After checking out a few excellent Christmas books at my beloved library to enjoy this season (and not all of them for adult readers either!), picking up some delicious stuffed-crust carry out pizza, watching a couple episodes of Parenthood (our new addiction), and playing a few rounds of Wheel of Fortune on the Wii on Friday night, I hunkered down on the rug beneath the twinkling blue and white lights of our Christmas tree, swaddled myself in my favorite cozy blanket with a toasty and relaxing lavender hot wrap around the back of my neck, a plate of cranberry orange bread, and a steaming mug of hot tea nearby, and dug into a Christmastime mystery novel that takes place in a NYC bookshop. As far as chilly Friday nights go, I would call this winning. It’s in these moments of quiet reflection that I look around and remember how thankful I am to live in a home full of love – warm, safe, healthy, and dry – with a roof over my head, food to eat, a job I love, and a family I love even more. Things aren’t always easy, but the abundance of blessings never cease to amaze me.
On Saturday we visited a Christmas festival packed with gorgeous wreaths, freshly-cut trees, glittery ornament making stations, a lights & sound display, model train exhibit, and petting zoo of sweet animals. Ted most appreciated the model trains and I could have pet the alpacas all day. After our fill of free merriment we took off for an outdoor Christmas celebration of more of the same plus a toasty fire, hot drinking chocolate, some business-to-business carolers, and local shop browsing in the South Wedge. It’s always nice to just, simply, enjoy the season together. A hand-in-hand walk in the chilly air bundled in warm coats, the refreshing smell of pine, a free sample of drinking chocolate, an earful of carolers…it doesn’t have to cost much, or anything at all, to enjoy being together this season.
The rest of our evening wasn’t quite as great as we’d hoped when an unexpected surprise came our way, but as always, we found ourselves simply thankful to be safe and healthy and together. To make up for the chaos and frustration of a less than ideal evening, we made some comfort food – chicken pot pies with tall glasses of milk and wine, checked into our pajamas, bundled up in blankets, turned on The Incredibles, and promptly fell asleep in the living room for some much-needed rest.
In the coming weeks we are looking forward to more holiday merriment – enjoying a few drive-in or walk-around light displays, a small handful of Christmas parties with friends and co-workers, calling our families often, some cookie baking and milk drinking, eyeing pretty holiday crafts and ornaments, sending and receiving holiday cards, taking whiffs of fresh pine from trees and wreaths, partaking in joyful Christmas movies and music and books, enjoying the follies of playtime in the snow, peppermints and hot cocoa, roaring fireplace fires, nuts and nutcrackers, church, spreading peace, cheer, and goodwill, and quiet Christmas reflection – a holiday season that doesn’t thrive on commercialism or shopping or crowds or money, but that only requires love and joy and gratitude.
I think this might be a good place to start:
(The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert – available at your local library or independent bookstore – and Christmas in Paris tea by Stash – available on Stash’s website…thanks mom!)
What are you looking forward to the most this holiday season?
