CHRISTMAS

Here is the last page of my calendar.  It's sort of sad to see this year end.  But I have plans for something new next year which I think you'll like.

I was going to talk about tea, but I did that earlier in the year, so I thought I'd give you ten facts about my Christmas -- past and present.

1.  As a child we always got a live Christmas tree.  It was set up on our large enclosed front porch on a huge wooden platform that had a Christmas village.  The tree was always growing out of a mountain made of rock colored paper.  The village had a train that ran around the whole thing and had houses, a farm with animals, police station, school, train station, people, cars, trucks, roads.  Just everything you can imagine.  My sister and I loved playing with it even though we had to put on our coats to sit out there because there was no heat.

2.  Although we picked out our tree, it was never decorated until Santa came on Christmas Eve.  We would set up the tree, but he would decorate it to surprise us on Christmas morning.

3.  My senior year of high school I got a wicked stomach virus for Christmas.  (This was my most memorable, but not favorite, gift.)  I was so sick I thought I was going to die.  My girlfriend gave me a box of chocolate covered cherries as a gift.  I took one look at it and threw up.  To this day I hate chocolate covered cherries.

4.  Ever since Joe and I have been married I have decorated the tree differently each year.  Sometimes I have all cats and bears.  Sometimes all balls.  Two years ago I did it in turquoise and silver.  Last year was mauve and silver.  This year I think I will look for my vintage ornaments and do it in that.

5.  Every year I go to my sister's house for Christmas.  Most years I go up on Christmas Eve and if I have the day off I stay till the day after Christmas.  I love going to my sister's church on Christmas Eve because the service is so beautiful.  They have different choirs and a bell choir and so many people.  At the end of the service everyone stands in a circle with a lit candle and we sing "Silent Night."  This year, however, Joe is preaching on Christmas Eve so we will be going to our own church.  I have to work the day after Christmas so we are going up there just for Christmas Day.  It will be different, but at least we will be together and that is what counts.

6.  As teenagers, our Christmas tree had been moved into the living room.  Elaine decorated one side of the tree, and I decorated the other.  Funny thing about it is all my gifts were put on the side of the tree Elaine decorated and all her gifts were put on the side I decorated.  I never quite figured that one out.

7.  We have Christmas crackers every year for Christmas dinner.  They are cardboard tubes that pop when you pull the ends.  Inside are paper crowns or hats that you wear while eating dinner, a silly toy and an even sillier joke.  It's a tradition in England and we love it.  After I got married, we got Joe in on it too and now he looks forward to it as well.  Elaine usually gets her crackers imported from England.

8.  Another Christmas tradition is to have a plate of crackers and brie cheese in the afternoon on Christmas day.  Yum!

9.  I have a lot of Christmas Cherished Teddies that are placed all around the house.  It's almost a game to see how many you can find.

10.  I'm usually still wrapping gifts  5 minutes before I leave to go to my sister's.  I hate wrapping gifts and love it that now there are gift bags I can just slip things into.

Whew!  I didn't realize how hard it would be to come up with ten things, but I did.  Hope your Christmas preparations are coming along just fine!