Memories Rewind: Fake Winter Wonderland

Probably everyone has heard the saying, "It doesn't take much to satisfy a child." For my brother and I, that was put to the test one windy day years ago. Mama knew we needed to burn off some energy for the day, but she had thought of all the obvious things already. She wanted something fun, something different. In a moment of genius, an idea came to her. We loved playing in the log house that Santa brought us, but why not "decorate" it, she thought?

She found a can of shaving cream and was ready to unveil her plan. "Come here, kids. I've got something you'll love. "My brother's eyes light up at the sight of the shiny white spray can with the red letters. Ever the one to follow the rules, I waited for Mama's ok. My brother was hanging on her every word.

"You can make a mess with the shaving cream on the house...but...." Oh boy! We get to make a mess! Our heads were spinning with ideas. Should we make Santa beards on each other? Should we write our names in shaving cream? We didn't know how to choose, so we did a little of all of it. Our dreams of a winter wonderland were downsized when Mama said we had to clean up the mess.

Armed with a spray can for each of us, we made a plan. I positioned myself on one side, my brother on the other. We weren't stupid-we didn't want the other one to mess up our design. That would be a disaster! I had a spray and smear method. Before long, I had smeared it on my clothes and the grass. My brother and I quickly decided it would be more fun if we worked together.

An hour later, our brown play house was unrecognizable. It was covered in a mound of fluffy white cream. We thought it looked fabulous. Hey, the ground looked prettier sprinkled with white! I thought. "Hiss" was the sound that I heard from the can. It had stopped dispensing that magical cream that made everything better. I exchanged a knowing glance with my brother signaling the fun was over.

Mama had let us have our fun. Now, we had to clean up. We spotted the hose and made a run for it. E turned the water on. I started washing away the fun. The yellow shutters peaked through the "snow". The red door was back in tip top shape. Before we left, our playhouse was spotless as clean as it could be with a couple of kids.