Each year I put myself under so much (unnecessary) pressure to live up to the imaginary expectations of others as I expect many of you reading this do. Now the thing is my husband and son love Christmas. Every December we have to retrieve at least 10 black bin liners down from the loft - and that is just the bags that contain the tree! The tree is an ex-display model and each layer of branches have to be assembled individually. The branches are even colour coded as there are so many!!! Anyway, I leave them to put up the humongous tree and faff about with the 3 sets of 100's of lights entwined around it.
In stark contrast to this is my tree which is just a couple of feet high. I put this one up all by myself. It sits with me in the dining room and takes all of 10 minutes to assemble and decorate. Adorned with red and gold baubles and a set of battery operated lights, a dull corner is transformed. Just so I retain a sense of humour and perspective over the holiday period I put my smiling nude angel on the top complete with a golden bird. This little tree is funny and humble. I hope I can take some of those qualities and apply it to myself over this festive season.
Talking of funny (and I mean funny peculiar and not funny ha ha now) in this unseasonably warm December we are having - today I spotted a bee in the garden collecting nectar from a flowering heather plant! Everything seems so topsy turvy. I guess we shouldn't be surprised if we see snow in the Summer time!
Size doesn;'t matter they say! We have a very small tree and last year I got rid of half the box of decorations as we didn't need them all. The lights have gone and we now just have the ones given by friends or which have some significance. Christmas should be just however you like though I can see that might be difficult if you want one thing and your husband and son want another!! Many thanks for your card - a letter is in the post to you.
ReplyDeleteWe have a tree like that too which is labelled with colours and I leave it to my husband to put up but I do the decorating, I'm a bit of a control freak re the decorating ! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoy your little tree though!
Well I don't want snow in summer but the warmer weather sure makes this time of year easier to get through.
V x
That's not good news about the poor bee, this weather is throwing everything off kilter! I hope you enjoy your Christmas in your way, that's all that matters really xx
ReplyDeleteWe are down to a table tree- two parts and pre-lit!! It goes up very quickly, and we'll decorate when our daughter comes home tomorrow. Loved this post, Simone! There is always humor if we only look for it! xx
ReplyDeleteOur tree this year has just lights and and the angel.
ReplyDeleteJulie xxxxxxx
That smiling nude angel knows best,
ReplyDeleteThere's no need for a thermal vest!
xx
We've put out our small tree this year and left the big one and most of the decorations in the bag. I love your little tree with the angel on top and I'm sure you will smile every time you see it. We have a dandelion coming into flower in our garden - very odd indeed:)
ReplyDeleteOur son arrives today with his (girl) friend and we'll be tromping into the woods across the road, despite the mud this year, to cut our tree. Then together we'll dress it for the holidays and spend a few short precious days together. Tonight we see the new Star Wars movie, some of us for the second time, and relive our earlier years when Star Wars first impacted us all.
ReplyDeleteWe'll try to have a solstice bon fire but it's pretty wet outside and the forecast is for freezing drizzle. Not the best weather for a roaring outdoor fire while sipping cups of steaming cocoa. Fire or not, I'll bring out the fruits I froze last summer to celebrate the return of the sun and the promise of sunny, warm days.
I especially love decorating for the season, and giving gifts to those I love, but I try to remember that Christmas is an ember within and sharing that light is what brightens the world around us.
Keep the humor and the joy in the days ahead, Simone.
I love little trees!! And it is always good to look for the humour in any situation :) As for the weather....it is strangely mild here too, and we have narcissi flowering in the garden....but I like not being too cold!
ReplyDeleteHelen xox
Glad you get your own fun tree, Simone! I don't do much decorating for Christmas. Just a little bit is fine with me.
ReplyDeleteWe were having unusually warm weather here, too, but yesterday we got a big snowstorm. I'm liking the fact that it finally looks and feels like winter. As much as I love the other seasons, this year I'm not in a hurry to move on. Maybe it was our long, warm autumn?
Sending some wintery thoughts your way. :)