taking down Christmas

Tags

2016, Berlin, christmas, christmas tree, New Year, travel

Today I spent some time taking down Christmas. It all started with the tree that  I needed to un-decorate, as it was losing all its needles. And since I am leaving for Germany first thing tomorrow morning, there was no other time than today.

However, It did take longer than I thought, those branches were putting up a good fight, but I won in the end and I even disposed of the sorry looking heap. As I then began putting away all of my shoe Christmas tree decorations I decided to put away most of the other decorations as well … now all that is left to greet me when I return are my stars in the window. But since stars are not just for Christmas I thought I could give them some more time to shine.

So, between running all of those last minute messages (for all you Americans out there that is what the Irish call errands) and frantically packing I am still up and won’t be in bed for another while – even though I do have to get up at 4am to catch my flight.

And while taking down Christmas is always a little bit sad getting ready for a New Year’s adventure is the best reason to do it for! I just hope I get a chance to nap because I don’t want to greet 2016 with rings under my eyes.

decorating the tree

Tags

childhood home, christmas, christmas tree, decorations, friends, gifts, presents

Christmas Eve is only a few days away so I decided it was finally time to decorate the tree. I bought my tree at the weekend and I have to admit it is not the prettiest. But since I was limited with funds and space I really had the one choice. So I decided to pick the runt of the tree litter and just hope my decorations can distract from its oddness.

So, yesterday (after leaving the tree to stand for a day) I finally decorated it and I have to say it isn’t looking too bad – although I am wondering how green it will be on Christmas as it is shedding needles like there’s no tomorrow.

But since I will be leaving for Germany to celebrate the arrival of the New Year in Berlin I think I may just leave the tree up until I leave. That way I won’t come home to just a pile of needles and empty branches.

For now the tree stands pride of place and the gifts under the tree are waiting to be distributed over the next few days. And I am really looking forward to meeting up with friends and getting into the Christmas spirit. Sadly the temperatures aren’t really christmassy so no white Christmas in sight this year and I will just have to hope that Germany may deliver a sprinkling of snow.

30 sleeps until Christmas

Tags

Advent, christmas, Christmas Eve, christmas tree, counting down the days

The lights in town are up and this weekend the Christmas tree will be lit, a sure sign that Christmas isn’t too far away. In exactly 30 sleeps it’s Christmas Eve, a day filled with magic, fun and hopefully some snow.

I love this time of year and have a whole list of things I love to do when Christmas is in the air, markets, concerts, enjoying mulled wine and hot hot port, spending time with friends and packing parcels, writing in front of the fire and candles flickering.

But for now I will just have to keep counting down the days and hope that I will find the time to enjoy this season in between all the work that is on my desk. However I won’t let the Christmas blues seep in and I can’t wait to start playing Christmas FM next Sunday, after all it will be the first of Advent!

wandering gifts

Tags

christmas, christmas tree, family, family and friends, friends, gifts, home, love, miscellaneous, random, thoughtful gifts

Christmas isn’t about gifts as we all know but if we are honest we do love opening up little parcels and packages, knowing that someone thought of us and cared. Another thing I love about Christmas gifts is that they live under the tree for a while, peeking up between the branches reminding us of all of friends and family.

Sadly it’s nearly time to take down the tree, two more evenings of admiring its beauty in candlelight (yes I have real candles on my tree) and then it’s time to put Christmas back in it’s trunk (yes I have a wooden trunk) and wait for December to come around again.

And when the tree come down I need to find homes for my Christmas gift, a  challenge in my miniature home. Of course some of my gifts have already wandered away from the tree and settled down in the perfect spot.

One of the first to go where obviously any Christmas decorations that where hung on the tree the minute they were unwrapped and will be packed away for a year till they are rediscovered again.The next gift that moved was a lovely smelling candle that has been filling my home with the wonderful aroma of cinnamon and berries. On Christmas day a wonderful gift of spiced salts was used to flavour my goose and now lives with the rest of my spices in the kitchen cupboard. Wordy magnets jumped from under the tree onto my fridge and of course all the books have settled in on my bedside table ready to be devoured, like the German marzipan that has partially still survived.

So when the tree is dismantled on Saturday I will have to find a place for the rest of my thoughtful gifts and when I see them throughout the year, perched on a shelf, hanging on the wall or sleeping in a drawer, my mind will wander back to Christmas day and the love and joy I felt while unwrapping the gifts, reminding me of my wonderful friends and family.

My Christmas tree this year

of fridges and christmas trees

Tags

Advent, advents kranz, christmas, christmas tree, first christmas gift, fridge, german christmas stollen, holidays, miscellaneous, random, seasonal, snow, winter

I love Christmas, it’s my favourite time of year. And although I am dieing to listen to Christmas carols, cut into my German Christmas Stollen and get the mulled wine bubbling I always wait till the 1st of December.

But because my christmassy anticipation is too much to bear I decided to order my Christmas tree yesterday, making my heart do some “drummer boy” impersonation. Of course I will now have to wait till the week before the big day to put it up and decorate it with all my favourite decorations, I just hope I don’t combust is a blaze of holly, ivy and mistletoe.

However it’s nearly time to light the first candle on my “Advents Kranz” (well this year I don’t have a wreath but a pretty row of candles to light the way up to Christmas) which will fill the need for piney goodness for a few weeks.

And knowing tomorrow I’ll be putting up decorations around the house while listening to crooners corning Christmas carols makes me all giddy with excitement. I even get to open up the first door on my Marzipan Advents-kalandar, a daily treat to count down the days.

And somehow I even feel as if I just got my first Christmas gift, a new fridge was delivered and installed yesterday night, a wish granted and a clean new home for cookie dough waiting to be baked.

So tomorrow I will spend the day at home, decorating, baking, singing and dancing my very own “jingle bells rock”. I can’t wait and all I need now for a perfect Christmas is snow and a kiss under some mistletoe. And neither are looking great at the moment, even Paddy Power has pushed the odds for a white Christmas up to 4/1 and I really don’t want to know the prediction for meeting a man is. However with the temperatures dropping I live in hope, for snow at the very least.

I used fresh green and a little bit of sparkle to decorate my “Advents Tray”