Alright, I’ve got to tell you: my holiday dreams are just crumbling. We were working on a project for Cute W’s parents, and we’ve just decided that there’s no way it can be done in time for Christmas. Then I was doing a practice round for our Crafty Girl Party this Wednesday, and the craft is a serious problem. It’s not working. I don’t know if I have to come up with a back-up plan. Whatever: it’s ugly. At one point, things were going so poorly that Cute W said, “But it will make a great post, right?” Yikes. We’ll see, but I need some emotional distance before I can talk about it. Plus it was going to be a grandparent gift, too. Oh, and how about this? There was a random unwrapped gift under the tree this morning. Yeah, I don’t know how that happened. Apparently fatigue set in during a wrapping session at some point.

Whenever the stress starts to get to me, I just make another 9 x 13 slab of magic cookie bars. Because as long as there are cookie bars in the house, we’re golden, right? . . . Right?

Here’s what’s going on this week. I won’t be doing any of it. Instead, I’ll be rooting around in the closets looking for all of the gifts that I’ve squirreled away, fretting over my Craft Concept, and trying to keep up with the laundry. But, by all means, you should go and have some fun.

All Week:

• Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany continues  A Christmas Story continues through January 2nd.
• While many regularly scheduled events are suspended this week and next, the Children’s Museum at Saratoga continues its usuals, including Tuesday for Tots, Wednesday’s Alphabet Soup, & Thursday’s Story Art. I don’t usually list weekly events here, but I thought it was worth noting.

Monday, December 20th:

• The Albany Berkshire Ballet is performing The Nutcracker at The Egg at  10:30 am. Tickets are $34/adult, $22/kids under 12. Okay, I have to tell you that there are really, really good seats available for this one. Honestly, I’m having a difficult time restraining myself from having the girls skip school and go to this. So if you’re available, you should go.

Tuesday, December 21st:

• St. Paul’s Church in Troy has their free noon concert, and it’s A Winter Celebration: Songs and Carols of Advent, with the Helderberg Madrigal Singers and The Bleecker Consort.
• At 7 pm, the Wood Theater is presenting Santa’s List, a 45-minute play designed for young children. Tickets are $10 to $15, and the play’s also showing on Wednesday & Thursday.
• At Proctors, Handel’s Messiah Rocks at 8 pm. It’s supposed to be appropriate for all ages. Tickets range from $20 to $60.

Wednesday, December 22nd:

• Take a Full Moon Hike at Moreau Lake at 5 pm. Call to reserve a spot.
• At 7 pm, the Wood Theater is presenting Santa’s List, a 45-minute play designed for young children. Tickets are $10 to $15, and the play’s also showing on Tueday & Thursday.

Thursday, December 23rd:

• Take a Wetlands Walk at Moreau Lake from 1-3 pm. Call to reserve a spot.
• At 4:30 and 7 pm, Proctors will be showing a film of the Nutcracker. Tickets are $15/adult, $10/children 17 and under.
• At 7 pm, the Wood Theater is presenting Santa’s List, a 45-minute play designed for young children. Tickets are $10 to $15, and the play’s also showing on Tuesday & Wednesday.

Friday, December 24th:

• Bring binoculars to help with the Eagle Watch from 10 am to noon at Moreau Lake. Call to reserve a spot.