So This is Christmas...

Mary wrote a lovely post about choosing a day or two ago. It really connected with me. There have been times in my life when I have had to choose the good, the happy, the beautiful over others things, feelings, people who are the opposite. Though I firmly believe that there are times when you have to let some things simply be, wash over you from head to toe until you are drained and empty. More often than not, though, I choose to be happy.

This time of year I am choosing to find the lovely bits of Christmas that drown out the commercialism and the busyness of the season. A few of my favorite Christmas things:

Setting up the creche with the children. They always put poor Joseph in the back. This year he was accidentally decapitated. Thank goodness for super glue.

Supervising the hanging of our odd assorment of homemade ornaments, store bought goods and candy canes, most of them clumped together in various spots on the tree.

Scraping the pot of the leftover bits of fudge and spooning them into my mouth. It is the same fudge recipe my mother used when I was little, found on the back of the marshmallow creme jar.

Counting down the days with two very eager children.

Reading "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" so many times I have it memorized.

Singing Christmas Carols in the car. Every day. Every trip. Everywhere.

Cards coming in the mail. A daily reminder that I MUST get ours done and mailed.

Hiding Santa stuff in the attic, the closet, the cupboards. Knowing that, a little sadly, this might be the last year the seven-almost-eight year old "believes." He's asking some very tough questions about the "science" behind this whole Santa gig. "Yes. Well how do we know about Rudolph if no one has ever seen him?" and "How does Santa get into the houses with no chimneys?"

Reminiscing about Christmases past with brother, sister, parents. My siblings used to ask me if I could hear the reindeer on the roof. Which meant I was too excited to sleep by far. Were those reindoor hooves I heard?

Looking forward to all the Christmas treats to be had at the parties. Those delicious party foods you only get to sample a few times a year.

The gaudy Christmas sweater with glued on stars, sprinkles and beads. Only time of year I'd ever wear something like it.