After Thanksgiving I dragged all, or at least I thought all, of the Christmas boxes out of the garage because I had a cousin gift that I wanted Ian’s parents to post. I searched the boxes several times but it was only days later that I remembered we had a sixth slightly smaller box and of course that was where the angel chimes were packed.
I needed the boxes out anyway for GG’s advent “knitting” – the beautiful embroidery that took her so many years with failing eyes after my birth that it was finished just as Melanie was born. But other than the knitting I really needed nothing else out of the boxes for ages, but of course I didn’t put them away and they’ve been regularly raided throughout December.
Norman got his Christmas hat.
Ian and Oriana went and bought a tree. The weather was awful.
Though possibly still needing to improve her design sense, Oriana is a champion decorator with more stamina than any of us, even returning in her nightie to keep up the good work.
Ruth was more careful.
And then it was finished and we just sort of stopped. There were so many boxes around and so much clutter and the ironing board lost in the middle of it all and so many events at school that I rather lost the will to live and abandoned it all.
And then there were the Christmas cards to devise, create, write and despatch.
And finally we got our collective acts together and started decorating. Perhaps we were inspired by our pretty little very subtle coloured lights exploding on the tree. Fortunately the different strings all run throughout the tree so we weren’t left with a bare unlit spot.
Oriana put stars all over.
I found a way to make the mantle a little less heavy and dull.
Ian unleashed his creative flare and got to put his extra long ladder to use.
And now we’re done. Christmas boxes are back in the garage and Amazon boxes have taken their space. We’re getting the hang of decorating this huge space. Merry Christmas everyone.
