What Holiday Rush?

Almost immediately after Thanksgiving certain people will starting asking me if I am ready for Christmas yet. Wait a minute, I thought I had at least a month yet.

Part of the Joy of Christmas to me is in the preparation.  I love putting up my tree. Each one of the ornaments reveals a special memory. When we were first married, I envisioned, eventually, a tree filled with homemade ornaments. Each year I bought a kit and made half a dozen new ones to add to the collection. I still hang those even though I haven't added to that collection for many years now. A few were made for me during those early years by my mother and mother-in-law. Now that they are both gone, their spirit is with us in our tree. Now I collect ornaments on our trips and as I hang each one I can revisit those special destinations and the memories they hold for me. Many were simply gifts from people who have walked through our lives and left footprints on our hearts. Then, of course, there are the precious ones made by the little hands of both my children and grandchildren.



The basement parties were always the best

 Every year we host a party at our home for the Silver Spokes and Spokettes, our biker friends. This is generally in the first week of December so we get our Christmas decorations up and this is our initiation into the Holiday Season.

A few years ago, I found myself wondering about why I wasn't filled with the excitement of the season. Then about 2 weeks before the actual holiday the holiday spirit finally hit me. Wait a minute, I thought, that's when it should hit me.

Retail has put so much pressure on us to begin preparing even before Halloween.  This year the black Friday sales started a week before thanksgiving. I tried to buy a few early presents this year and got it all wrong and had to return them already.

Some people are afraid that if you don't shop early there will be nothing left. Well, guess what, there is always underwear left and it looks quite pretty tied up in nice paper and ribbons.

Christmas is still 9 days away so please don't ask me if I am ready for it. I have a few more presents left to buy and none of them are wrapped yet, cookies to bake, and a few more pre holiday events to attend. It will all get done before December 24 in plenty of time for the jolly old man to make his appearance.

In the meantime I intend to enjoy every minute of it. Oh, yes, there are still a few more Christmas movies to watch. I am a real sucker for those.