Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Sprit of Christmas award

Sandy over at Falling Like Rain gave me a Spirit of Christmas award. But she is really the one with the right spirit, as you can see if you stop by to read her post Perfecting Christmas.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I just don't get upset about having a perfect Christmas anymore. There are really just a few things I need:

- My family around me - husband and kids, and as much extended family as practical.

- Ingredients and ability to make a few holiday treats, like pumpkin bread and cranberry cheesecake bars... This year I may try my hand at English toffee again. It was always too damp in Oregon to make it work.

- My favorite Christmas music.

- A few good Christmas books, beginning with A Christmas Carol. We have started a tradition with Dad reading this aloud to all of us. Don't assume your kids are too young for it. Mine started hearing it around age 6. I think I'll look for the Mr. Magoo version on DVD at the library...

- The Nutcracker, in one form or another. This year, it'll be on DVD and CD. A live performance, maybe next year.

- A tree, maybe. I think I could live without the tree. For many years when I was single, my only decoration was an ornament bowl. Just a crystal bowl my uncle had sent me from Germany, filled with some sequin-and-bead ornaments I'd made, mixed with standard glass balls. I usually do some form of that every year now, along with the tree and the greenery and the wreaths and...

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