My Favorite Things About Christmas

Update! New picture below!

This picture was added 12/23.  It's the famous donkey and camel from the nativity story starring grandsons J and N.  Aren't they cute?

The other day I saw the big snowflakes dropping out of the sky in the backyard.  The fireplace was hot, the house was warm and cozy and I felt a prick of guilt.  There are so many things I love about this time of year but I get caught up I get in the things I must accomplish.  I looked around my house at all the things and decided that there were some things in plain sight I should appreciate more.  Things that aren't in the Walmart or the Ross store to be bought.  Things I have, things I do, things I enjoy at Christmastime.  The Christmas tree above is new because the one we bought a few years ago won't light up anymore.  How spoiled we are!  We got a whole new tree because the lights wouldn't work on the other one.  Well, I may as well do it up right if I'm going to have it.  So, this tree, which looks out on the falling snowflakes is one of my favorite things about Christmas.  Old ornaments, bright red bows.

 

My parents gave us this candle driven creche many years ago.  I always have to search for the right size candles to fit and you can tell they're not perfect because the candles go all skeewompish all the time.  The candles burn, the fan turns, and so do the characters inside.  Snuffing the candles out with bare fingers always shocks the grandkids.  I haven't done that yet this year, but I will soon!

 

This may seem stupid, but I'm grateful for pine smelling candles!  We stopped plunking down $50 every year for a half dead, needle dropping, "live" tree a while back and got a fake tree.  Now we have two fake trees.  They don't smell good, so - the candle.  I love either pumpkin or pine.  Unique holiday smells.  Yum

 

This may not be the most attractive arrangement from a designer's perspective, but to me, it's just right.  The ceramic tree with the plastic lights glows on top of the entertainment unit and has for decades.  My mom made it by hand, cleaned the greenware, painted and fired it.  I pack it away carefully each year in the same box she sent it to me in, wrapped in an old t-shirt of my dad's.  Putting the lights in was a chore the kids loved doing.  On the left is a red reindeer.  His antlers are gold and are falling out.  My brother and I each had one; his was green.  They stood on the window sill with some little houses each Christmas when I was growing up.  That deer must be 40 years old!  The nutcracker is old and his arm falls out.  The little mice were given to daughters K and A and the one in the middle that they are kissing was given to their little brother, J by my mom.  Hand made and very precious!

 

This is the front room.  Note the color-coordinated tree in the middle of the window.  It's a pain to put up each year and if it hadn't been for daughter S, I wouldn't have this year.  But I like how it looks from outside, so we do it year after year.  The nativity scene is made of olive wood from Jerusalem.  I love the simplicity of this set.

Outside one night, son J, the Cougar, and his son, J, came over during the snow storm to ride the four wheeler.  Little J loved the donuts his daddy was doing on the basketball court that night.

The second Sunday of December was special this year.  We decided to do our Christmas Eve nativity since K and J and their new baby M would be gone to his parents' this Christmas.  A little background - K had played the part of Mary in so many Christmas productions when I was the Stake Drama Director that I cannot count.  But never with her own son.  Not till this year.  It was a dream come true to see it.  Here is "Mary" and "Joseph" and one of the shepherds, daughter A, with a "donkey" (Little J) leading the way.

 

Angels on High - I and A

Baby M as Baby Jesus

 

The Kings from the East and bad King Herod (son B)

 

The narrator reading from Luke and Matthew - a tradition I hope to do every year until I die!

 

I will post one more picture with grandson N as the camel tomorrow. 

 

I couldn't resist this shot.  Haven't times changed?  Both daddies are changing the diapers while the mommies do other things, or simply watch! 

I love other things about Christmas, too.  Making gingerbread houses with the grandkidlets, torturing my kids by making them sing carols on the stairs and come down one by one when WE are ready on Christmas day, good food, Nintendo games, puzzles, Christmas carols, giving.  Mostly giving.

Okay one more editorial.  I know we get caught up in the "commercialism" of Christmas.  I know sometimes we spend too much money, get cranky shopping, lose sight of the birth of Christ.  But I LIKE the giving!  I'm glad I'm Santa's helper.  It wouldn't be fair if he did it all alone and I didn't get to help with the giving.  It's something I hope I can always do.