Every year, my mother-in-law and her sister choose a theme for Christmas dinner at Grandma’s house. And they truly deck out her halls with plenty of twinkling lights and handmade decorations. One year it was penguins made with small terra cotta pots, another year it was a family tree (using a real tree, people! A Real. Tree.), and this year it was… squirrels.
Now, squirrels may seem like a strange theme for a Christmas dinner, but here’s a little background…
Poor Grandma’s house is constantly under attack from some ruthless squirrels in her neighborhood. It started off with the usual take-one-bite-from-her-tomatoes-and-leave-the-rest, but has escalated to an absolutely crazy level. These nutty squirrels have chewed through her metal fence ties, and even through her cable lines! So there was really no other choice for this year’s Christmas dinner theme!
Squirrels!
There were a total of 19 stuffed squirrels playing a variety of characters. There were plenty depicting holiday traditions, from cutting down a Christmas tree,
to hanging those twinkling lights,
to the Jolly Old Elf himself (and that most noticeable of reindeer).
The scenes also included seasonally appropriate activities, like ice fishing,
And some hi-jinks involving blocks of ice:
A few squirrels were depicting memorable movie scenes, like this family favorite from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,Ā
and even a Mission: Impossible inspired scene:
Of course, they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to catch a squirrel in action, chewing through a wire:
There were several more, including the angel atop Grandma’s tree, and a NYE-themed squirrel sporting a sparkly cocktail dress and a bottle of champagne, but we forgot to take pictures of them all.
We had a great time discovering all of the squirrel scenes! Does your family have any fun traditions, or had any similar run-ins with ruthless squirrels?
Nice job capturing the essence of our “nutty” family!
Haha, thanks! Linda and Nancy did an awesome job!
Thanks Emily for posting pictures of the Christmas squirrels! Linda and I had a lot of fun creating them. I have no idea what theme we’ll be doing next year but I’m sure it’ll be something crazy!
You’re welcome, Nancy! I can’t wait to see what you two come up with for next year!!
I think you should be in on next year’s theme, you’re so creative!
Sounds like fun. Count me in š
Thanks Emily for blogging about our squirrels. As Nancy said we had a blast making them and bringing our crazy ideas to life! Thanks for appreciating our nutty creations! Keep your blogs coming I really enjoy reading them!
Linda
Thanks Linda!! Tom & I loved checking out each squirrel in all its nutty glory! And thanks for being such a loyal reader š
OH. MY. GOSH!!!! This is quite possibly the coolest, most amazing thing I have ever seen! Your family is amazing. Honest o goodness it was so much fun scrolling through all of the scenes and characters. SO much creativity and the lights everywhere make the place look absolutely magical!!!!
Thalita @ The Learner Observer recently posted…Planner Makeover Using a Sharpie and Washi Tape
Hahaha, thanks Thalita! They are definitely an EXTREMELY creative bunch! And yes, they most certainly have a way with those twinkling lights! It was so beautiful in person!