities, Ben assembled and packed an entire Santa’s bag of presents inspired by the song and hid it in Bekah’s car for her to discover on the way to work. Every half hour throughout the day, she would open one of the presents and, with the help of her co-workers and friends but with no help from Google, she would slowly try to piece these clues together the theme for the day. With presents ranging from peppermint mocha to a candle cane candle to a fruit cake to a “Home Alone” DVD, she began to piece together the theme. Finally, after opening a toy microphone with a picture of Mariah Carey on it (for the reference to Mariah Carey-oke), she figured out that the theme was “Fancy Like Christmas”!
However, figuring out “Fancy Like Christmas” as the theme for the day was only half the challenge. The final task was to proceed to find Ben somewhere in Roseville based on all that she’d pieced together. So, while waiting in the parking lot, she opened the final gift of an Applebee’s gift card to confirm that she had guessed the location correctly. We joined up inside for some holiday cocktails and to laugh about the journey. We looked a bit silly in an ugly Christmas sweater and a “Daddy Claus” T-shirt (which Bekah had conveniently just surprised Ben with a few days earlier), but it was perfectly festive for the occasion!
So, after some laughs and a round of holiday cocktails, we proceeded to pick up the kids from daycare and head home. But we weren’t done! We got home and changed the whole family into our matching jammies and settled in to give the kids their first glimpse at “Home Alone”. And to fill our stomachs while we did it, we ordered delivery of “our very own cheese pizza”... that might have also had a few extra red and green toppings to make it Christmassy. After the kids were tucked in after their dinner, us parents settled in for some homemade fruitcake, egg nog, and “Home Alone” in our matching jammies, just like in “Fancy Like Christmas”.
ACTIVITIES:
“Fancy Like Christmas” Song & Music Video
Solve the Theme Scavenger Hunt
Matching Pajamas for the Kids
“Home Alone”
FOOD:
Peppermint Mocha
Applebee’s Happy Hour Holiday Cocktails (Tipsy Reindeer & Pomegranate Margarita)
Homemade Fruit Cake
Egg Nog
CONTEXT & INTERESTING READS:
