Well, I've always believed that Santa is from Lapland and Lapland is in Finland.

I am definitely caught up in the Christmas spirit now; I'm feeling very festive.

Our house looks fabulous with two Christmas trees and wreaths and garlands and mistletoe and candles and little white lights and it's all so pretty . Also,it's cold but dry outside, perfect winter weather and I've been all wrapped up and drinking gingerbread lattes.

All week I've been busy with Christmas preparations and today I blitzed the remainder or my Christmas shopping. I feel really proud of myself and my heart is warm as I found perfect gifts for my loved ones, which have involved love, generousity and thoughtfulness. I can't believe how successful I have been as a couple of weeks ago I wasn't inspired but it just took me a little longer than usual.

I was going to bake florentines but time is slipping away from me and have to finish off some other crafty gifts.

Speaking of which: pepper, your mix is in the post so hopefully it will reach you in time *frets*.

i am usualy the holiday nut! this year i am not. i am sorta swamped and not to holiday festive feeling. where is my christmas spirit? i need to go looking for it. i did have fun wrapping gifts and making bow though.

crin, *blush* aw shucks...

bunny, so excitamated! and don't worry, i have xmas until after the new year with all the family visiting. i'll bring yer musicness with me all over, k?

shiny, i am less fesital than usual too. two kids = less energy for other stuff. that's ok though, i am having fun with them both. we're wearing a LOT of red these days!

I like the idea of a travelling mix, pepper! Be warned though: it starts of very mellow and even slightly bleak before you jig around to it. Also, one of the songs has a bad word in it (for little ears) and another (that mouse recommended) is rather irreverent; it's an atypical Christmas mix. I hope you enjoy it; I do. In fact, I'm going to listen to it now whilst I wrap some gifts and finish making some things.

oh girl, irreverant is right up my alley. i'm sure (most of) my family will love it! thanks so much! i wonder how much of the music i'll recognize?

i went to a holiday party last night and had so much fun! it was a 'worst holiday attire' party and it was pretty funny. i had a truly horrible handmade vest and holiday print turtleneck. my husband won the worsted dressed mens prize. he wore a red plaid jacket and a equally nasty tie. it was tons of fun and did wonders for finding my holiday spirit. fiddler babysat for us. that is the second time i have been out with my hubby since lil was born and it was so nice!

shiny,

tell us how the tree got from being frozen to your driveway to being where it is now.

fiddler

inspired by pepper, i made these, but i am such a sap that i feel sorry for the one with the bite mark!
also made an apron for my grandma, a shopping bag for my grannie and a sock monkey for my sis. I'm in the Christmas mood now! Off to put the finishing touches to my baby nephew's stocking! eek!



Happy Holidays Busties!!

Cute gingerbread men! The bite mark is adorable, poor little guy!

I have a question. For a centerpiece at our Xmas party my mom put an antique paper mache snowman beneath two candelabras. Unfortunately, by the end of the party the poor snowman was covered in brown wax from the "branch" candles. I put him in the refrigerator and the large chunks came off, but how do I remove the thin veneer of wax all over him? Any ideas?

hair drier and paper towels. don't rub if you can help it, just heat it up until it's melty and blot it.
i'm making that up based on the technique to get it out of fabric. sandwich fabric between thick layers of paper towel and press with a very warm iron, the wax gets sucked into the absorbant paper.

good luck!

little's bringing his stocking into my bed to open it with bebe and i in the AM before the grands and mr uncle show up for the big present extravaganza. lazy fritata and salad for breakfast (hopefully i have time tonight to chop and saute and otherwise prep that), then dinner out at my mama's place. the big boys are in charge of whatever dead beast it is they would like to eat, the rest of us are having quinoa with raisins, kale sauted with onion and garlic, a big salad with chickpeas and sliced apples with cinnamon for dessert.
what's that you say? not very traditional? oh, never you fear, the huge dehabilitating dinner looms on the horizon. it happens every year at the end of dec at my auntie's. hope she doesn't make pork this year, little will just cry his head off! poor little vegetarian.

happy holly daze to you all!

mmm, ginger people. pure delicious.

now to finish the gifts. d'oh...

did anyone make some good resolutions?
i stuck some up on the dry erase board on the fridge and just happened to read them today.
one is to start composting again and we're actually doing it! yay!
another is to stop doing the mega food shop and just buy less more often. i'm doing that one too, makes for less food going bad in the back of the fridge.
another is to do more conflict resolutioning with little when we have an issue and that's working too.
still not sleeping or exercising regularly and haven't broken out the canvas and paints but that's a long term goal.

