My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 12 - Christmas Dinner

Finally, the piece de resistance!  Dinner for three on Christmas Day with all the trimmings.

 Hope your day was filled with good friends and family, good food, good times, and a little something special in your stocking!

Merry Christmas!

Noel!  Wishing you and yours all the good things of the season.  

You've all made my year a happier one.  

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and providing support when I needed it. 

Hope today is a lovely day for you and those whom you love.  xoxo

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 11 - The Centerpiece

The agony and ecstasy for me!  I want something pretty for the table, but I agonize over putting it together.

I planned ahead and started looking for materials early, and thanks to the encouragement of some talented flower-arranging bloggers [you know who you are!] it went easier.  The vase was Mother's.  It is beautiful glass, but a terrible shape for a beginning flower arranger.

Thanks to lots of greenery ("Otto Lueken", rosemary from the garden, and mystery evergreen) and a few flowers we're in business for the weekend.

Actually, we will talk more about this in a couple of days.

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 10 - "The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

Stockings were always a big deal in our house - filled with little presents (sometimes of the "big things come in small packages variety"), an orange, a candy cane, and a bag of chocolate coins.

These days we tend to go more for toiletries and maybe a little something for warmth, but still the chocolate coins!

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 9

Today's a good day to stop and remember our roots.

  

 

Light and miracles.

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 8 - The Holiday China

There are rites of passage in every family - moving from the children's table to the adult table and being allowed  to eat off the "good china" -  in ours.   [In Southern families the "good china" is still a thing to be revered and passed from generation to generation.]   Getting our own holiday china was one of those milestones for Mitchell and me. 

We inherited some Spode"Christmas Tree" from Mitchell's mother and added a few pieces to have enough to use it for Christmas breakfast, but I really wanted something more "grown up".

I searched and searched - falling in love with a different pattern every year - until I found "Boxwood and Pine".  We use it from Thanksgiving until New Years and for special occasions that pop up in the fall or winter.

It's fun to look forward to using it every year!

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 7 - The Music!

What would the Christmas Season be without the music?  Flat as a doormat!

From the simplest carol like "Silent Night" to the fancy oratorios ("Messiah") and even the symphonic ballet "The Nutcracker Suite" we all adore the music.  Christmas music in the malls starting Labor Day - not so much!

We're more likely to be listening to classical music most of the time, but when I look in our CD rack the variety of old favorites I find is astounding.  From country to classical, choruses, orchestras, instrumentals - it's all there.  Here are a few of my favorite things:

Joy to the World (Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra and Chorus) - This has been my absolute favorite Christmas album for decades.  Released in 1987, it was recorded in 1971 and is the full rich, glorious sound of full orchestra and chorus.  It fills the house with sound - strings, big brass, timpani and voices - and makes you want to replay it all evening.  This is my go-to album for tree decorating.  Somehow I got it into my head that the name of the album was "The Glorious Sound of Christmas".  It's not, but that would be a better name for it.

Odetta: Christmas Spirituals - Probably Mitchell's favorite album.  Just a guitar, a bass and a bit of drum set and the unique voice of Odetta.  It takes one to the core of what Christmas is all about.

The Christmas Album (Canadian Brass) - Who doesn't love brass?  Carols and secular songs arranged for a tuba and its friends.  We actually have three CD's by brass quintets.  They are like the champagne of music - all sparkly and bubbly.

Russian Christmas (St. Petersburg Chamber Choir with Olga Borodina) - If you don't know Russian choral music, this would be a great way to introduce yourself to it.  While American choral music often features the high clear tones of the sopranos (think St. Olaf's choir and their tone), Russian choral music starts with the biggest most solid bass support that you can imagine.  In person, you can actually feel the sound vibration of the basses.  You won't understand a single word of this album, but maybe that's a good thing.  You have to listen with your heart, and that's not a bad thing.  Olga Borodina is a splendid mezzo-soprano, so this is a double treat.

Songs of Joy and Peace (Yo-Yo Ma and Friends) - A  wonderful mix of Yo-Yo Ma and everyone from Diana Krall to Dave Brubeck to Renee Fleming to Chris Botti.  Popular songs as well as standard carols and more classical Chrismas music, all tied together with five improvisations on "Dona Nobis Pacem"  (Give us Peace).  A lovely gift to the ears.

Christmas Harp (no artist given!) - What could be more Christmasy than standard carols played by a harp?  I know!  From "What Child is This?"  to "Silent Night", it's the perfect thing for Christmas Eve.


