We hit the library at the beginning of the month to grab some new books. I hit the library’s online catalog before our trip to request a few Christmas books. I found a few Christmas books with a firefighter theme and, of course, I requested those to be sent to our library. We’re loving them right now. I thought I’d take a couple of days and review them for you.

First up is A Small Christmas by Wong Herbert Yee (2004). If you’re familiar at all with Fireman Small and his various books, you might want to pick up this one.

Fireman Small is a small firefighter in a small fire house in a small town. He’s always rescuing something, helping someone or trying to sleep only to hear the alarm of another call. A Small Christmas is only different in the fact that the saving he is doing in this book has nothing to do with fire and everything to do with saving Christmas! At the beginning of the book, he’s busy helping the mayor pick a tree, driving it back on the top of his fire truck. The boys liked this illustration because it looks just like their Christmas sweaters. (I wonder if that’s where the designer of their sweaters got the idea?)

As the book goes on (32 pages, 4-6 lines of reading every other page), Fireman Small’s firehouse is visited by Santa and his reindeer. But Santa has already flown all over the world, delivering presents to all the good boys and girls. And he falls asleep in Fireman Small’s bed! To save Christmas, Fireman Small has to deliver the presents in the snow… on his fire truck, of course!

The boys think this book is rather funny. Why would Santa Claus be tired? Why did he get in the bed? Why wouldn’t the reindeer move? What would happen if the fire truck couldn’t go through the snow? Lots of questions were posed as we read through the book a second, third and fourth time. We’ve read it a lot this month, having been placed on the “favorites” rotation of Christmas books we have in our own library along with the others we got from the library.

I think this book would be a welcome Christmas addition to the library of any child who loves fire trucks. If you’re looking for a gift for a child in the age 4-8 range, or even a bit younger or older as LittleBrother (2) loves it as well, this might be a great book for you to pick up.

A Small Christmas is currently $6.95 at Amazon (12/15).

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[Disclaimer: The book is from the library. The links are Amazon Associates links.]

This post is important. It’s especially important for those of you who have “live” Christmas trees in your homes. In some cases, the wonderful smelling, beautiful live tree experience can be a fire hazard. Don’t believe me? The National Fire Prevention Association states that firefighters respond to an average of 250 home structure fires that began with Christmas trees resulting in 14 deaths, 26 injuries and over six million dollars worth of damage. That’s a sobering bunch of statistics. More sobering is a video comparison of a dry tree (left) and a wet, maintained tree (right).

That’s right. The whole room was fully engulfed in less than 40 seconds. Do you know how scary that is? Think about how long 40 seconds is for just a moment. Is that enough time to round up your children and get out the door? What if you’re in the opposite corner of the house unloading the dryer or trying to find the presents you have hidden in your storage room? Could you get to your children and get out of your house in less than 40 seconds? That’s a scary thought, isn’t it?

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be the case. In short, “a wet tree is a safe tree.” The information from NIST is encouraging and informative. (They also have a comparative video on above link.) Here’s what their research concluded.

Wet trees tell a different story. For comparative purposes, the NIST researchers selected a green Scotch pine, had it cut in their presence, had an additional two inches cut from the trunk’s bottom, and placed the tree in a stand with at least a 7.6 liter water capacity. The researchers maintained the Scotch pine’s water on a daily basis. A single match could not ignite the tree. A second attempt in which an electric current ignited an entire matchbook failed to fire the tree. Finally they applied an open flame to the tree using a propane torch. The branches ignited briefly, but self-extinguished when the researchers removed the torch from the branches. Trees that have been watered properly, and maintain pliable, green needles are harder to ignite than dry trees with needles that break easily when bent and fall from the tree when the branches are shaken.

In short you need to cut your own tree from a tree farm. Do not purchase trees that are pre-cut from roadside stands. And you need to water it. Daily. If you’re going to grandma’s house for four days, don’t go with a real tree this year. Watering is insanely important.

