I enjoyed looking at our decorations more this year than I have in a long time. I took delight in standing back to observe the Christmas tree—the ugly ornaments would have been too obvious had I stood closer. The elf shrine was lit up day and night. One of my last decorating efforts was the hall wall. I loved how that turned out. Adding gingerbread cookie cutter lights to a shelf was icing on the cake.
I continued with festive activities well after December 25th, doing a number of Christmas puzzles and starting to piece a Christmas quilt. The colors of this fabric make me happy every time I look at them.
A friend gave me a boxful of children’s books published in the 40s. Among them, I found a book of Christmas stories—a compilation of the editor’s favorite tales of the season from days gone by. This turned out to be an unusual find. Evidently, it was popular to take what we know of Christmas from the Bible and expand on the characters. What if there were really four Wise Men and one was too late to join the caravan? What must the romance between Joseph and Mary have been like? My favorite is about a lame, leper boy healed by the baby Jesus’ touch. There are secular stories as well, including the short version of A Christmas Carol Charles Dickens read to audiences. I read Dickens’ classic every year, note my well-worn copy currently supporting a nativity of mice. I also enjoy a short children’s book called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. That book is hilarious. It never fails to make me laugh.
But it’s time to move on to 2019. The Christmas tree was dry; we had to take it down. I was surprised to find this unique ornament arrangement compliments of my youngest son. I need to keep an eye on that boy or he’ll have ornaments hooked together from the top to the bottom of next year’s tree. Other decorations will be packed up shortly, even the doll’s. They got new cushions for their wicker furniture and a new rug in time for the holidays. I really enjoyed adding seasonal items to their little desk.
I’m reluctant to let this holiday season go, so I’ll need to focus on the next one. A shopping excursion to Hobby Lobby turned up a number of Valentine’s Day finds, including two llamas—one of my granddaughter’s absolute favorite animals.
Visions of hearts and flowers are already dancing in my head.