Now that Elegante Mother's party is over, it's time to focus on getting ready for Christmas. Today is December 3, so that means we have three weeks to Christmas Eve.
Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year, so my family is planning to meet earlier in the day for our annual celebration. Normally we meet about 5:00 in the afternoon, and have a light supper, swap and open gifts.
The adults have a uni-sex gift exchange which is very entertaining. Each of us brings a gift. Usually the worse or funnier the gift is, the more likely it is to be gorgeously wrapped. We draw numbers, and the person holding number one is the first to choose a gift. If a following number holder happens to like that gift, it can be stolen from you. There are usually some spectacular gifts, some thoughtful gifts and some very odd gifts. Last year, Dear Husband chose a package that had the most current edition of the "Bathroom Reader" plus an assortment of chemicals to clean a bathroom! It turns out that the "Bathroom Reader" is pretty interesting! *G*
Elegante Mother will be invited to make her barbecue, and my nieces will load the table with all sorts of tasty things that will kill my diet! Thank you, God, for holidays!
I still have a lot of decorating to do. We have to decide the question of a live tree or a fake, and choose one. (Dear Husband drags his feet on this issue every year, and we're lucky to get a tree up by Christmas!) I have a little homely fake Sitka spruce that resides in my living room year 'round. It showcases the ornaments that my quilting bee friends have made for me over the years. There are wreaths in place, but I have some roping that needs to go over the mailbox pillar.
I think we might do a laid back Christmas this year. As far as I know, there won't be visitors here for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, so we might relax on some of the traditions. I hope I get a lot of good books as gifts. I can spend the day with my feet up, lost in a good story!
Happy December, everyone!
Comments (6)
Happy December to you too.
Posted by janet | December 3, 2006 2:43 PM
Posted on December 3, 2006 14:43
Happy, happy December and the most wonderful and warm Xmas to you and your family Buffy...I hope you get some great things from Santa....especially some good books. Have you been naughty or nice?
Posted by Joy | December 3, 2006 7:37 PM
Posted on December 3, 2006 19:37
ditto.
Posted by bod | December 4, 2006 2:40 PM
Posted on December 4, 2006 14:40
Thank you, ladies!
Joy....I've been sorta neutral this year. I blew my knee and had to behave myself for several months while it healed, and then we started the planning for EM's party. I'd say I was closer to nice, but there's always SOMEONE who would argue about that! *G*
Posted by buffy | December 5, 2006 11:23 PM
Posted on December 5, 2006 23:23
Happy December, Winter Solstice, Merry Christmas... the list could go on, Happy Holidays!! That covers us all.
Buffy I could tell you a horror story involving a live tree, 1000's of baby spiders, tree sap, ruined carpet & upholstery.. all one Christmas many years ago. I cut down a live tree at a tree farm that turned out to be, many years later, a funny story. I switched to fake trees after, but now I go to a landscape supply and buy live trees again... I love having a live tree.
John
Posted by John | December 7, 2006 7:05 AM
Posted on December 7, 2006 07:05
John, you about covered it all! I'll take a pass on the baby spiders story...I can imagine what happened. I love live trees too, but Dear Husband is allergic to their scent. Just the wreaths and the lilies from Elegante Mother's party are bothering him, so I know a real tree will be a hardship. That's why I was contemplating putting a small live tree in her sitting room, and setting the fake tree up in ours. It's a compromise, and a small one at that, but he might be better off. We'll see what happens in the next few days. Thanks for stopping by.
Posted by buffy | December 8, 2006 12:13 AM
Posted on December 8, 2006 00:13