On the eleventh day of Christmas the spirit gave to creative people - eleven hour projects to complete. Just look at this model of Florida a.k.a Santa's after Christmas recuperating headquarters. We may not know what snow or fireplaces are but we are familar with beaches as some of the best in the country are found here. The water temperature might be a little chilly this time of year, but Santa should have no problem avoiding a sunburn as long as he puts on the sunscreen before hitting the Tiki hut bar.
Normally, my sister in law puts together unbelievably detailed gingerbread villages with melted lifesavers for the stained glass windows and even a Snoopy dog house complete with lights, but this year she wanted to dip her toe into some unchartered waters. She has a toddler, my brother, and a new pregnancy complete with morning sickness to contend with, yet she still managed to find the time and patience to create this labor of love! There are even sand people! (Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones. Once upon a time, I too was extremely productive when in the nesting stage, then I had the kids and started aging.) The only thing missing are the palm trees, but not for trying. The tree trunks were standing perfectly in position until the weight of the spearmint gumdrop leaves toppled them down.
My younger brother even got in on the act too with his own project. A holy scene from Bethlehem right next door. (That might be sacrilegious.)
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I know he has never dabbled in any kind of carpentry before, outside of making special box for Mary Jane a long time ago, and I'm pretty sure he had to buy a hammer and nails, but he made an EXACT duplicate of the creche my father made about forty years ago. He even stole rocks from the Babies R' Us construction site for the walls and tracked down the identical figurines from Sears. (I can't believe they still make them.) The original nativity scene fell apart during my parents move down here and they eventually threw it away but now it's as if it's come back.
My boys and I have been working on poinsettia pins and edible Christmas trees, but now I have to employ my husband to help me make one of our very own. He's rebuilt a house before so I think he can handle it. We can get on that after all the wrapping, and baking. It should be done after Jesus's B-day.
