Christmastime! This is by far my favourite time of the year! But let me be clear—it’s the Christmas season I love, not so much the actual day.
Like most Moms, I love to see the excitement on my daughter’s face as she opens her gifts, and our time as a small family on Christmas morning is great. But then before I know it, it’s time to get into the kitchen to start the madness that will be Christmas dinner. And that’s usually when the fun ends.
No matter how much I prepare, delegate or try to scale down Christmas dinner, it still makes for a stressful afternoon in the kitchen. And it’s even more stressful once the extended family starts to arrive for dinner.
So, let’s get back to the part I do enjoy. The entire month leading up to Christmas, as well as the week after it! The activities around town, the celebrations put on by our school and friends. Even simply driving or walking around the city to see the creative yard displays our neighbours have come up with. I am one happy girl during the Christmas season!
We start pulling our Christmas decorations out of storage in the few weeks of November and then it’s ON! We certainly won’t be putting our neighbours to shame with our yard decorations though. A simple set of lights across the roof and around our door is enough for us. It’s the inside of the house where our magic happens. Our house may not be all that big but for six weeks of the year, it looks like a Christmas bomb went off.
Our tree is full of decorations from mine and my husband’s childhoods, as well as fun and unique finds we’ve added over the years. The last decade has provided even more ornaments. From ornaments bought for my daughter’s first years as well as creations she has made at school and Christmas events. I’m surprised our tree hasn’t yet fallen down from all the weight of our décor!
But my favourite part of our décor is our Christmas village! If it were up to me, the Christmas village would stay up all year. Unfortunately, my husband disagrees. What started as a few houses and figurines placed on a shelf has grown to take over almost half of our living room—with several tables in place to hold it as well as some wooden pieces added as levels. It truly is a magical sight.
Our extended family is quite divided, mostly by distance, but also by varying levels of animosity over the years. So the extended family aspect of gathering for the holidays has always been a bit stressful. I even remember as a kid realizing there was a tense feeling around the Christmas Day celebration. So, when I had my daughter almost 10 years ago, I realized it was a chance for a fresh start. I haven’t been as successful in altering the Christmas Day stress as I had hoped but we still have a lot of fun during the magical Christmas season.
So, I’m off to sit in our living room, otherwise known during December as our Winter Wonderland, to enjoy the season with my family while I rest up for the craziness of Christmas Day.
