Snowy mince pies are compulsory

At Christmas time, putting up the decorations whilst eating an inordinate amount of mince pies is taken very seriously in our home.  Put quite simply, you can’t put one up without eating the other, they go hand in hand; like peaches and cream, Cannon and Ball and fish and chips.

This holiday season, I feel more Christmassy than normal, I don’t know why, I just do.  The usual round of Cd’s have hit the player a week earlier than usual, much to my hubby’s amusement.  Everyone from Elvis to Andrea Bocelli have serenaded us with their version of Jingle Bells, White Christmas or Little Town of Bethlehem.  Traditionally (for me anyway) anything and everything that is remotely glittery and related to Christmas is dragged out of storage and dusted off no sooner than 4 days before the 25th.  By January 2nd I officially declare the whole thing over and get out the feather duster asap, my record for removing the tree and all matching decorations is 16 minutes.  You see by then, the whole commercial aspect of it has driven me round the bend.  So you can see why hubby is amused.  I don’t have the foggiest as to why I’ve suddenly swayed from my usual routine this year, I’ll probably never know.  Naturally, this swing in routine meant the mince pies hit the oven a week earlier than expected, not the best move on my part as far as the diet goes but the fact remains that the true success to a wonderfully trimmed tree relies on me enjoying a traditional mince pie (or three) as I dress it.

Hubby swears that my mince pies are the best ever, he’s loyal of course, bless him for his encouragement.  I can admit to finally mastering the art of great mincemeat and now that I’ve also got the pastry down to a tee, the end result isn’t bad at all.

It is presently snowing outside, it feels festive so we decided that today was the day for the annual ‘decorate and munch’. Coincidentally, on the subject of snow, has anyone else looked at their blog and gone into a blind panic thinking there is something wrong with their blood pressure?  I did that this morning, until I realised that it was the snow effect on the screen.  I think it’s time for another eye test…

After dragging the boxes out of storage we noticed that all those years of moving from house to house and hauling the boxes from room to room, had finally taken it’s toll.  The tree has taken a bashing once more, now one of the branches has broken clean off.  Yes, our tree is artificial, we did buy a real one once but the falling needles drove me crazy and I’m simply not a fan. In fairness to this tree, it has served us well, we purchased it from an Amway catalogue about 9 or 10 years ago, it wasn’t cheap but it’s more than paid for itself numerous times over.   Hubby is nothing if not creative though and he managed to place the branch back on the tree with relative ease.  How he does it I will never know.

Some of you who know me well know that bears are my favourite ornament so it was kind of inevitable that our tree decorating should reflect this.

In the name of tradition, the baubles and tinsel still make an appearance.  Blue and gold has been our preferred colour for the past few years, strangely enough red never seems to get a look in, a little odd really since red is a good December colour.  Think berries and red breasted robins and you get the general idea.

We wish you a ….

My biggest surprise so far is that Miss Bess has shown absolutely no interest at all in our Christmas preparations! I even jangled the Tigger door hanger, rustled the tinsel and got the singing chipmunk to give her a rendition of Merry Christmas, but it simply didn’t strike a chord with her.

I’m not playing your game, mum….

I’m actually a little disappointed! I know I shouldn’t be, the decorations will now undoubtedly see another Christmas, however I was hoping for a bit of fun.  We are counting on the unwrapping of presents on Christmas day to lighten her mood.  If not, it’s fair to say that all hope is lost and we will have to accept that our Bess is a non-lover of Christmas.  I’m gutted!

About these ads