As much as a dry, unmaintained tree can be a fire hazard, it’s not the only fire safety concern when it comes to the holiday season. The US Fire Association (USFA) has some important tips on keeping your family fire safe this year. Here are some very important things you need to do before you decorate or now if you’ve already decked your halls.

• Maintain your lights. Check for frayed wires, bare spots or other unsafe spots in your wiring.
• Do not overload electrical outlets. Do not link more than three strands. Check wires by touch; they should not be warm.
• Do not leave holiday lights unattended. I know they’re pretty but turn them off when you’re going to Christmas Eve service or dinner at grandma’s house.
• Use only nonflammable decorations. Keep all decorations away from heat vents.
• Never put wrapping paper in a fire place.
• Avoid using lit candles. Always extinguish them before you leave or sleep. Never put them on a tree. Never.

There are some other suggestions as well.

I share all of this information with you not to be a Scrooge. I love holiday decorations, lights and Christmas trees. As a sharing point, no, we don’t have a real tree in our house. When FireDad showed me these videos this past Friday night after getting home from a week at the Fire Academy for Fire Investigator education, I asked one simple question, “Is that why we don’t have a real tree.” His reply was in the affirmative, of course. I do share this information with you so that you are aware. It is possible to have a well-maintained, live Christmas tree and other safe decorations around your home. It is possible to have a fire safe holiday.

It would be in your best interest to go ahead and remind your children what to do if there is a fire, test your smoke alarms and practice fire safety this holiday season. You could be extra-dorky, like me, and attach these gift tags to any gifts you’re giving this season that will remind others to practice fire safety as well. They’re festive and they promote safety. Just like us. (But we don’t attach well to gifts. Go with the printable tags.)

Be fire safe this holiday season!

For those who don’t know, have forgotten or have never been here before, our boys love Toy Story. They also like things that go. As such, Santa Claus is bringing them the Toy Story bicycle and tricycle (respectively) for Christmas this year. I purchased the tricycle a few weeks ago when it dropped in price and was holding out for a price drop on the bike. It finally dropped as well in the retail craziness that was Friday through Monday and I ordered it from Toys R Us as they also offered $5 shipping.

I did, before pressing the confirm button, run down to Kmart, who also carries the bike, to see if they had it on sale. They did not. However, I am thankful that I took the time to run down there (especially as I’ve been getting crazy awesome deals there lately) because I got to see what the packaging of the box looked like. Unlike the tricycle which came in a cardboard box that simply read “Huffy” on the side, the bicycle was emblazoned with the characters, the bike itself, the clouds from Andy’s room and screamed, “I am going to ruin your Christmas surprise.”

I ordered it and figured it wouldn’t be a big deal. The UPS man usually delivers packages to our home during naptime. Occasionally he drops something off while we’re eating lunch. Either of these were acceptable options, even if it was lunchtime, as I would just take the package in through our lower door. But then my luck happened and the delivery was rescheduled for today. Not only did BigBrother have school today but we had plans and were going to be out and about. I knew that it would be delivered while we were out. I just knew it.

I was right.

We pulled down our lane which, thankfully, is a private, dead end lane. There are six houses total. As I edged the corner of the first house on the lane, I could see the bright blue cloud-covered package sitting right in the middle of our front porch. Great. BigBrother doesn’t miss anything. What to do, what to do. I then decided to risk having Child Protective Services called on me. I stopped the car in front of my neighbors house, hoping our apple tree was still blocking BigBrother’s full view. I explained I had to run up to the house very quickly. I got out, locked the vehicle, ran to the house (yes, dear readers, I ran in Mary Jane flats in the mud and muck of December), unlocked the door, grabbed the huge box and tried to block Buzz and Woody’s smiling face from BigBrother’s watchful eyes, ran down the steps, threw it into the garage side, shut that door, ran up the stairs, ran out the door, shut it and ran back to the truck.

Did I mention it is really cold out today? Talk about burning lungs. Wow.

I was, of course, met with 20 Questions. Four year old children ask lots of questions. Red Pen Mama warned me about this and, man, was she ever right.

