Merry Christmas one and all!
Last night I went to see the babies to give them their Christmas gifts, because children are what Christmas is all about. Lilly had written a letter to Father Christmas a few weeks ago, so I wrote one back and signed it with squiggly handwriting. When I arrived I informed her I had found it stuck to the back door and I wasn’t sure who it was from. She opened it and as Lou read it to her her eyes lit up and she danced round the room shouting “Santa wrote to me!!” at the top of her voice. It was the cutest thing ever, and made me so glad I had written it. We dressed Poppy in the Christmas pudding outfit I had bought her, and she sat on my lap while Lilly dressed up in her princess dress and sun glasses to do us a show. She shouted “don’t look!” for about fifteen minutes to work the crowd up for her big performance, while Poppy giggled away at the bells she was shaking, and then the show began. She danced around and then stopped, whispered “I don’t know what to say” in an unusually shy way, and then let out the loudest fart I have ever heard for a four year old. With that, she ran off to her room, laughing. The show was over. Hahaha! Only Lilly.
Christmas is magical when you are a child. I can’t wait to have children of my own and observe all the rituals like leaving out a carrot and a minced pie on Christmas Eve. When we were children my dad used to swear we had to go to sleep because he could hear the bells, and I read in the paper this week that Kelly Osbourne loves Christmas because Ozzy used to go up and dance on the roof so it sounded like hooves!
I used to love getting the tree down but always wanted a real one and this is the first year I got my wish. Our tree was a sparse stick of fakeness that used to drop more bits than a real one, and we used to decorate it with knitted father Christmases and paper decks. I used to envy my friends who had a real tree because their families made a massive day of it; going to pick the tree, putting the lights on it etc. we used to badger my dad until he eventually got it out of the loft! We used to look forward to going to see my granny as she had some glass stickers of show flakes that we used to decorate the doors with.
My granny still has a loo roll Father Christmas that I made her when I was in primary school. It’s covered in crepe paper and has a cotton wool beard, and twenty years on its looking a bit ropey but she still loves it.
Our Christmas isn’t conventional; we make a big fuss of Christmas eve and have German sausages and curly kale and mashed potatoes. It’s one of my favourite things about the festivities. Then on Christmas day we eat goose and red cabbage (no turkey or pigs in blankets for us!) and I get to spend time with a family that I simply don’t see enough. I love the apple strudels too!
What is your favourite thing about Christmas? What are you most looking forward to? Merry Christmas 🙂
Tinkerbelle 
There always a lot to enjoy – but lately I’ve been thinking about how many nonreligious and nonChristians embrace the spirit of Christmas.
Merry Christmas Tink. I invite you and your readers to visit and select a present under the tree. http://afrankangle.wordpress.com/2011/12/24/on-a-time-for-gifts/
Merry Christmas, Tinkerbelle! This post made me all warm and fuzzy (although at first I was confused by “a carrot and a minced pie” until I figured out the carrot must be for the reindeer, ha!).
We always have a big fuss on Christmas Eve, too, going to my parents’ and doing a gift exchange with my siblings, and then to Le Pep’s parents’ house where they have a big party with all the aunts, uncles and cousins. On Christmas day we do the smaller exchange of presents with our immediate families. It would be really hard to pick just one favorite thing; it’s the combination of it all that makes it so wonderful! 🙂
I had a lot of bad Christmas memories with dad making Christmas day a trial of misery, but also excitement and happiness when we opened our presents.
As my God daughter and her family grew up I exchanged bad memories for good ones and though I didn’t have much money I always bought them something.
These days they have children of their own and I am under orders not to buy for the kids, just for Pat.
Tomorrow I am going to have a good Christmas and a happy time will be had by all!! 🙂
Love and hugs!
Prenin.
I feel you on the real tree thing!! My mom got an artificial tree this year and I can’t handle it- I’ve been trying to convince her to get rid of it ever since I came home!
My favourite part about Christmas is easy: FOOD!
The season brings out a lot of good wishes and behaviour in people, and I’d wish for it to persist year round. 🙂
Merry Christmas!
…O…
../ \..
(~_~)
happy
x-mas
My favorite part of Christmas just went to bed!!! The kids!
Have kids Tink and you will enjoy it ten-bold!
Have a great Christmas kid!!
The loud fart from the four-year-old as the integral part of the play had me rolling. That is so…kid-like.
When I was five years old we lived at the Warden’s Post at the entrance to Wood Buffalo Park. I was starting to misbelieve in Santa, and Mom and Dad didn’t think I was ready for that kind of mis/information. So on Christmas Eve, my dad dragged a couple of boards and a pointer up on top of the roof. At the risk of life and limb, since this was an old very peaked house, he made sleigh tracks and reindeer prints to the chimney.
The next morning, Mom excitedly dragged me out of bed. “Santa’s been here,” she declared.
“Aw, Mom, you know there is no Santa,” I said. “Sure there is,” she replied and dragged me outside. Shivering in 50 below temperatures, I hugged myself as Mom practically forced me to lift my chin and look at the roof.
“Who do you think made those tracks?” she demanded. My jaw hit my chest. Sure enough, those were reindeer tracks and sleigh marks. No question. I believed in Santa for another year. That has to be my most favorite memory of Christmas of all.
I loved reading of your Christmas experiences. I am at my mountain home in Colorado and before a dinner of prime rib and garlic potatoes and sautéed Brussels sprouts, we snow shoed into the forest with my dog Rosie. Beautiful blue skies. Thank you for the gift of your blog.
most looking forward to at Christmas ?
Boxing Day ! 😆
Merry Christmas to you too!!