Showing posts with label Christmas season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas season. Show all posts

Monday, January 4, 2010

Breaking with Christmas Tradition

Well, for the first time in 40 years of marriage, Larry and I put up an artificial tree. Not only that, but instead of putting on strings of big colored lights (including flashers) we put up little white lights. What a difference! Our youngest wasn't too impressed when she came in and said it just wasn't our tree. But we like it: no needle mess to cope with this year, no tree watering, the lights went on a lot faster and easier and the results were just fine with us. We never noticed before that our ornaments are pretty much red, white, silver, and gold. It was the colored lights that added the other colors. But we liked the combination and plan to leave it up until my brother comes to visit in mid January so he can enjoy it too.






And on top of all that, we are being good stewards of the earth: reducing our carbon footprint by using a fake tree and little lights that use less electricity.

My favorite decoration of all, though, is the stable scene. I always put that up in early December with little Jesus hidden under the hay until Christmas Eve and the wise men making their way through the bookcase "desert" to arrive on Epiphany. I have several nativity sets and leave a small one up all year on the fireplace mantle. The children like it and it's a reminder that every day we should welcome Christ into our lives.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse....

I wish that were true, but since last Christmas at least one of the little critters was not only stirring, but chewing and chewing, presumably on a quest for bedding material to make a nest. When I pulled out my Christmas village this year I found my "snow" (which was new last year) had been sabotaged. The mouse didn't make his bed in the box which was filled to the brim with smaller boxes holding the church, the inn, Scrooge's townhouse and all the other acoutrements of the Christmas village, so now I have to wonder where his bed is. Yuck! Will I find lots of little mice somewhere? I hope not. The intrepid mouse hunter is on the trail -- i.e., the game's afoot. He also went and got me new "snow" so I could finish my project which decorates my dining room buffet during the Christmas season.