A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Glow of Colored Lights

Each year, during the month of December, my daughter and I have a tradition of watching A Charlie Brown Christmas with a cup of hot chocolate. We take apart the Charlie Brown diorama that has been set up for fall, and replace it with a winter scene - the one in the holiday special where they go to shop for their Christmas tree. 

While I've yet to find a mini Charlie Brown Christmas tree to scale with this scene that would work, these bottle brush trees seem to capture the colors and images of the tree lot scene well, and we'll just say Charlie Brown is staring off into the distance with a smile, seeing that sparse little tree he wants to buy at the other end of the tree lot.  

A full moon brightens up their way and the glittered background reflects light to make it look like the Milky Way in the Christmas Time night sky. 

These are beautiful, though Charlie Brown sees a tree that is much more real in the distance,
one that is a little beaten down by life like he is

Linus and his blanket at the Christmas tree lot 

Linus shows his support like a good friend should, and brings his blanket to the event, as always. Maybe being misunderstood is bearable when you have at least one friend who is willing to go with you on the journey. Who doesn't want to turn around and see this guy smiling at you? 

It has been such a long, hard year. It has been such a long hard few years, for myself, for all of us on a planet that has been through a pandemic that has forever changed our lives. The marathon continues, and there are a hundred things to do before 2023 turns into 2024, but before this year gets away, I wanted to just have a few peaceful, creative moments, to take a few photos and write a few words....

There is something powerful about the collective experience a generation shares, and there is something amazing about how the smallest of things can help us make that connection. When I would watch Peanuts holiday specials as a kid, I would get this sense that all my problems would go away for those 30 minutes, and I loved the feeling I was watching it with all the other kids in America at the same time.   

I went downstairs this afternoon, tired, holding an empty laundry basket, clean clothes just dropped off in an upstairs room, and as I walked toward the lights of the Christmas tree in our living room, I was thinking of everyone I have loved and lost. I was looking under the tree to see if I had forgotten to put anything there. I was thinking of how I ran out of time to do all the things I meant to. I was thinking of Gen X Christmases come and gone, thinking of how I need to get dinner on the table and of the suitcases I need to pack. I was thinking of all the problems I have that still did not get solved in 2023, of how much work there will be to do in the new year, and all the things I still need to sort out in my life, and said to no one in particular, "I feel lost in time and space." 

And my daughter walked up to me and whispered in my ear, "You are right where you are supposed to be." That might just be about the most comforting thing anyone has ever said to me. 

As hard as all of this is, as bleak and cold as this collective dark night of the soul has seemed, maybe we really are right where we are supposed to be - and there is a hope in that.

Merry Christmas, Generation X, 

to you and to the younger generations you share your holiday specials with.

How we made this diorama

box for scene: painted wood crate purchased from a craft store

moon and sparkly night sky: scrapbooking paper

trees: dyed bottle brush trees, some with snow flocking

ground: white felt

snow drifts: cotton 

fence: purchased unfinished from a miniatures store and painted white 

Linus' blanket: a piece of my old blue tee shirt

tree lot string lights: battery powered colored fairy lights attached with white electrical tape

And for one of our favorite hot chocolate recipes: 

Hot Chocolate and a Charlie Brown Christmas

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(c) 2023 writing and photos by Chloe Koffas