The Waterstraut Waterspout: Christmas Blanket Fort 2021

We've been building a summer blanket fort, for years. Of course, our forts have gotten even more awesome-er over time, but the Christmas Blanket Fort is a new(ish) addition. We built our first one in 2019, when Calib went to Italy, and I wanted to do something special for Hayden and Peyton. We built one in 2020, because, well, 2020. And, if you do something twice, you've kind of built yourself a tradition around here. So, a week ago Saturday we built the 2021 Blanket Fort.

It starts off with the same "bones" (aka PVC Pipe frame) that the summer fort has. But, at Christmas time, we add in some Christmas lights.

And then we do the sheets just like normal.

Throw in a few festive touches like mistletoe and a mini Christmas tree...

And you've got yourself a Christmas Blanket Fort!

Of course, no Christmas blanket fort is complete without take out dinner to christen the place. This year we went with Pub Subs!

Aroma Joes had a good deal on Hot Chocolate on their 12 days of rewards in the app, so we swung by and picked one up for Hayden.

And we kept playing our games for Christmas Bucks. I loved this one. So, the boys could decide if they wanted to play or not, but once they opted to play, they HAD to actually play. Here's how it works: roll the pop can down the table, and get whatever it lands on.... either Christmas bucks, or a face full of whipped cream.

Peyton opted not to play (but was happy to watch). Calib was up first, and got two rolls.

They both ended in whipped cream, though.

Hayden went next, and while he got 7 Christmas Bucks...

...He also got a face full of whipped cream.

Fun game. I think I'll add it into our yearly repertoire. As a bonus, the dogs helped me clean up!

A good yearly game we usually play: Tic Tac Toe Races. Basically two teams, done relay style, and you can either place your circle, or remove your opponents circle. First team to get tic tac toe wins. It's always close, and they take it very seriously. Here they are streching for the event.

Calib and Hayden actually ended up winning this year.

We've admittedly been taking fewer night time walks, but we did go out a few times to see the neighborhood Christmas lights.

I even found a frog on our trip, and he let me pet him!

The Bucs also finally made it on to Sunday night football, which was exciting. Until everyone but Drew Brees picked the Bucs to win, and he picked the Saints... and then the Saints promptly won. Bummer.

While that was happening, Peyton was killing it in his Guilty Gear Strive tournament, so we had that on the TV in our room to check in on how he was doing on the live stream.

He actually killed it, and got second. It was the first time ever he got a payout. And it wasn't shabby: $108 for second place!

Etta, meanwhile, could not figure out what all the screaming was about.

Monday was a weird day. Asa was taking the whole week off, and I was excited to go do some things. But, I woke up to text from my mom asking about rapid tests. My uncle is staying with her, and had come down with something. She eventually found a rapid test, and he turned up positive. Luckily, my mom tested negative, but of course she'd have to test again in a few days, which meant she had to cancel her trip down here for Christmas thru New Years. The whole thing was quite the downer. And if it was a downer for me, I can't imagine what it was like for everyone else involved. (Spoiler Alert: everyone is fine now, and my mom never tested positive, and my uncle is doing much better. Still not ideal 5 days before Christmas).

In all of this, though, I had planned to run my last Christmas errand and get down to USF to buy Calib a few things at the book store. Fun fact: Asa asked if they had any 'USF Dad' shirts, and the guy told him it was nice to get something for his dad for Christmas. It's like middle school orientation when everyone thought I was Calib's older sister all over again.

Still, nice campus. Reminded me a lot of Eastern, thanks to the same color scheme.

And there's lots of fun ducks around.

Since we were down that way, we hit up Portillos for lunch.

And that night we played Christmas Tree Races. Usually this is snowman races, but that uses toilet paper, and that's just not going to work out right now. Toilet Paper is at a premium here (still), so I turned it into Christmas trees and picked up some green crepe paper at the Dollar Store.

Basic premise, dress your partner up like a Christmas tree before your opponents do.

And, try not to fall over doing it.

Peyton and Asa ended up victorious.

Of course, the 21st was the first day of winter. So, out with the fall mugs and in with the winter ones.

I also got to baking. I made some homemade chex mix and puppy chow..

Which makes good snacks for card games.

And for lunch we had Mickey Waffles with homemade lemon curd!!

Our game the next night was Christmas Bucks Deal or No Deal.

Calib kept his case, and ended up with five bucks.

Peyton kept his, after a really good round (and offer) and ended up with just four. Whomp Whomp.

And Hayden, smartly, took the deal for 12.

And then, of course, there were card games in the blanket fort.

Blanket Fort Buddies.

I also got to working on my cricut.

Making Asa a shirt to wear to an improptu Christmas party.

I also made a shirt for my mom for New Years. I had to get it done and in the mail, since I knew she wasn't going to be able to make it here for New Years.

And a couple of glasses to bring along to our little get-together as well.

For lunch the next day, we took advantage of free stuff from McDonald's Rewards. Truth be told, the guys tried to go the night Peyton won his money, but it was a shit show, and after waiting 45 minutes at curbside pickup, they were told there was basically no food left. We kindly complained (since we had already paid), and they refunded us and told us to come back another day and they'd hook us up. That they did.

A little later that day, we got a text from our neighbor, Vince, across the street to tell us there was a family of raccoons in our front flower bed. We (stupidly) ran out there to see, and scared them away, and up the tree.

But, I also discovered my cheese was here!

This cheese comes from a dairy once owned by Calvin Coolidge's dad. My mom ordered me some for Christmas.

Some day I'm going to make to to the museum and store!

But for now, I'll settle for my cheese being mailed to me.

Our game for the day was a popular one: Guess the Present. I wrap random stuff around the house, they have to guess what it is just by feeling it, but not unwrapping it.

Calib actually got them all right this year!

The 23rd was our Ellie-versary. She has been with us six years. I made her pupcakes with bacon bit sprinkles to celebrate!

And she was most excited about it.

She got to chowing down..

..along with her puppy siblings.

Later that night, she got her present, and took to tearing it apart in no time.

So, we have some neighbors, who are lovely (actually, most of our neighbors are lovely), but this particular family has had a rough go of the pandemic. It sucks to be immunocompromised anytime, but Pandemic time is not ideal. Anyway, they LOVE Christmas, and haven't been able to have their usual hoopla, so we proposed a socially distant gathering in the driveway.

I wanted to bring something along, so I made separate charcuterie boxes for each household.

We set up separate tables, and set our chairs apart. But, we even brought down our Christmas tree and a little speaker for ambiance.

It must have looked inviting, because we ended up with quite a gathering eventually. Even the raccoons from earlier made an appearance.

The next day, Calib was back to work off his mandated quarantine. I got out my cricut to make him a new shirt for Christmas, and fixed Hayden's shirt for him.

And, I baked the only kind of Christmas cookies I like: Reindeer Cookies (the mix is just one cup peanut butter, one cup sugar, and one egg- you can't screw it up!)