I have a few resolutions-
Dance again (with some regularity) I've set this up with weekly classes and three DVDs from my mom (I get to try flamenco, yay!)
Paint again, work on my portraiture. I bought the easel and paints for this, just need a canvas and model (where's Crinoboy?)
Sew some of the amazing midcentury (mostly 50s) clothing patterns I scored
Work with regularity on my sci-fi fantasy romance "book"
put more effort into creating romance
and finally GRADUATE and get into law school!!!

Buying less food more often can be a pain, but you get consistently fresh produce that way, and that makes you want to eat better. Good resolutions, pepper!

Focus more at work - work harder but not staying late - doing alright on that one - only had a couple of real late ones this year so far, and now i'm too tired to anyway
Not BUSTing at work - hmm...I'm not quite there yet
Baking my own bread - i can whip up a loaf in just over an hour start to finish now, and haven't had to buy bread for a while. Next step is to try and start a sourdough culture
Crafting more - plans for a footstool, a sampler, things to replace the manky bits of string holding my curtains open...
Eating local - off to a good start but need to try harder after buying a mixed pack of peppers last night which hailed from spain, holland and israel - ridiculous!

lol "manky" My new word of the day!

Just had to drop in and share a pic of the amazing Easter egg I got from my boyfriend

i loves him...

mmmm


My delicious Easter egg

bump

squeeee! holidays!

i have already broken out the christmas music!

I d/l'd Sandler's Hanakah [sic] Song and added to my mix. I am also signed up for an international Secret Santa gift exchange (1100 people!) and am organising a local one (20 people).

shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!!!! i am so not ready to be thinking about this! it's a totally handmade xmas this year though so i guess i outta...

awww pepper, last year you made such great stuff! i will be holiday-ish enough for both you and me and you can put it off a little longer.

tommy - an international gift exchange? that sounds so fun? how did you get involved in that?

My other favourite site, boardgamegeek.com has a member who organises an international board game trade to commemorate the giving season. He calls it Secret Santa. I call it Hannukah Harry or Kwanzaa Kweli. Whatever it's called, it's a wonderful, spirited thing to do.

The only shopping I like is for food or gifts for others, plus this endeavour encourages taunting, which I enjoy immensely. I took over the NZ/AU version this year. So starting in 3 weeks, I'll be receiving the names of two people I know only through the site, looking through their wishlists, sending them fakeout games a week early, watching for their grateful but perplexed and disappointed replies, and then sending them their real gifts.

And that's what Xmas is all about.

that sounds so fun!

In my situation (unemployed grad student with 4 mouths to feed), the only way to give gifts at the holidays is this way. Belonging to a group of like-minded folks and buying 1 gift for one of them. I don't have the time for making gifts, and can't afford getting everyone something. When I was a kid we used to belong to a group that did a great one. You chose a gift from the stack of boxes, unwrapped it, and then chose between it and any of the other gifts that were already open. 'Stealing' added a fun edge to the whole experience, and taught us to appreciate what little we did get, even if it was for a moment.

i dread the holidays. this year is going to be especially not fun b/c my sister is going to hawaii with her husband to visit his family. so that means it will be me, my mom, my dad, grandma, and uncle at my parents' house, where everyone will sit around talking about people who are dead, how much better things "used to be", or how christmas has become "just another day" and lost its meaning.

awesome.

rogue -- I understand about not wanting to deal with the family gathering. My mom's side of the family is celebrating on the 27th.. I got an email from my uncle being like "My house. 27th. Attendance mandatory." But I'm not going. I think I have to work anyways, and I'm just not going to make any special effort to get it off. What my uncle on the other side of the family said to me was, if you're going to be miserable, just don't go... Lucky for me on Christmas day i think I'll go home and be with my parents/brothers... and my dog, the most important family member.

