Sunday, December 4, 2011

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

This is a little late but, Advent is here! Hooray! My mother-in-law sent me her extra Advent ring, so we finally have an Advent wreath on the table. Ok, it’s more of an Advent plate with silvery white Christmas ball ornaments covering up the ring. Is that allowed? Are there rules about having greenery around the candles?

Husband and I met up with a couple with whom we’re friends on Saturday to watch their town’s Scottish Christmas walk. It’s such a cute parade! There are clans that march in their tartans; dog clubs and rescue groups walking Scotties, Westies, Scottish Deerhounds, and all sorts of breeds, lots of them dressed up in Christmas garb; and of course, lots of bagpipers and drummers! It was so much fun. We followed this Scottish celebration up as one should, with some delicious, fried fish and chips for lunch, and then we bought a bay wreath with fresh heather for the front door.

The day ended with a purchase of our first live Christmas tree! We’ve had a very small, fake tree every year since we got married, but now that we’re in a large condo, we were able to upgrade. It’s still not a large tree by any means, but it’s big enough to hold all of my ornaments. In addition to the random ornaments that one accrues over a lifetime, I have the collection of ornaments that my mother has given me. She buys everyone in our family an ornament every year, and when I moved out of the house, she packaged mine up for me, so we’ve got quite a few! I love decorating the tree. It’s like a walk down memory lane. The pig from the year I waitressed at a BBQ restaurant, piano from the year that I took lessons, and the bag of Ber.tie Bott’s Ev.ery Fla.vor Beans from when the first H.arry Pott.er film came out. It’s impossible to pick a favorite.

I think we are now quite prepared for the coming season; we've decorated the tree, put out the Nativity set, and added a healthy (but tasteful, I assure you) smattering of Christmas decorations. I think I'm going to bake cookies next weekend. Wow, I can't wait! I forget sometimes how much I enjoy this season of the year. Happy Advent to you!

-January

4 comments:

  1. I love decorating for Christmas!! I have our tree up but since we've been busy I haven't been able to do the rest...soon though!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the smell of a fresh Christmas Tree! And Christmas Cookies! :-)
    The Scottish Parade you watched sounds so fun! I've never heard of this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. So far we only have our nativity scene up, but L keeps stealing the sheep :)
    Novie

    ReplyDelete