I'll be home for Christmas...If only in my dreams

One of the hardest parts of working seasonal jobs is that you can't go home for the holidays. Ski resorts, bed & breakfasts, lodges, hotels, and ranches are busiest during the holiday rush. Your family Christmas is most often sacrificed so that other families may have their own memorable holiday... but that doesn't mean the Grinch has stolen our Christmas spirit. Being able to share Christmas with each other is still warm and wonderful, and we've made some special memories of our own over the years.

In 2003, we were at a ski resort in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. It was definitely a white Christmas! That winter, we had over 600 inches of snow, and we learned about "interlodge." Interlodge is what happens when you are literally forbidden by law to step outside, for fear of avalanche. The snowdrifts were over our heads, and Begee was constantly shoveling the car out before we could go anywhere. When we did get shoveled out, we could usually find our way into Salt Lake City, and the night before Christmas, we walked around, looking at the lights in Temple Square. We also made a gingerbread house (though it didn't taste as good as it looked), and when we opened our presents from family and friends, we thought about how loved we are. We also had a company party, where our boss dressed up like Santa, and it was nice to share our first Christmas together with other people also away from home.

In 2004, we worked at a bed & breakfast and canoe & kayak rental company in the Florida Everglades. The staff was much smaller, and because of that, we were much closer with them. It really was like spending the holidays with a seasonal family, and we felt very blessed to know them all. We had a wonderful Christmas party, where our boss cooked ham, and Erin had a great time decorating the lobby of the bed & breakfast. There were alligators in Santa hats all over the Christmas tree, and stockings for each employee! We went to the town Christmas tree lighting with our co-workers, and as we ate cookies and drank punch, we all marveled about Christmas without snow. It didn't feel right to see palm trees with Christmas lights on them and Santa in flip flops, but somehow it worked.

In 2005, we worked at a lodge near Yosemite National Park. By Christmas, we hadn't had any snow, so we put up a big Christmas tree in the middle of the courtyard. Our boss loved pink flamingos, so one of the crafts for guests and employees alike was to decorate them! We all decorated pink flamingos - Erin's was Santa, Begee's was Hawaiian - and put them around the resort, as well as circling the Christmas tree. Later that night, everyone met in the Recreation Room, where we made our own stockings to hang, ate s'mores by the fireplace, and sang Christmas carols before lighting the Christmas tree. At our employee party, everyone fought over the toys, and we had a lot of laughs.

In 2006, we worked at a hotel in Seward, Alaska. It was a cold, cold Christmas! We went to the town Christmas tree lighting and drank a lot of hot chocolate before meeting Santa. We borrowed the hotel van and drove into Anchorage, where it was -20 degrees, to see "The Nutcracker." It was beautiful and magical, and the soundtrack danced in our heads for weeks. We cooked a wonderful dinner, complete with Begee's famous sweet potatoes and marshmallows, and we savored the beauty of the mountains in the winter. It was a quiet Christmas, unlike all the others, and that made it special too (so did the Moostletoe - moose droppings in the shape of mistletoe!). We made a little snowman and enjoyed being so near to the North Pole, even though we still didn't get to see Santa

and the reindeer fly by!

This year, we're at a ranch in Arizona. Here we have cactus with Christmas tree lights on them, and while there hasn't been any snow, we have had rain! Last week, we went to Phoenix and had a great time watching the Rockettes put on their Christmas Spectacular. Last night, we drank hot chocolate and walked around at the Phoenix Zoo, looking at all their holiday lights. And we had an early Christmas present: when we got back to the ranch, we saw some javelina (wild desert pigs), which we've been wanting to see ever since we arrived here. Our Christmas this year is getting off to a good start, even though we have 12 days to go. We're looking forward to a lot of kids here for the holidays (as Erin is the Kids' Counselor), and it will be busy busy busy. It should be fun, though, too - complete with a Christmas Eve tree trimming and Santa riding in on a horse-drawn carriage Christmas morning.

So while every year, we hope to be home for the holidays next year, we've been able to experience some magical Christmases together. We miss our families and wish we could see them opening up the presents we send them, but our hearts are always with them in the gifts and cards we send. Whether it's Santa on skis, Santa in flip flops, Santa in snowshoes, Santa on a snowmachine, or Santa in cowboy boots, we've had fun experiencing Christmas traditions around the country and coming together with our fellow seasonal workers.

To everyone who reads this: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We hope that wherever you are and whomever you're with, love finds you home for Christmas...If only in your dreams.