Thursday 17 December 2009

Slow Christmas..................

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I'm not one for rushing around, but especially so at Christmas - I refuse to be caught up in the rush and hurry, the greediness, the fraught "shopping" binges, the perceived pressure, the competitiveness of it all...........So, here we are at the 16th December, and it's time to start the preparations for next week - ample time in my book, it's the way we like it. I have bought most of the presents, and made the cake and Christmas pudding and mincemeat, but that's it. This afternoon is devoted to making the cards and writing them, along with the annual letter for those we don't see/speak to often. I'll make the front door wreath too, and probably get the cranberry sauce made. Tomorrow I'll be sorting out the decorations for the house - MrL has got the box down from the loft so I can go through them at my leisure; we'll get a tree at the weekend. By the end of the weekend, the house will be decorated, and the wrapping and posting done, preparations for food and drink will be well in hand by then too.
I refuse to rush, to spoil what for me is a big part of it all- the making, the talking to friends, watching the sky for snow ( we had a bit yesterday!), sharing, taking time to enjoy it all, not just the three days holiday. I enjoy taking time to wrap up and wander around the garden for my own greenery - although I did buy a lovely big piece of mistletoe at the market - and use that; find ourselves a Yule log too, in the woods and bring it on home; take time with a hot drink or two to wrap presents and write cards, enjoying the process, not just the results, which is what life should be about really.
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6 comments:

Willow said...

Your post is so well timed Mrs L ... and it's made me *slow down*!! I could feel that sense of panic - with so many things still to be done .... but now, all is calm!

Hope you're still on the mend.

Willow x

Carolyn said...

We're enjoying slow christmas preparations here too! Glad to hear you sounding so cheerful xx

Oddny said...

Lovely to have you back, and, as Tea with Willow says, with such a timely post. xx

aromatic said...

Welcome home! Hope you are feeling better now?
Here! Here! to a very well written post!!
My Christmas this year is going to be very different due to the recent loss of my Mum and so our normal Christmas preparations have been greatly reduced this year and in some ways its been nice to step out of the normal hustle and bustle.....

MrsL said...

It's nice to be back! I think it's a good thing to be adaptable at Christmas, as sticking too rigidly to ideas and ways can lead to disappointment and frustration. There's a lot can happen one year to the next, and things are often very different from the Christmas before, so adaptability and the art of letting go what you can't change, or to accept the differences can make all the difference.


Big hug for you aromatic, you've been in my thoughts.

MrsL

xx

Anonymous said...

still enjoying all the preparation here :)