For years, I would spend a month each Fall coming up with a clever and original answering machine message to put on our voice mail for the holiday season. It often had music or singing and when they were younger, my kids were eager and active participants in our clever messages. A few years ago, however, those messages became outlawed. My teenagers did an intervention with me and shared how embarrassed they were and how horrifying my rhyming and whimsical holiday phone messages were. For the good of the order, they had to go. Now that my teenagers are older and a little more “patient” with their ancient, dorky mother–I’m wondering if the holiday phone messages can make a comeback?
There was one December when all three of my children had “lines” in our mini version of the climactic ending of “A Christmas Carol”–complete with my middle daughter in her crystal clear voice and perfect enunciation saying “God bless us everyone” as Tiny Tim. Yes, the teens are sufficiently horrified that I might try to do a re-enactment of the mini-drama. We used to get such compliments! Such delighted messages from people who would call just to hear our creative little “gifts” this time of year. Well, somewhere around middle school–when my kids’ friends started calling the house on a regular basis, the quaint, creative phone messages had to go.
Can I bring them back yet?! I think my older daughters could handle it, and might even welcome a bit of nostalgia–but my fifteen year-old son would probably stage a coup. After all, he is the one who told me last week that there was “no way” he was “going to be seen at the library with his mother!” Well, maybe I could start with a little background music and then work up from there?
Also: Still Reading the Toy Catalogs
Is it Already Time for Christmas Music?
Creating a New Holiday Tradition