Three Trees

I found these pink balls at the thrift store; they match the pink
on my tree. The little glass bird brings special memories
of England. I purchased it at the Christmas shop
in Stratford on Avon

Good Morning. I have so much to do. Are you in the same predicament? It is the holiday season, so of course, we are all busy, even those who are keeping it simple. I am hearing more and more from friends who are keeping it simple this year, cutting back, scaling back, not decorating as much. I am full bore ahead I suppose because I still have young grandchildren whom I want to please. I enjoy seeing their smiles and the joy when come to the house, making all of the work worth it. And I do enjoy going to all of the work to decorate and make things look pretty.

Then there is the gift shopping. More of our shopping now is done online. I tell the Head Gardener what to order and he does. I have those friends who are done shopping, bragging oh I've had mine done for weeks. Or I shop the after Christmas sales for the next year. Or I'm just giving money this year. I enjoy thinking about each gift for each person I have on my list. I want to give sincerely from the heart with love in the spirit of the season, so I tromp around the stores, looking for the right thing or cruise the Internet hoping to find free shipping.

 I guess what stresses me out the most are those who begin the Christmas planning and decorating before Thanksgiving. Really? My trees are now up. Usually they don't go up the weekend of the 10th but we will be traveling that weekend. I wish I didn't let the pressure of the holidays that my friends suffer from suck me in. I liked what Jane at Blondie's Journal wrote last week about taking the stress out of the holiday season. So I am blogging this morning instead of cleaning, or doing laundry, or paying bills, or any number of other things.

Another thrift store find, an animated doll.
She looked brand new in an old box.

When did all get so complicated? My parents didn't have much. They worked very hard; they were not extravagant or indulgent, but their children never went without. Mom always shopped Christmas Eve for the sales. No Black Fridays where shoppers lose their sanity. No Cyber Monday. As a child I would wear out the toy section of the Montgomery Wards Catalog dreaming about the beautiful dolls and dollhouses, and make believe toys that I would probably never have. I still have one of my dolls, Susie. The only one to survive my life's journey  and barely, too. No Electronics under the tree for us, though my brother did get an electric train one year and we played with that until we wore it out. And I got a watch one year. I loved my watch.

Our stocking were hung with care and filled with an orange, and apple, a candy cane, nuts in the shells, ribbon candy, and Black Jack Gum. Oh and a new tooth brush and a small tube of tooth paste. The oranges were a rare treat because way back then (1950s), oranges were seasonal. Gum was a grand treat because our father didn't allow us to chew gum.

My Madame Alexander doll in her new
Christmas dress that I sewed last
week. 

No fake trees or blinking lights, either. Our trees were fresh cut at the our grandparents mountain property. The tree went up December 20 and came down New Year's Day. Only one tree. Not the three that I have sparkling through out the house now.

I do know that one of these years, I will scale back, not be in the mood, keep it simple, but not yet. I am not ready for the magic to end. I like living in the magic of the holiday season, I am just getting slower at doing it all. I love the old Christmas carols that aren't played anymore. They are on my iPod, so I plug it in and let the old songs play all day because the Christmas music that began to play on the radio the week before Thanksgiving are all the modern rocky type  songs like "Jingle Bell Rock." I want "Hark the Herald Angles Sing," "Silent Night," "Oh Holy Night," and my very favorite, "Noel, Noel."

I decided to put up a tree down stairs for the first time because I have two trees. (Long reason why). It is decorated very simply, red and gold balls and colored lights. The tree in the living room is my traditional pink tree full of ballerinas, dolls, angels, and rocking horses with pink, gold, and silver balls. The tree in the kitchen is dedicated to the wild birds with only bird ornaments on it that I have been collecting since we moved here. While I love putting up all of the trees, I don't much enjoy the putting away. 

Let's enjoy the spirit of the season in the best we can, whether we are keeping it simple, scaling back, going all out. 

Thanks for visiting. Loved all of your comments last week. The village is fully installed. I'll take more photos for next week. Linking with Maggie at Normandy Life for Mosaic Monday. See you over there.