What Chrimbo looks like at our place

There are 2 types of people in the world--those who want their Christmas decorations to be all colour coordinated and those who have a hotch potch of sentimental, well loved, tatty stuff (or a hodge podge if you are American.) I fall into the latter category as I am hugely sentimental (even more at Christmas) and have many ornaments that were made by me (rather sloppily) from when I was a child. Plus loads of ratty tatty old favourites that are missing bits, but I can’t bear throw away. I still have the stocking hand made by my Aunt Jane for me when I was just a wee’un.

We have the tradition that every year we pick out an ornament together and date it as well as write a message to each other in a card to save and re-read every year. This year marks our 20^th married Christmas and so there are 20 cards and 20 ornaments. We also light an advent candle every night and read a bit of Christmas/winter poetry.

Here’s our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Yesterday I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to sew stockings for the spiders which you can see hanging behind the tree. There is also real mistletoe I bought at the deli that sells local produce from people’s gardens. Mistletoe is a parasitic plant (as is Spanish moss) so many people are keen to get rid of it. I just realized the mistletoe is out of shot. but it is hanging above the tree, I swear.

Spiderman has taken to keeping a log of things I am likely to say every year such as “Soon we’ll have to get a 4 foot tall tree” (been saying that for years) or “I love this poem. It’s one of my favourites!” Which is true 98% of the time as I chose the poems for advent. When we decorate the tree I am guaranteed to say, “I loved when I worked with the 3^rd graders at Prompt Succor School!” when I hang the ornament they gave me or “I can‘t recall who made this for me when I was a girl--was it my Aunt Addeline?” when I hang the decoupaged egg or “I loved this when I was girl because she had brown hair like me but I hated that her eyes were blue as mine were brown” when I unwrap the china statue of a December angel.  Yup, every year. The man has the patience of a saint and the memory of an elephant.

Here are the Snowman from Raymond Brigg‘s classic tale of the same name which is a real blub-fest for me. He is riding Max the dog from the Grinch. The Snowman shows over here on telly just as the Grinch does in the US.  We have scores of Chrimbo dvds so we watch a different festive something every night.

Here’s Huntarian the stuffed jerboa wearing his jaunty Christmas hat as well as our stockings. Look at the one on the right--my Auntie Jane made it and I treasure every tiny stitch.

Lastly, here is our newest addition to the cuddly spider collection--Pinky Tuscadero turning spider silk into tinsel (they really do that you know.)  Spiderman was heard to say “I don’t know what is worse, that you suggested that as a name or that I understand what it is referring to.”  For those who are scratching their heads and saying, “Quoi?” Pinky Tuscadero was the sister of all round cool rock chick Leather Tuscadero (played by Suzy Quatro) on Happy Days.

So that’s how we look for the holidays. Lots of homemade stuff. Lots of sentimental favourites. Lots of silliness. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.