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Because I’m nothing if not helpful.
😈
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Who wouldn’t want to find a few of those under the tree this year?
Besides me…
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This makes me glad I don’t do jigsaw puzzles.
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I do believe that’s one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. No one needs to be that cute.
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I can easily see myself wearing one of these after my husband passes and I become the crazy old lady.
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Fess up men.
I know you’re secretly dying to jingle….
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Since we’re in the middle of renovations, Christmas decorations in the house are minimal this year. I can’t wrangle a firm date from our contractor on the flooring replacement so we don’t even have a tree. I refuse to put one up only to take it down days later.
But…
The man cave/Barn Mahal is wide open.
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So I had some fun out there.
Mini trees with white lights..
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A pinecone reindeer.
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And a few festive placemats on the bar.
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Some baubles in front of the kegerator.
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The occasional Santa and stars…
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And a few bundled up winter birds.
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Make the husband’s lair feel festive.
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😊
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Here are a few tidbits worth sharing from my great…. but admittedly slightly weird, state.
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For anyone who has ever been north of Bangor, this is not a surprise.
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I’ve been north of Bangor.
It’s easy to do.
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Take a chair, give a chair?
Interesting concept.
Christmas can look a little different up here as well. Northern Maine is potato country…. and in Aroostock county?
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Potatoes take center stage.
Farther south? It’s all about the lobster and trees are made out of buoys….
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As well as traps.
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Santa?
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He arrives on a lobster boat, with an extra large lobster riding shotgun.
😊
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It’s another Christmas question, so try to get your jolly on.
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When I was a teenager my mother had a close friend she insisted I call aunt though we weren’t related . She was a career woman when women didn’t have careers and rose to a senior position with Time/Life. A wealthy widow with two grown sons, she was extremely intelligent and quite eccentric.
To be honest, she was loaded. Both financially and physically… the old gal liked her scotch.
Having New England roots she was also tight as a tick when it came to spending money. The electric bill could sour her mood for days and she wore clothes that were so threadbare the moths didn’t even bother nibbling. She constantly added milk to chowder to stretch it’s longevity and only went out to dinner if someone else was paying. She cut her own hair, never bought a new car and had drawers full of used tin foil. When she retired she had money enough to travel the world but chose to sit home and clip coupons, waiting for hamburger to go on sale.
But when it came to Christmas? That’s when she really outdid herself. Presents were wrapped in newspaper with leftover butcher’s twine for ribbon. She thought it was fun to give dozens of gifts and watch you squeal with delight when you opened them. Problem was … there was never anything worth squealing about. Quantity not quality made her happy.
Over the years I received toilet paper, toothpaste, tiny bars of soap and shampoo as well as plastic ice buckets. All of which she lifted from various hotel rooms. She traveled a lot for work and the woman never passed up a freebie. I had to say thank you for swizzle sticks, matchbooks and little paper umbrellas. Have you ever pretended to be over joyed with ketchup packets and those little square jelly containers? Trust me, it’s not easy.
So in answer to the question … the weirdest Xmas gift I’ve ever received?
A matching set of barf bags from TWA.
Festively wrapped in the New York Times and the envy of all my friends.
How about you?
What bizarre gifts have you received….
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Wondering what to stuff in your special guy’s stocking this Christmas?
Facebook has the answer.
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This is sexist.
I’d be fine with a car that smells like bacon.
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It never hurts to be prepared.
Last, and most certainly least…
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You’re welcome.
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I’m running out of reasons, just do it.
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I used to adore Christmas and everything about it. I decorated everything that stood still, cooked huge meals, bought carloads of gifts and wrote so many cards my fingers cramped.
Over the years our celebrations have gotten smaller and quieter. No more big get togethers, less decorating, no rampant overspending. And that’s fine.
I’ve gotten to the age where very little of it matters anymore and though at times I miss the fun… more often than not the holiday itself makes me sad, missing those no longer with us. Five of our yearly family guests are gone now, we lost two just this summer. Death is a part of life, yes. But it makes for a very empty table.
Okay, that was depressing .… back to the question.
