X-mas spirit....

I have a confession to make. I am addicted to Christmas. And now is the best time…..when it’s still a few weeks away and you feel that you have all the time in the world to make this Christmas the best ever. I buy all the glossy Christmas Magazines and borrow tons of “do it yourself Christmas inspiration books” at the library and then I just sit there happily reading soaking up on the Christmas spirit. For me Christmas is the smell of fir, cinnamon, hyacinths, oranges and gingerbreads. Especially oranges. When I was a kid we had oranges in the shops only in December ( No, I’m not 95 going on 100) so now when you have them all year round it’s not really the same. But there are still moments when I feel the smell and it takes me right back to younger days….The best with Christmas is planning the decorations- both for the tree and the house. I usually do a lot of it myself and try to make something new every year. I’m not in to the overloaded, all pimped up kind of Christmas I’m more of a “less is more” girl and flowers, moss, candles and wire is important ingredients. When November comes my husband sighs and says that our house turns in to Santa’s workshop but he usually likes the finished result

The Christmas tree is a story of its own. To say I’m meticulous is a huge understatement. No one want’s to come with me and buy it anymore….Do you want to know why? Okey, here goes. . A few years back ( six in fact) I decided that we should cut down our own tree. I had this dream about us in a sleigh, snow slowly falling and hot chocolate in a thermos. That it was us in a Volvo with the rain falling was just a minor disappointment. I still sat in the car happily humming jingle bells….. So of we went to a wood outside town were a smart merchant had made good business out of stupid people like me hunting the Christmas spirit. One tree was uglier than the other. My daughters grew tired of the tree hunt first. They sat down on a fallen tree and asked me to come get them when I had found one. My husband joined them shortly after. After an hour and a half of “to short, to big, to wide, to thin, to ugly” the language started to get nasty. They threatened with leaving without me. I closed my eyes and chose one in random. My lumberjack of a husband quickly cut it down. Boy, was it ugly. No were like the Disney variety I was seeking….and I had to pay a fortune! At first no one dared to utter a word in the car but after a while my husband started to giggle and the daughters fell in and then I had to laugh too. My anger and disappointment….it was all so ridiculous. And nowadays this is a milestone in our Christmas memories and the daughters say oh yes, that was the year when we cut our own tree….

But still no one want’s to come with me and buy one. I wonder why?

My longing for Christmas usually starts come end of October but I try to hold out until the end of November. But yesterday I couldn’t help myself I just HAD to buy a hyacinth and make a wire angel…..Hurray! Soon Christmas is here!

I made the wire angel out of just one piece.....bending and bending.

A challenge but great fun!