I finished decorating our main Christmas tree and our studio tree on Christmas Eve Day. I went to wrap the gifts - such as they are. I pulled out the shopping bag that I had stored them in from the back of the dining room table. I brought down the Christmas/Chanukah wrapping holder. (This is a hanging item which holds the wrapping paper, decorative bags, tissue paper, etc. as well as an envelope with printed labels which we use instead of buying gift tags - they are done in a Christmas font and have the name of the person who is getting the gift and our names. Right now we are only using the ones with his nieces’ names on them.
I wrapped the two gifts for one of his nieces and put on tags - I put them in a smaller shopping bag to give to her. I then went to wrap the gift card we had bought for her sister. I could not find it. I looked in the shopping bag of gifts. I looked everywhere in the house - including every pocket of every jacket in the closet. Even though there was a big rainstorm I went out and checked both our car and our van. Husband looked everywhere. For some reason he did not give me the “you have to be more careful with things like this” lecture. (I think he finally is understanding that my sudden disorganization with things like this is the fault of not having a chance to put things where they belong due to excessive running of errands.) Husband said that we would give his niece cash and when we find the card - which we assume we will some day - we will find some use for it. (This being rather limited as we don’t really shop at the store in question.) I found a small gift box and husband made a cute note on the computer as to what the money was for and I wrapped it.
Now, this is basically the wrapping that needed to be done - but husband had bought some items for himself so I stuck what I could in recycled decorative holiday bags and wrapped the two items which would not fit into same. I stuck a small book I had bought and a stuffed teddy bear I had bought into additional recycled gift bags and stuck it all under the tree. I try not to waste wrapping paper on our stuff as we each buy our own “gifts” if we happen upon something.
Husband started feeling a cold coming in and the weather was to become bad during the evening, so we went to 4 pm mass instead of waiting for midnight mass. We came home and I cooked Christmas Eve dinner - and of course we ate it - with lots of leftovers.
What I had not had a chance to do was put up my teddy bear village. I started it on Christmas Day - but everything was going wrong with the tree for the village - I am guessing it has reached the end of its life and I will need a new one next year - the branches keep sagging and the lights seem to all be turning white from their various colors. We left for Christmas Day dinner and I have not gotten back to work on the village since. I am changing the name of it to “Teddy Bear Winter Festival Village” so that it can stay up longer.
Starting the day after Christmas we have been doing a Candlelight Nights Event at the local restoration village with our reenactment unit - we are in the only house which is set up as a 1700s house. It is a favorite event. The weather has taken a turn for COLD and about to get COLDER with possible snow or freezing rain either or both of the last two days (Friday and Saturday) of the event. We had 1100 people come through the village the night after Christmas - the “warmest” night of the week and tonight there were 700 - not bad based on how cold it was.
Unfortunately doing this evening event actually takes up almost all of our time as husband is in charge of it for our unit. Remember we don’t get up early - to be polite. So we wake, have lunch run an errand - maybe - come home and dress in period clothes, drive to the “village”, set up the house, do the event, close down the house, drive home, change clothes back, cook dinner (at 11 pm) eat, try to get some chores done and maybe check some email, have snack and go to bed to start over. The event runs 5 pm to 9:30 but involves us starting to get ready at 3 pm and by the time we are changed back to modern clothes it is 11 pm. We have 3 more nights - unless the weather is too bad on Friday and/or Saturday and the “village” closes. The unit takes over the house as if there is an 18th century holiday party in the house and we and the public coming through are the guests. A few members play period music - especially Christmas, others sing, some of us do first person interpretation - we are someone from the period and know nothing past the same date in 1775, and others talk about the house as modern people. The public seems to enjoy it - some people tell my husband that they come to the village for the event every year just to see our unit, and we have had current descendants of the family who lived in the house visit and say how wonderful it is. It is exhausting, but fun.
I have not entered the chores, repeating appointments, etc for next year into either my cell phone or the setup I have on the computer - I did not even have a chance to make up a list. The newspapers piling up are approaching a week’s worth unread. I have mail stacking up on my desk, and the teddy village awaits yet. This is about the worst December for getting things done in some time.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
If you lose something, after searching “everywhere” for it and not finding it - give up and find an alternative.
I hope all have a wonderful New Year - as I have mentioned before I do not make any resolutions as they are, well, never kept and one feels guilty about it. I do reflect on the year past and try to do better in the year to come.
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