Naptime and Christmas

I think I've found the secret to making children lie down and take naps.
They just can't be your own children.
My own two are playing on the couch as I alternately try to entice ("there's a big playset outside waiting on you when you wake up!") and threaten ("you guys ready for a spanking?") while my niece who is a notoriously difficult napper lies asleep in her bed having only needed a movie playing and one line of encouragement ("Go lie down, it's naptime.") They need the nap. I need the naptime.
As for Christmas (excellent segue, yes?), I am celebrating Christmas for the first time in six years. When I first met my now-separated husband, I still did the present thing. I enjoyed shopping for the presents, wrapping the presents, giving the presents, everything. Somewhere in the first two or three years, "we" decided to stop celebrating Christmas. One of us, however, made up the rule that if anyone gave us presents, we'd accept them. (I always thought that was a horribly tacky rule, but there you go.) Then we had kids. The rule stayed the same. Everyone I worked with thought I was a terrible mommy for making the children miss Christmas. I always very politely explained that they still had Christmas at their grandparents' houses. When one employee asked me what I would say when the kids came home from school asking why their friends celebrated Christmas, I asked her if she thought it was right for me to encourage peer pressure.
Then came November. Positions I had held on several issues for years suddenly seemed to make very little sense. (Not all of them, there are still a select few I refuse to budge on :}) When the subject of Christmas begin creeping up in conversation, I realized I would need to rethink my whole stance. Knowing that there would be a tree where I would be living and knowing that presents would be given out regardless of what I did or didn't do, I made the leap from non-celebrator to celebrator as only I can. Full speed ahead. I even picked up Santa along the way, albeit reluctantly at first. When I was a kid, I remember being heartbroken that there was no such thing as Santa and thinking how I would never lie to my kids that way (it's not funny, I was heartbroken!) Then someone reminded me that I could use Santa as a threat. Let's see if that works ("Santa's watching, you better be good and take a nap!") Wow, it worked. I keep forgetting I can do that!
Anyway, so I realized what I've been missing for so many years. I remembered the jolly atmosphere in the stores with carols, stuffed reindeer, holly (okay, so my sister is having miserable shopper woes where she works, but the lights are still pretty!) I remembered the pleasure of picking out just the right present (it really is the thought that counts after all.) I remembered the fun I always had wrapping (yes, I do this for the boys on their birthdays, but you're missing the point!) I'm so excited this season. I'm almost done, just six more presents to go, and I should be set.
I'm off to try and get these children to lie down and go to sleep. Bobo has fallen asleep in my arms. Just one more to go.