The Christmas Octopus

What?  You don't have one?  Everyone needs a Christmas octopus.

This photo doesn't quite do him justice, but he realy does look like an octopus.

He came about one year when my younger brother was making ornaments with the girls out of beads and pipe cleaners.  He started stringing on the beads and adding more pipe cleaners, I think in an attempt to make a star. After a whole bunch of fiddling with it my brother made the mistake of asking the girls what they thought of all his hard work.  One of them proclaimed loudly that the only thing it looked like was an octopus.  He wasn't offened in the least.  Instead, he worked with it a bit more, shaping the head, adding a couple of red beads for eyes, and voila!, the Christmas Octopus was born.  We've had it on the tree every year since.  There's always great care taken in placing him in just the right spot.  Up front, near a red Christmas tree light (because he looks so cool lit up from behind with a red light), and on some reasonably sturdy branches, because he is a little heavy.  The only problem we have now is that all the girls want one for themselves, for their own, future Christmas trees, and my brother isn't really sure how he made the first one.  I'll have to buy him a bunch of pipe cleaners and beads and see what he can come up with.  You never know what may become a tradition for one of the girls, because if he comes up with something funny, they're sure to put it on their tree.

Everyone needs a weird holiday tradition or two.  They're great.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, celebrating the birth of our Savior, and spending some quality time with the people you love.