Graham and I went back and forth on whether or not to get a Christmas tree this year--we've been really busy lately, and we'll be in Madison the week between Christmas and New Year's, so we weren't sure it was worth it--but the Christmas Spirit finally got the best of us yesterday, and we couldn't resist any longer.The tipping point for me was that we're having our Game Night crew over on Friday (Kate and Melissa will be in town--yay!), and somehow it just doesn't seem right to entertain this time of year and not decorate. Plus, we live just a few blocks from Dunshee House (home of Seattle AIDS Support Group), which sells local Christmas trees for their annual fundraiser, so it was easy and a good cause!
Yesterday was a great day all around, actually. We hosted a Bagel Brunch for the Seattle Crew (with Oliver's presence, followed closely by baby Lyla's, being my favorite parts, of course), did some planning for our trip home, took a nap, got our Christmas tree around 4:30, and then spent the rest of the night decorating our house for the holiday.
We turned the fire on, I broke out my eclectic Christmas CDs (Manheim Steamroller, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Tchaikovsky's Nutracker Suite, Jewel's Christmas, Handel's Messiah, Noel Chant, etc.), and we went through our entire Christmas box. We haven't decorated for Christmas since I moved to Seattle--and I can't remember now if Melissa and I had a tree in DC--so it's been at least three, probably four or five, years since I last looked through all my Christmas stuff.
It was so fun to see everything! There's the purple stocking I made for Graham (impressive, since I can't sew) and the stocking I bought for myself in Bolivia, the advent calendar that Lucy and Susanne made me (the window for the 15th said: "This rose has died for the winter. ~A Deep Thought by Lucy Benton"), my awesome collection of reindeer ornaments (I have at least 20), the pop-up-book advent calendar my Mom gave me (if you lift the chimney, the star on the Christmas tree lights up and "Silent Night" plays), the cute little tree skirt Susan made us, many many strands of icicle lights (remember when those were all the rage?), my star w/rings advent calendar from my Dad's house ("Each day after my story is read, I'll take off one ring and climb into bed. When only the star is left to shine, then I'll know it's Christmas time."), all the ornaments with dates on them (Meritz 1998, ABC 1998, Food & Friends 2003, '04, '05 and '06, etc.) and Graham's odd assortment of ornaments (the ones I got him during his "I like purple shiny things" phase, the beautiful ones KA made him, and the collection of snowmen he didn't realize he had (seriously, there are like 15 of them, how can you not notice that?!).
Graham spent hours untangling lights (a true Christmas tradition), and I spent hours finding the just the right spot for each ornament (a true OCD Sarah tradition). And when G got tired of my Christmas music, we watched parts of "All The President's Men" and "Die Hard 4" (parts, because the TiVo kept cutting them off after 1.5 hours!) ...
All in all, it was a perfect way to celebrate our one-year anniversary as home owners. :)
Merry Christmas, everybody!
10 comments:
Very sweet, Elf SKBK.
No offense taken. I have a childhood fondness for certain cultural traditions that could be marginally construed as Christian, but no, I wouldn't say I'm Christian in a religious sense. Why?
Damn, old man Josh, why you gotta hate on Christmas?
Sounds totally awesome! I can't wait to see it all.
I can't speak for other fake Christians, but I like Christmas because it's a time for my family to gather together, relax, eat yummy food, play games, exchange gifts and just generally enjoy each others' company.
Christmas trees, ornaments, lights, stockings, Santa Claus, advent calendars, reindeer, stars, angels, snowflakes, Frosty the Snowman, greeting cards (especially ones with photos of cute babies;), Christmas Cookies, the Nutcracker Suite, Christmas carols, candles--these are some of the cultural artifacts that remind me of Christmas and make me happy.
I know that many of those symbols and rituals have roots in Christian religious traditions, but because I grew up with them, I feel comfortable celebrating them, even though Jesus being born in a manger with three kings bringing gifts, etc. is just a story for me.
Don't listen to Old Man Josh. I love Christmas time. I love the music. I love it when cities get spruced up. I love it when families decorate their homes. So there you, go: put me down as another person who loves Christmas... just not the religious aspect of it.
For me, it's a yuletide celebration.
Love your tree, SKBK.
And it was a fine question, too. I didnt think it was old man Joshy at all...
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