We currently have a sparkly red tablecloth that we use in December, but I had never thought of using Christmas placemats until I saw these three featured on Amazon for $6 or less.

One problem with having a tablecloth is that it invariably gets dirty approximately twenty minutes after I put it on the table, and then usually ends up spending half the month of December sitting in the dirty laundry basket.

I got a second red Christmas tablecloth to help combat this problem, but that then usually ends up meaning that within 48 hours both tablecloths end up sitting in the dirty laundry basket, where they often will reside for up to two weeks. (Or often, on Christmas Eve, when we suddenly say, "Aack! Where's the tablecloth?" and frantically throw them into the wash.

Anyway, placemats seem like they could help with this problem. It's easier to throw a placemat (or two) into the laundry than an entire tablecloth, and hopefully they would keep the actual tablecloth cleaner longer -- ooh, let's say maybe for an entire 72 hours, even!

Plus, you can mix and match so that you have different colors or patterns for different people or different days.

The "Funkins Cloth" (the one on the right) is particularly interesting because it's designed to be not only a placemat, but also a napkin, particularly for kids on the go. So that's a simple way to dress up your kid's lunchbox during the month of December. (And honestly, I can't imagine why you couldn't use it for you own lunches as well!)

Image by Simon Howden at FreeDigitalImages.net

Something made me share this story with a friend a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd share it here as well.

When I was young -- around first, second, and third grade -- my aunt and uncle and cousins would have a huge Christmas party at their house one Saturday in early or mid December.

We lived ... let's see, I'm just guessing an hour or two drive away, at most, and we would arrive mid-morning and stay til it was dark, then drive back home. (Their house always still seemed full of people when we left, which makes me wonder how long these parties went on!)

My relatives were obviously big party people (they still are), and I remember these get-togethers being an event where every room was filled with people. They were other relatives -- some who I barely even know who they were -- plus their neighbors, co-workers, friends, you name it.

Anyway, not surprisingly, we would exchange gifts at these yearly get-togethers. I remember, among other things, getting a game called Beat the 8 Ball, which I owned and used for many years after.

Image Courtesy of Amazon

I also remember getting a bracelet that had white beads. Each bead had a letter, and it spelled out my name -- a little bit like this, although not quite:

Picture this bracelet, but a version for a seen year old girl

The next week at Show and Tell at school -- remember, I was in about second grade -- I got up in the front of the classroom and showed them my bracelet. "I got this from my aunt for Christmas," I said.

My memory -- which may or may not be completely accurate -- was that there was almost a collective gasp from my classmates, they were so floored.

How could she have a Christmas gift? Christmas isn't for almost two weeks! How is this possible?

And then, as I went back to my seat, I heard kids murmuring to each other, "Is she Jewish? She must be Jewish!"

"Jenny, are you Jewish?" a few kids boldly approached me and asked after Show and Tell was over.

I told them no, I wasn't.

***********

There are two things I find amusing about this story:

1) That I actually remember it at all;

2) The idea that getting a Christmas present before December 25 must mean you're some other religion -- and that Jews, in fact, celebrate Christmas too, just on a different day than everybody else.

Do you have a funny story about Christmas from when you were a kid? Tell me about it in the comments!

I found these three different Christmas headbands at Amazon for less than $6 each. I think they snowmen are my favorite of the three.

Of course, these are perfect for a holiday party, but I'll bet there are plenty of other times you could get away with wearing these.

For example, depending on what your work environment is like, maybe you could wear it to the office the week before Christmas. If you're a teacher, you can definitely get away with wearing this kind of stuff at work, especially on the day there's some sort of holiday assembly.

I play the piano for several holiday parties every December, and so far I've never worn anything more "daring" than Christmas earrings. But now I'm wondering if I should wear something like this  ... probably not for the entire evening, but just to slap on for some photos or before playing some particularly fun songs.

I'm getting ready to take a Disney trip in two months as I type this -- I just scheduled reservations for us at The Garden Grill with Chip and Dale, and The Crystal Palace with Winnie the Pooh and Friends -- so it's easy for me to have Disney on the brain.

If you have any Disney Lovers in your house, you might want to check out these different Disney stockings that Amazon is running a deal on right now.

Each stocking is less than $6 each, and two of them are less than $4!

My personal favorite of the three is the Tinkerbell stocking. My younger daughter had a Tinkerbell birthday party when she turned four, and my older daughter's favorite book is Peter Pan, so I guess it makes sense that I would feel partial toward Tinks!