The Bub's Christmas wish: Something red

I noticed a wish list of Christmas gifts on the door of my son's preschool room today, and as I was walking out, I stopped to see what he requested.

There were 12 or so entries on the list, one for each kid in his room. Lots of them were brand-name things that you see in ads or plastered all over kids' clothing.

The Bubs' listing was: Wants something red. Too funny. I'll have to tell his teachers what this means.

At my mother's house at Thanksgiving, we read "Christmas Trolls" by Jan Brett. If you don't have any of her books, go now and buy some. In this story, the trolls steal Christmas decorations and presents from the main character's house. She starts carrying her favorite red horse in her pocket so it won't disappear. One day, she sees the hedgehog (who lives with the trolls) running off with the Christmas pudding and she races after it with her sled and reindeer (no kidding).

To show the trolls that Christmas is really about generosity and not the "I wants!", she realizes she'll have to give them her horse. It's a pretty red dala horse from Sweden.

The Bubs announced he wanted a red horse like that for Christmas. He has remembered that horse and amid all the catalogs and holiday onslaught, he keeps saying he wants a red horse for Christmas.

I did a search for a dala horse pattern the other day and -- reinforcing my love of the Internet and the generosity of crafters -- I found a pattern. It's for a quilt block, but I'm going to use it to make a stuffed dala horse.

The Ben Franklin's near my house has real wool felt and I bought some yesterday. I can't wait to get started.

I don't usually give myself much credit as a parent because I focus on all the things I'm not doing. But, it does make me feel good that he remembers the story and wants something unique and not mass-produced.