December 1st

 

Well, it begins…….  Today is the first day of December and that means that the holiday season has begun around here.   We anticipate this day for weeks – happily discussing which ‘Christmas’ movie we will watch first or when we will set up the Winter Village or ……

The Grinch

This weekend, my Foster Grandson is here so he will get to join us in our fun.   We had already decided that the first celebratory event on December 1st would be watching the Jim Carrey movie “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” – a hilarious version of the classic animated children’s movie “How The Grinch Stole Christmas “.  Jim Carrey play’s the Grinch, with all his awesome disgustingness, perfectly …….. and Little Cindy Lou Who’s song “Where are You Christmas” always leaves a lump in my throat.  It’s actually a pretty accurate satirical look at our modern  society:  how ‘unique’ and different people are treated so poorly;  how mean and cruel some people can be;   how many people see  Christmas as a commercialized, shopping, gift-giving frenzy;  and in the end how everything can be okay by giving,  love, and acceptance.  Good triumphing over Evil!  You would not believe how many quotes my grown kids know from that movie and repeat them at convenient times in other situations lol!  In fact, it’s hard to watch a movie around here without someone quoting their favourite parts as we watch.  Don’t worry, we will be watching this movie several times in the next month…..

Today I will also be hanging up the grapevine wreaths on the front porch posts.  I made them over 30 years ago with vines I found around the area and just tied them together by winding  red and blue yarn (that’s all I had) around.  They’re not fancy or anything, just part of our tradition.  It’s  -10C (14F) plus wind chill so I won’t be outside too long!!

Grapevine Wreaths

I have some Rubbermaid containers in the furnace room with all the Christmas stuff in them.   One contains all the decorations and lights for the Christmas tree, so it can stay downstairs for now since we’re not getting our tree for a couple of weeks.   Another container holds the Winter/Christmas Village.  Last year, I set up my Winter Village when my son Melvin was at school.  He said that it was not fair and I had ruined the tradition!!  So this year, we will be setting up the village together…….  What the kids, both my grown kids and my grandchildren, like to do the best is play with the village ‘people’ and animals.  We have a little frog which is completely out of scale, who sits under the bridge.   I’ve walked past on occasion to find a village ‘person’ in the frogs mouth…… And the small, ceramic killer whale who swims on top of the ice (a mirror) seems bizarre but traditionally, he’s part of the village too.  But the tiny, metal Star Wars Stormtroopers hiding behind the Church are the cream of the crop!    The main Village square seems full of life and activity with people skating on the pond and others around the bonfire (I made this piece with some little stones from the driveway glued together in a circle with little sticks and  crepe paper flames in the middle).   It’s looks so nice at night when the little nightlight bulbs inside the buildings are lit up.  Last year, we had trouble keeping all the village people standing in place because our kitten thought that the ‘snow’ was a wonderful place to sleep!  I expect that he’ll do the same thing this year too.

Some other house decorations are stored in another Rubbermaid container.  Some of my favourites are:

a)  My son Marty’s candle with holder he made in Scouts.  The holder is  half of a birchbark log and a red candle sticks in a hole drilled in the top.  Marty decorated it abit when he made it many years ago, but they’ve mostly fallen off now.  I still put this treasure on the back of my toilet tank where it’s guaranteed to be seen by everyone!

b)  The Nativity Scene made by Kristi, Marty, and Nellie.  The Manger is cardboard with a roof covered in straw (mostly gone now).  Mary and Joseph have little playdough heads with cardboard ‘funnel’ bodies and swatches of material for cloaks.  Little Baby Jesus is a kleenex tied at the neck with marker eyes  in a half walnut shell.   It really is SO cute….. albeit ‘rustic’.

c)  a large, stuffed, patchwork cloth  wreath my sister Betty got me almost 40 years ago.  I always hang this on the inside of my front door.

d)  very old felt poinsettias from the 1940s that were my in-laws.  The price tag is still attached to the back:   “Woolworths 79 cents”  lol

e)  the vintage stuffed Garfield and Odie collection:  Santa Garfield, Angel Garfield, Rudolph Odie, etc –  these small stuffed animals are only brought out at Christmastime.  My kids always enjoyed playing with them like they were brand new and now so do my grandkids.

f)  Stockings – there are 12 permanent hooks on the wall behind my cookstove and every one of them will be taken up by a Christmas stocking!  I’m very fortunate to have a very talented sister-in-law, Debbie who skillfully knit every stocking for each of my seven children with their name knitted in.  The other decorative stockings are for myself, Chris, Grandkids, and pets.  My grown children who will be sleeping here on Christmas Eve still like to find a stocking on Christmas morning full of goodies.  I think Marty’s the most excited when he’s here because he  still wakes everyone up at 6 a.m.!

I know it will actually take the whole week to get things out but that’s the fun of it ……… so I’d better get going!