Christmas (Michael Buble') - The 2011 addition to our collection.  We need more crooners.  Enough said.

Hope you're listening to your favorite sounds of the season,  too.

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 6 - Father Christmas

A gift from a long time friend, Father Christmas has had a place of honor in our home for years.  She painted several sets of Santas for her friends and family.  We are proud to have one of them.

Somehow he reminds me of the giving and not all the craziness of the season.  Clearly he's Father Christmas bring light, or "LIGHT" to the world.  Can't get much more clear than that.

 

PS:  Please see Anneke's note.  Turns out he's actually Sinterklaas - does that name sound a bit familiar?

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 5 - Oh, Tannenbaum!

Truly one of the big, big days of the season -

The 1st (and prettiest) White House ornament.

the day the tree is trimmed.  One can't have too many Christmas trees, altho I find myself limited to two at the moment - a tiny one in my office and the real one in the living room.  I want one close at hand so I can enjoy it all day long.We've collected ornaments forever.  There are tiny glass balls left from childhood, along with a felt bird (Girl Scouts in the 6th grade) and the purple Merry Christmas ball inherited from Dad.  There are ornaments collected from places we have traveled - a flamingo (Florida), Chinese kissing fish (San Francisco), a gourd (Pennsylvania), red pepper (N.M.) and a cut-out of Texas.

Some of these are as old as I am - horrors!

Many are handmade - a clothespin deer, copper stars, an angel made of nails, the tin star on top.  There's a collection of angels and one of Santas.  A dill pickle for luck and a teddy bear for fun.  Many are gifts from friends.  Each a reminder of some place or some one  - a part of our history.

One of a legion of Santas - mostly old fashioned.

Made in Florida from the scale of a Gar Fish - honest!

Peace on Earth, Good Will to Women.

I'd leave it up all year, but some folks in our house are against that!

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 4 - Shipping

Gathering all the pretty boxes and packing them in cartons, then anticipating the pleasure they will bring when they are opened Christmas morning.

How did all those packages fit into just four boxes?  

 

It's another high point of the season. 


Take good care of them, FedEx.  They have a long way to go to Georgia, Tennessee and New Mexico!

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 3 - The Gifts

Wrapping the presents may be my favorite part of the season.  I love the paper.  I adore the ribbon.  I thrive on getting up early in the morning, spreading it all on the dining room table and just wrapping away. [You do have a fabric cutting board, don't you?  Works even better for paper!]

All wrapped on Saturday morning.

I was a sucker for the wrapping paper that children [or their parents who work in your office] sell for school fund raising, so I currently have enough paper stockpiled to last at least five years.  Sadly, when one works at home, one doesn't get the opportunity to purchase school wrapping paper any more, so the day will come when I have to go accost some child on the street and demand s/he bring me paper ... or else!

With so much else going on this month, I do the shopping and wrapping early - well, at least for the out-of-town gifts.  Wouldn't want to totally miss the panic on Christmas Eve when I discover that I have missed something.

 

Sande (a Gift Wrapped Life) encouraged me to go with fancier ribbon last year, and I have enjoyed that.  For my brother's family I did a theme of poinsettia paper with green ribbon, but each person got a different ribbon.  They won't notice, but it was fun for me - and that's what it's all about ... right? 

This one is headed for New Mexico.

Everyone else is getting the best of the paper I have left, and I'm making another trip to buy more ribbon!

My 12 Days of Christmas

Day 2

By now everyone has a set of glass blocks, but several years ago they were an "ah ha" moment for us.  We saw they in South Carolina over Thanksgiving and came home and made many blocks for friends and family as gifts that year. 

We used all white lights, but I may make some more with multi-colored lights next year.  I love the soft glow they give to the floor.

My 12 Days of Christmas

There are so many things that I love about this crazy last month of the year.  Instead of babbling mindlessly for the next couple of weeks, I'll share the things that are special to me instead.

Day 1 - The Wreath
 

Growing up we always had a live wreath.  Mother and I would go to the market downtown to pick just the right one.  They all looked alike to me, but she always had a preference.  Years ago I switched to an artificial wreath [partly so that I can leave it up and enjoy it longer], it has changed over the years.

The latest version is a bit over-sized since it's on a large wall.  The ornaments were a gift from my sister-in-law a few years ago.  Somehow, it feels just right to me, and the perfect way to kick off the season.

Would you like to share your special things of the season?