HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

 

And now it's Christmas 2021. The wrapped presents are on the table as I put the smaller tree on the mantel this year - no Father Christmas Grotto look at our house this year owing to Paul's unwillingness to take every last thing out of the shed in search of the Christmas boxes. In a few minutes I'll go put the beef joint in the slow cooker.

I know my husband - once a box goes to the shed I know I may never see the contents again  so I had a bit of Christmas craft and decor stashed in the house including a small non-Balsam Hill tree and some lights including the clip-on candle light string the non-Balsam Hill tree branches will not support. No major worries, I also had a set of micro-wire white lights (plug-in) to string on the little tree. 

 

We do have Christmas here in the living room but there are no stockings, Santa Bags, multi-colour outdoor Christmas lights, no lush Balsam Hill 4ft Christmas tree and German made reproductions of antique Christmas baubles, no Advent Wreath and Countdown Calendar. Our traditional wreath is 'somewhere in the shed' along with the candle bridges, garlands lit and unlit, and worst of all, our Nativity scene is 'in there somewhere'.

I ended up buying a little folding triptych Nativity scene, a set of mini-glass baubles including a finial topper, a new candle bridge and 4 sets of micro-wire blue outdoor lights (all that was left online at Festive Lights in the run-up to First Sunday of Advent). I dug out the Christmas shape mini-biscuit cutters and used the star, bell, and gingerbread MAN to cut decorations from air-dry clay, and some candy cane striped pipe cleaners cut easily into mini-candy canes.

 

I could go on about my efforts, for example how I used a honeysuckle vine wreath I made years ago left from Paul pruning the massive overhang into our garden from the neighbour's (got their permission first, of course, and they were mortified to see how invasive their plant had become), added some red and green jute twine with some big red 'jingle bells' and called it a door wreath. It actually has some charm. And I rather like the look of the Christmas tree on the mantel with the Christmas cards crowded together. 

The outdoor lights arrived in time to be lit at dusk on First Sunday, the air-dry clay finally dried, were painted and on the little tree. All in it actually has been a nice Advent season and now it's Christmas. 

Last night before supper Paul and I took a walk around our town to see the Christmas lights and it was lovely to be out there in the snowless but VERY cold Christmas Eve air walking around the neighbourhood and town centre. Best of all, an increasing number of our neighbours are putting up Christmas lights - all 'tasteful' so no inflatable snowmen and Santas, just sumptuous Christmas trees glowing from Victorian bay windows (we live in the Conservation Area), lit shrubbery and trees, and more candle bridges in windows without trees - I like to think my candle bridges started something but we live at the end of the goat track so I doubt mine started anything:) BONUS: one of the shops has a white light plump pine and holly garland outlining the shop door and Paul wants to do that to our door Christmas 2022. Big change from the man who had two strings of ancient fairy lights and one forlorn little plastic apple with some holly and pine for a Christmas decoration.

I have our outdoor light display on timer so at 10pm when the lights went out, I made sure to light the battery tea light on what we call 'The Christ Candle' - placed in the front window to run all night to light the way for the Christ Child. I've done this for decades, my small way of reaffirming my faith, my hope the single candle shining through the night tells the neighbours Yeshua is welcome and wanted in my home and my life. Last night after 10pm when I popped in where Paul has his computer set up, he asked 'Have you lit the Christ Candle?'.

O' Come O' come, Emmanuel! To ransom captive Israel...