BigBrother: What was that?
Me: Oh, I don’t know.
BigBrother: Why did you run?
Me: Sometimes I like to run. Don’t you like to run?
BigBrother: But what was it?
Me: *putting the truck in drive and making our way into our driveway* Did you see what it was?
BigBrother: No, that’s why I asked.
Me: It was nothing.
BigBrother: OH LOOK! WE HAVE MAIL!

I purposefully left another box (Amazon) that UPS had delivered with the offending bike box in hopes that it would distract my Inquisitor. It did. VICTORY IS MINE! He happily got out of the truck, picked up the Amazon box, shook it and forgot all about his brief abandonment in front of the neighbor’s house along with watching his mother run which was surely something he had never seen before. (Broken ankle in high school. Running is not my forte.)

And so, the bike is in the house. It’s also now out of the garage and put in the Super Secret Present Storage Area which is really just a storage room but it works for now. I was delighted that it finally arrived, being the only present that I really held out to get a good deal on (and I didn’t even have to wake up at 5:00 in the morning or stand in long lines; I win). I do wish, of course, that manufacturers would put things like this in unmarked boxes. Or, for that matter, that online stores offered a warning at checkout: THE SHIPPING PACKAGING OF THIS ITEM WILL RUIN YOUR CHRISTMAS SURPRISE. PLEASE BE ADVISED. I am just ever-so-thankful that my mother-in-law let me know the bike was at a brick-and-mortar store and that I took the time to check it out. Otherwise I would have pulled all the way into our driveway today, BigBrother would have seen this…

… and said, “SANTA WAS HERE!”

All worrying and running aside, I’m so excited. I can hardly wait to see their faces on Christmas morning!

Some of you may recall that I lost my Black Friday virginity last year. I recall it. Vividly. Which is why I slept in this morning and am writing to you from my couch. In my pajamas. I’m drinking a cup of coffee and eating a piece of maple pumpkin pie that BigBrother made for yesterday’s Thanksgiving celebration. The laundry is washing. Soon the dishes will be washing. And I’ll listen to Christmas music while I decorate (all but the tree) as the snow attempts to fall but refuses to stick to the ground.

Because the memories of last year are enough to keep me inside for as long as possible today.*

I don’t like the way that today’s deals make people act, both those in search of the deals and those working at the stores. While I didn’t engage in any pushing, shoving, shouting or other such nastiness last year, I watched it happen. It made me sick to my stomach and really upset me. Those things are not what this season is about for my family. Those are not the reasons that FireDad and I exchanged vows a week before Christmas five years ago. The hope, love and general spirit of the season are things that this family rejoices in, not the overt commercialism.

Not that I don’t love a good deal. I do. In fact, I really, really love a good deal. But not on Black Friday.

Growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was about decorating for Christmas. And leftovers. And Christmas music. And annoying each other since everyone was home from work and school. And more leftovers. And pie! I want that for my household as well. Some may argue that they do those things after they go out and do some early morning shopping. That early morning shopping last year ruined my whole day. I don’t want that.

While I said, last year, that I’d cave and go back out this year if The Store That Has Everything From Power Wheels to Eggnog had $88 Power Wheels again (they did), FireDad and I discussed that there’s no world in which a four year old and a two year old need a tricycle, a bicycle AND a Power Wheels in one sitting. The former two are arriving from Santa. The latter would be overkill. And so, once again, no Power Wheels. The world didn’t end after that decision or after I woke up well after the shopping kicked off this morning. My children will continue to live life, without a Power Wheels, and all will be well.

And so, Black Friday shoppers, enjoy your sale prices. You won’t have to push, shove or otherwise assault me in order to get your deals. To those that also hate confrontation but are braving it all the same, I send you my best. I’ll stay home, warm in my pajamas, and enjoy the fact that I am neither cold nor rushed and not even upset about a missed deal. Because there’s always more pie.

* = I do have to go to the bank today and I have to shoot the basketball game tonight so I do have to leave the house but hope to avoid any insanity.