Wednesday, December 05, 2007

'Tis the Season Darn It

I'm normally a quite Christmassy person. I appalled my father when he realized our family tradition was to put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving. I have to stop myself from pulling out the Christmas CD's throughout the year, realizing that not everyone will be interested in Wassailing in the Bleak Mid-Summer (note, in my defense our Christmas albums are mostly Robert Shaw Festival collections and are really, truly beautiful and worth listening to year round). I love ginger and spices; I have a favorite Gingerbread recipe (we make gingerbread moose cookies - doesn't everyone?) and a favorite spiced nut recipe and I firmly believe that hot chocolate should include a drop or two of peppermint every single time.

But this year? Not so much. Maybe it was that there were Santa clauses and humorous penguins facing off against the morose plastic jack 'o lanterns three weeks before Halloween at Target this year. I know, it's nit picking, but I've always felt that October was just a little early to start pushing the Hooray! It's the Spendiest Time of the Spenderiffic Year Folks! stuff.

We don't have a tree up yet - we don't have a tree at all honestly. The box of decorations and ornaments is still sitting in the storage room unopened and unloved. We have no lights up, no cookies have been baked and don't even ask about Christmas cards because honestly? Not going to happen this year.

In an effort to inspire some stirrings of holiday cheer Child 1 has played Christmas music all this week, two nights ago Children 1 and 2 watched The Nightmare Before Christmas (because NOTHING says Christmas like a podgy villain filled with creepy-crawlies) and last night they all watched one of the two family must-see's for the season: Boris Karloff narrating The Grinch (don't even mention Jim Carrey, thou shalt not blaspheme my Seuss). Me, I'm still not feeling it.

However, we do have our Germany Child and so tonight we will, ready or not, be putting out shoes for St Nickolaus. Some traditions, after all, are non-negotiable. One of those is that into each shoe must be placed a bag of gelt - chocolate coins. In pursuit of these I went to Target the other day. Seven aisles of Christmas and not one sniff of chocolate coins. Two days later I finally found them - in the dollar section. There was a choice: Spongebob Squarepants or Dora the Explorer.

I might just have to break up with Target.

But only for the holidays.

5 comments:

Emily said...

You know that Christmas is not my holiday, but I do feel sad when I hear others are not feeling what is clearly an important holiday for them. I hope it comes back.

Anonymous said...

doooon't worry, as soon as she gets a sniff of spiced nuts or gingerbread, she'll be back.

Anonymous said...

or else

Anonymous said...

"Darn it"...I keep thinking your stockings have holes and we'll get to hear a new craft story.

By the way, whatever happened to the embroidered sequin pig extravaganza?

Megan said...

That poor pig! It is languishing, nearly finished, at the bottom of a moving box. When we moved there was little space for craft things (certainly nowhere to put a permanent craft area) so most of my project stuff is in the storage room while one small cupboard has been given over to the kid's collection of cloth, thread, string etc. The pig is a sad, sad victim of my need for unclutterdness.

However! Tomorrow I can post a craft post! With pictures! I will do so (provided I remember to put the pictures on my darn flash drive that is...)