Post-Op: Home For Christmas

Based on some feedback, which I suspected anyway, I've decided to forego telling post-ops in story format.  As was mentioned, the story just isn't interesting enough to be entertaining.  Not to mention how much I was struggling to both provide details that may or may not have existed and keep from running too long.  Strangely, the latter was the bigger problem.  Don’t worry, if there is anyone who actually liked the stories, once I am comfortable enough to start sharing stories from my past, those should fill that void.

For my next attempt, I’ll treat these post-ops more like reviews.  I figure that is more helpful for deciding what kind of dating activities to do anyway.

Background

A few month ago, my wife and I decided we needed our own space.  With a new job, we were able to afford to cover the mortgage on a rental property I have owned since before our marriage.  So we asked the tenants to find other housing at the end of their contracts and moved in.  The house is much larger than we need, intended to fit five tenants each with their own bedroom.  Now we have two bedrooms, a workout room, a craft room and an office.  Point is, we’re all alone.  And we’re part of our own neighborhood now.  That means it is up to us to bring the Holiday season to life in our home.  Which leads to date #4, code named “Home For Christmas”

If you want to see an outline of the plan for the evening, you can find it here. It may help if you get confused regarding anything I talk about.

Traditions Worksheet (2 stars)

I’m sure I was red in the face trying to explain to Anastasia what we were going to do first. It was just one of those things that felt silly...like giving a college class an in-class activity that you might find in elementary grades.  But it served its purpose well.  The whole concept was to get whips of thought and vague ideas solidified and thereby ease the conversation flow later.  In that regard, it worked.  Like I said, though, it felt silly.  Definitely not the type of thing to do on a date with someone you’re not familiar with.

If you are interested in a copy, you can find it here.  I kind of themed it based on “A Christmas Carol” with the past, present and future. But don’t read too much into it.  You can take it or leave it for what you like.

Dinner (4 stars)

I had to light up the grill almost right away because Ana was working through her “homework” faster than I had anticipated.  The hardest part was trying to keep working on my worksheet without burning anything.  I managed to get about half of it completed.  By way of recommendation, I would say not to try to fill your own out while preparing dinner.  (Fill yours out earlier...you've got plenty of time before the date).

The food itself was great!  I have spent most of our marriage perfecting my burgers, and tonight turned out even better thanks to some teriyaki drippings on the grill from the week before.  Maybe if there is a high enough demand, I’ll share my secrets.

During dinner we discussed the “decorations” section of the worksheet. Even though we had never talked about it “officially” before, we were on the same page with almost everything.

Shopping (2 stars)

We first went to Wal-mart because Ana wanted to get one of those chocolate countdown calendars, which we surprisingly couldn't find and had to go somewhere else to get.  We picked up some hot cocoa and marshmallows though.

Shopping for the tree was largely uneventful.  I think that had I not done a little research on where to go beforehand, it could have been much more agonizing.  So word of advice, know before you go, where you’re gonna go.  Also, I wasn't afraid to spend a little more money to get a tree we knew we would be happy with.  If money is an issue for you, there are actually a lot of places that will allow you to go chop down your own tree.  Of course, that is not much help for most city dwellers. If you're still worried about price, be sure to establish limits before seeing the selections and do some homework on where to find cheaper trees.

I think for future dates I would actually leave this part out of the plan.  Seeing as how the tree is an essential part of the date, I would instead recommend picking up the tree before the date.  You do run the risk of selecting a tree that your partner might not be happy with, so if this is your first time getting one together, pick it together and take note of the selection.  Otherwise, you probably already know what to get.

You can still go out to buy decorations together, if needed.  Having the tree already would actually help in this regard because you would know what to get and how much of it.

Decorating (3 stars)

This part was fun, but it was also work.  We did put on some music, but we ran into a couple of issues.  The trunk was too big for the stand we already had, so we had to go buy a new one.  The fullest part of the tree, when properly facing out, caused a noticeable lean that we couldn't quite fix.  

Overall, the finished product made all the efforts worth it.  So by time we finished putting everything on the tree, we were instantly met with smiles and happiness. I'm sorry this is the only part I remembered to take pictures of, but here are the few I have.

Almost done...just the star remains.

We may have gotten carried away.

Sharing Traditions (5 stars)

This was obviously the highlight and likely something that will see a resurgence in future years as a date.

I asked the Princess if she would be willing to warm some hot chocolate and pop some popcorn while I prepared “something else” in the living room. When she agreed, I got to work getting the fire started.  The fire was ready before the hot chocolate, so I was a little nervous about that, but it was fine.  

Once everything was ready, I brought her out and she lit right up...and I swear, it wasn't just reflection.  It immediately set the mood and we settled onto the couch to share our thoughts while listening to the music, watching the crackling fire, and absorbing the smells of pine, burning cedar, and cocoa.

Overall (3 stars)

I would give 4 if it were not highly situational.  The date is extremely specific for couples who have never spent the holidays on their own before.  While it can easily be adjusted to fit different situations, I don’t think it would have the same appeal in those other situations.  

I do think this is an excellent date idea for anyone who normally does very little to prepare for the holiday season as it would be a drastic difference from the norm.  So if you are looking to rekindle some flames...well, I’m sure you can understand why this fits so well!

Princess Rating (5 stars)

I suppose it is a good thing that she has such positive memories of the night, but I remain skeptic of her score.  She actually enjoyed the tree shopping much more than decorating, but she enjoys shopping in general.  I think her rating was also due to the caliber of the previous dates so far.  This was a big change from previous weeks.

When I asked about it, she did mention that the worksheet was kind of silly.  I think that if my feelings weren't at stake (at least in her mind), she would have used a different word...something more like “lame.”  So we agree there.  However, she did express that it helped her to think about it and come to some solid conclusions.