If Im not mistaken…

In honour of tomorrow being the first day of winter, I’ve created my own version of the twelve days of Christmas.  It goes like this:  (insert the sound of throat clearing here)

On the Twelfth day of Winter, my true love gave to me,

Twelve neighbours shoveling,

Eleven unploughed side streets,

Ten snowmen sledding,

Nine foot high snow banks,

Eight hours of daylight,

Seven pairs of snowshoes,

Six bags of salt,

Five crocheted scarves,

Four window scrapers,

Three skidoo boots (ha),

Two woolen mittens,

And a jug of windshield washer antifreeze.

Wow, that makes me want to stay inside until Spring time comes!

Happy Winter Solstice!

I think, I must have some kind of Post Shopping Stress Disorder.  My Christmas shopping is pretty well finished except for maybe some sweet treats.  I should be happy and relieved.  But now I feel like what I bought isn’t good enough.  I know the holiday should not be about the presents.  So, what do I do about this need I have to please?

Ok, let’s concentrate on the positives.  I didn’t spend too much for our budget.  Most of the things I bought will come to good use.  I did all my shopping at one unique store.  I had good intentions when I put down my money.  Ah, still I’m haunted by the items that might not go over so well.  Grrrr.

Maybe it’s who the gifts are for?

 Do others put such thought into what they give? 

Geez, I’m going to have to act happier when I open MY gifts.  Don’t want anyone to thing I’m not grateful.  I know from experience Christmas shopping is hard work!

Yay!  We made it out to see the Gingerbread Houses at the museum.  It wasn’t a huge competition and I’m pretty sure I’d feel comfortable entering with my little guy next year.  It looked like a lot of the entrants used those premade gingerbread house kits from the supermarket as a starter. 

Of course, some were quite well thought out, larger pieces.  One was a church with a steeple.  One was our dream home with a wraparound porch.   Some used crackers and cereal to decorate, instead of the usual candy gum drops and peppermints.  One used Shredded Wheat for hay, as the house was actually a barn.  Very creative.

I hope nobody wants to munch on these creations after all the evaluating is finished.  I know one kiddo that sneezed towards a house that was not encased.  And really, having something so attractive at kid level and within arm’s reach—argh!  How many times did I have to say, “Don’t touch.”  “Remember, don’t touch.”  I can be such a mother at times.

Now I’m craving gingerbread.  Mmmmmmm. Just one little gingerbread man will do. But, I’ve heard they are hard to catch.

I had big plans for this holiday season.  I made a Yule Log centerpiece for my table (affectionately called our Yule stump), I made an Advent type spiral (instead of a calendar) to countdown the days to Christmas, and I made up this nice long list of festive things to do each day of Advent. 

Sure we’ve done a few things.  The cinnamon and applesauce ornaments turned out quite nice, but not as smelly as I expected.   We set up our ceramic Christmas village with quilting batting for snow.  The tree got up and decorated last night.  We thought it would be special to set it up on the night of the full moon and after the birthday’s (mine, my son’s, my father’s, and my friend’s daughter)  But that’s just the usual getting ready stuff to do. 

We still need to do our family photo by the tree, we need to make some birdseed ornaments for the backyard friends, we need to go see the Christmas lights downtown, we need to go see the gingerbread house display at the local museum and maybe be inspired to make our own.  The list goes on and on.

So what’s my excuse for not doing all that I planned?  Sickness, snow, laziness, procrastination…  

Ah, I know I shouldn’t be too bothered with it not getting done when I planned it.  We can still do some after the big day has passed.  Can’t let all the fun come to an abrupt end, right?

A friend of mine is taking off to Mexico with her current boyfriend over Christmas.  Sounds like a lovely plan.  I wonder if she’ll miss the snow and the blinding white winter wonderland on Christmas Day?  I can’t imagine having Christmas without winter, just because that is what I’m used to.  It’s kind of funny, because really, the story of Jesus’ birth takes place in the desert—no snow there.  How did the holiday evolve into a winter focused holiday?  Well, here in North America, no Christmas would be the same without the good, present bearing, Santa or St. Nick.  His festive winter garb would not appeal to other warm weathered countries.   According to http://www.the-north-pole.com/around/ Santa is replaced with the shorts sporting Swag Man in Australia.  Too cool!Ok, off to think about my ideal, ‘away from the snow’ holiday!  Feliz Navidad? 

As Christmas approaches, our mailbox occasionally holds a nice surprise from family or friends—the Christmas card.  Yay!

I love receiving snail mail, especially when it comes unexpectedly.  I also enjoy sending it to others, yet I always seem to procrastinate and ship the letters or cards off at the last minute. (must work on this)With Christmas cards, I’m also selective.  I send to those who have sent cards in the past and to a few very important people, who our family is close to.  Now, with having children of my own and with having family all over the province, I feel keeping contact at least once a year is important.  Personalized greetings with news and photo’s remind us how quickly time passes yet, we won’t ever forget those of whom that we were close to at certain periods in our lives.