Christmas come-and-gone

I really can't believe how fast Christmas comes and goes. It seems there's always a mad-dash to get things done (shopping, baking, cleaning, cards), that I'm exhausted by the time Christmas Day hits.

This year we seemed to do things in record time. Our mountain of gifts were unwrapped by morning coffee (10ish), and we devoured Christmas dinner by 1:30. And before you know it, it's back to work I go. Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining. It was fun spending time with family, playing games, eating (because a lot of our traditions seem to be related to food, my favourite being the birthday cake for Jesus - a seven layer white cake with delicious chocolate icing!). I just wish time didn't pass so fast!

I also wish the lead-up to Christmas wasn't so frenetic.

Every year I make a resolution to not wait until the last minute to do my Christmas shopping, and most years this resolution goes out the window as I realise I have most of my shoppings to do a week before Christmas! But here it goes again, since it's nearly New Year's, I will make a resolution to have all my gifts ready/purchased before Advent 2008! That's before the first week of December. And since I'm making resolutions, I'm also going to resolve to make more gifts next year. I think I'm up for it, and my wallet could really use the reprieve.

Shop 'til you drop

'Tis the season, afterall.

This is what I like the least about Christmas. Not the shopping as such, but the mad dash, the line-ups, the impulse buys, the over-the-top Christmas displays (aisles and aisles of Christmas decorations etc.), and all the stuff to buy buy buy.

I actaully enjoy shopping for gifts. It takes a little prodding (maybe a little begging) to find out what people want + a little careful consideration, but in the end, I think I usually hit the mark.

What I don't like are gift certificates for Christmas. Don't get me wrong - I LOVE gift certificates, and there is a right time/place for them and I'm more than happy to give them when their asked for. But Christmas is about the act of gift-giving - it's a celebration of the greatest gift of all! ... And the last thing I want to do AFTER Christmas is to go back to the stores, face the crowds again, and spend more money. What I find about gift certificates is that you never just spend the value of the gift certificate; you almost always put it towards something more expensive and put down your own money for the balance. So -- just like the stores want you to -- you spend even more money after Christmas.

I would be lying if I said I didn't want gifts at Christmas. I do. But only because of the fun of watching people open their gifts, their reactions, and the madness of paper + dogs + people that usually ensues. Not to mention the family time. Someone inevitably will get a movie that'll we'll all watch as a family, or get a game that we'll play, or get a puzzle that'll will become a project to work on, and in the quiet times, we'll all find our own corner and read our new books or play with our new trinkets. You don't often find people sitting in a quiet corner relaxing after a chaotic day with their new giftcard.

So gifts are an important part of our Christmas traditions (in my family anyway), and I think it'd be unrealistic to expect anything different.

Christmas baking!

Cranberry-Orange scones - delicious! But they won't last until Christmas so they can't really count as Christmas baking.


Chocolate-Mint sugar cookies - not so delicious. These look better than they taste. I'm actually disappointed with them, they're too cakey and not very flavourful. And for the amount of effort that goes into them, not really worth it.

Let it snow!

Oh the weather outside is frightful
...thank goodness for Michelin tires to get me home!

But the fire is so delightful
...as is my beautifully decorated mini-tree.

And since I've no place to go!
...because French class has been cancelled.

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!
...Bring it on!