Today was a big day at the Girard house! Another snow day—day four and counting of no school for Marcy. (She’s still in bed.) But the weather didn’t prevent the UPS truck from stopping at our house. And it delivered a much-anticipated package from Chewy—Christmas sweaters for the doggies!

OK, perhaps the excitement was one-sided. Mama was thrilled. The dogs? Less so.

I fell for the old trick most retail websites use to tempt you into buying more: ordering enough merchandise to qualify for FREE shipping. So, William is the lucky recipient of two sweaters, and Ruthie (who’s much smaller and thus cheaper to buy for) has four holiday sweaters to add to her wardrobe. She’s ecstatic.

It’s quite a workout, wrestling a 120-pound Great Dane into anything, much less a Christmas sweater. I’m pretty sure he thought I was trying to kill him.

But he sure looks handsome:

OK, handsome, but not necessarily happy.

What is it about a big dog in a holiday sweater that makes me so happy? I don’t own a Christmas sweater. I’m not sure I’d wear one if I did. But it warms my heart to see his polka-dotted body in polyester snowflakes and reindeer. I love dogs and Christmas and snow. It’s a heart-warming season.

It’s not much easier getting a six-pound dog into her Christmas sweater. And Ruthie refuses to look jolly, no matter how pretty I tell her she looks.

She’s not giving me ho-ho-ho vibes, even if her sweater says so. But it doesn’t dampen my spirits. There’s snow on the ground outside, the fireplace is roaring, and the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s Charlie Brown Christmas album is streaming on Alexa. How can I not be jolly?

Even though they may not love the sweaters, I love them. And really, that’s what Christmas is all about.

Some traditions are for the people, and some are just for the dogs.

So mope all you want, doggies. Mama’s in the Christmas spirit. Eventually, you will be, too.

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