Friday, December 18, 2009

The countdown has begun

The days are quickly counting down until Christmas.

The time has past for getting area rugs cleaned for Christmas. In the next couple of weeks will be the time I get to spend on those little projects that get started but never finished.

I am not a big fan of Christmas because it has become an ugly day to me. Commercialism has replaced the real reason for this time of year. I have always wanted to have a Christmas from like the 1800's.

I read all the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and loved the way Christmas was back then. It was about family and friends and enjoying being together.

Now that I think about it I do have that kind of Christmas. For the last 3 years I have gone to a friend's house on Christmas Eve for dinner and relaxing. This year I put up a tree and hung the stockings.

I buy only the gifts I need to. I try to make most gifts if I have time. On Christmas day I call my family members since we live in different areas of Canada. For the rest of my time off I do very little. I do not go shopping for those Boxing Day Sales because they are a zoo and they aren't the huge deals they used to be.

Very low key. I used to envy people who had the large family gatherings, but then I think back to Christmas at my Grandma's house as a kid. There were four to six families (20-30 people) all gathered together in a little house so I usually ended up finding a quiet corner and hiding there until dinner was ready.

The best part of any Holiday Celebration is the traditions. Growing up we would always put our tree up on Christmas Eve and certain decorations were always put at the top of the tree.

My mom made a potato dressing (stuffing) and Nanny (grandmother) made amazing pickled beets.

My aunt would always beat me at cards and Grampie would be sitting at the table silently taking everything in.

As the season of giving draws on I hope that you enjoy your traditions and family gatherings.

Thanks for reading, RugloverMary