Holiday Crafts and Cuddles (for Harley)

This is the first year Loki has had a Christmas tree. It's basically for the children, and they clearly picked out both tree and decorations, because the aesthetic is best described as eclectic. The tree itself is artificial, glittery white tinsel, and three-fourths of the ornaments are homemade. There are paper-chains, strands of popcorn and cranberries, little cut-out salt-dough ornaments, and a lot of little childish drawings on ribbons. There are also a lot of feathers, pinecones and little bits of holly and greenery and mistletoe all over it, and on the very top, rather than a star or an angel, is a model ship with the royal seal of Asgard painted on the sails.

When Harley arrives, the children have spread out the pieces for the construction of the Mari Lwyd on the floor around the tree. The horse's skull stands out--it's papier mache rather than real bone, but it's very realistic--and the pole and wires it's normally strung to are propped behind the couch. There are lengths of ribbon, glue and glitter and paints and beads and all manner of supplies laid out on the table.

The house smells of apple cider and gingerbread. These are not all Asgardian traditions; most of them are not, in fact, but anything to make the children happy.