Favorite traditions:
When I was a child …
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A wee bit older than that, it was spending the day in NYC with my father. Every year he took me to his office where all the partners gave me little gifts. We ate lunch at the Bankers Club at 120 Broadway where he snuck me into the gentlemen only grill room. Even my mother hadn’t been there. The Rockefeller Center ice rink, Fifth Avenue shop windows, FAO Schwartz, the glorious tree. New York is a magical place for a child that time of year and I have lovely memories.
Years later when I married my husband? Hunting for and cutting down a tree. It has to be full, fat and perfect, as well as too big for the living room.
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Snuggling on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate watching It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s not Christmas without Jimmy Stewart.
Driving around town on Xmas Eve looking at lights and eating Chinese food … because I need a break from the kitchen and it’s always the only thing open.
How about you?
What’s your favorite Christmas tradition…
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Since I hadn’t heavily decorated the inside of our house for the holidays in a few years… I’d forgotten what a time sucking nightmare it was to put everything away.
Three days after I started…
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With help from Lord Dudley Mountcatten…. I was done.
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And after buying a fresh cut ( I use that term loosely) tree from a roadside stand instead of cutting our own as we usually do, I’m seriously cursing needle drop again.
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While I do love a real Christmas tree…
( Note the lack of snow and abundance of green grass in our yard. In Maine. In January! 😠 )
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I do not love clogging up my vacuum with 20lbs of dry needle droppings. Though I have to admit, it does smell wonderful.
How about you?
Are you de-Christmased yet?
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Wishing all my blog friends, near and far, a very Merry Christmas.
And in case you get thirsty after opening all those gifts?
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Cheers!
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As you’re busy planning your holiday party and dinner feasts, be thankful you don’t live in one of these decades.
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Sorry, but that looks like a giant molded turd.
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Bizarre, and more than a little unappetizing.
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To this monstrosity I just say… no.
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My mother in law was the queen of ambrosia. She brought it to every gathering and pot luck. The fact that no one ate it never dissuaded her.
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We had a group of friends who regifted the same fruitcake nine Christmases in a row. Who knows… it may be circulating still.
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Since 2014, I haven’t done much holiday decorating. My mother adored our house when it was decked out in red, green and gold, but the year she died my heart just wasn’t in it. The following year we started traveling for Christmas… a different destination each time… and there didn’t seem to be any reason to decorate an empty house.
It doesn’t look like we’ll be hitting the road in 2022 and after hearing how much the neighbors missed our displays, I caved and decided to put out a few things to get into the spirit. Wreaths on the windows and doors, white candles and snowflake lights, a lighted deer and tree on the front lawn.
Outdoor finished, I only planned on dressing up the tables. Dining room with Charlie Brown Christmas tree….
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And kitchen with mini tree and snowmen salt and pepper shakers.
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I thought I was done, but I bought a poinsettia.
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And then I thought why not put that garland with the pinecone lights on the kitchen shelf? And while you’re at it add a few reindeer.
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And if I dragged that garland out, I might as well decorate the mantle too.
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And if I did the mantle, I should probably do the hearth.
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So much for just a little decorating.
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A snowman Christmas card box, a few randomly scattered reindeer, tea towels in the guest bathroom, a red jingle bell heart wreath on the kitchen door and I was finished. Yes. Definitely.
Well, except for my line of rampaging, pitchfork wielding snowmen.
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But that was it, really… I was done. Until the husband walked in, looked around and said now we need a tree.
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Lord Dudley Mountcatten was ready.
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But once the tree was in the house … I began to worry.
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Please note the little devil is literally licking his lips. That can’t be good.
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Shiny colored balls? Please mom, hang them now!
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Alternating white, red and green lights. Alternating garlands of gold leaves and weeds. Red, green and gold ornaments, a star on the top and it was done.
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I can’t swear to it … but I think Lord Dudley was waiting for us to go to bed.
Day tree –
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Night tree-
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Decorating the tree this way takes a lot of time and effort. But I’m always pleased with the results…
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The problem is…
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So is Lord Dudley.
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And now I’m wondering if I can stay awake every night until the New Year when it’s time to take it down.
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River's world..... 