That gift exchange does sound really fun! I am really poor this year, as usual.. so I plan to bake things for Christmas presents. I'll get some decorative tins and just fill them up with a bunch of cookies/muffins/fudge etc. Cheap and cheerful.

How early is too early to start decorating.... I think I'm going to watch Elf tonight, and I may find myself feeling festive...

a friend of mine who loves christmas says he stars picking christmas music in the summer and that thanksgiving is hor devours for christmas. i think i agree. so i say decorate away lananans.

I wish LeBoy's family would just do a secret santa thing, for everyone, kids and adults. Both of his siblings have two kids, plus his cousin who's like a brother to him has two kids. Last year we all agreed we'd all buy just for the kids, not for each other. I guess I am a little miffed that we have to spend on all three sets of kids and we get nothing in return. It's not just the money spent; I think even if we had kids and were still just doing the kids-only rule, I'd truly enjoy seeing what my kids got from their aunts/uncles/cousins.

Maybe we should say they have to buy for our pets....yeah, I'm only half-kidding. The cat could get an awfully nice water fountain from this!

I think that fur babies should get something out of this. Ha!

This is the first year I have debated not going home for Christmas. There are a few reasons for this. One is that I am going to miss my boyfriend like a freaking limb. He made my last trip home so fun. And two is that my mom's partner is already fussing about not having any cash. They are really broke this year. I understand, I really do. I am a grown up. If there are no gifts, there are no gifts (my stepsis is only 17, though so I do understand that the partnern is upset about being able to get her much.). However, last year I had to spend sooooo much time listening to the partner apologize over and over. It was annoying as fuck to be honest. I don't want to spend another holiday trying to make her feel better. It just stresses me out and makes me wish I had not gone home.

Add to that, I am probably going to have to take the Greyhound Bus back to Chicago.

*sigh* I really just want to stay in Chicago but that just isn't possible. It would hurt everyone's feelings. Of course, no one can simply visit me. Just just does not happen. And, in all fairness, my mom works retail and is really busy before and after Christmas.

I have a holiday confession, I have been craving Christmas sooo bad, on election day I made Mrs. Rouge help me put up the Christmas tree.

hey, check out this cool site where you can make a calendar from your own digital pics for FREE! i just did one up, i'm going to print if off as an xmas gift for family. so cute!

hey, i always have trouble figuring out what to give to my uncle. i asked my auntie for some suggestions and this is what she said
"Anything to do with the military/peacekeeping, the Masons, the shows "Two and a Half Men" and "Lost" (Dharma stuff), or computers. He likes puns a lot.".
i hand make nearly everything and was wondering if any of you have an idea or two that i could make that he might like (an image or words for a tshirt are ideal). i REALLY appreciate your help, i always have the hardest time figuring things out for him. thanks!!!

Pepper, if you (or a relative/friend) have photoshop skills, you could superimpose his face on his favourite TV character, and then put it on a t-shirt transfer. Photofunia.com is a good example of what I mean.

Good on you for making gifts!

Or you could search the web for a really funny quote from one of the shows and stitch it onto the tshirt.

I moved out from home in the last couple of months so I was able to buy my own Christmas tree this year , I'm so excited about decorating it.

roque, it sounds like you need to find some alternative holiday-time plans to cheer yourself up. invite whomever is your "chosen" family (friends and those you love and can stand to hang out with) and plan a fun get together to combat the drudgery of mandatory family gatherings...a couple years ago i did this with friends and all we did was slice and bake cookies, and watch "Rudolph" and "Nightmare Before Christmas". twas fun, and you don't have to do it on any particular day...good luck!

this weekend is our local Santa Claus parade, and i'm taking slew of kids. i'm looking forward to helping them write their Christmas letters before we go, because Canada Post walks the parade route and collects them...the kids get a letter back from Santa! we try to write more of a letter than a "list" since i don't like to overemphasize the gift aspect of things. but kiddo is always so excited when she gets mail back from Santa! let's just hope it doesnt rain on our parade, which is the forcast for Saturday...

Ach, christmas. I used to have big ones when I was a kid. My mom went all out. I'd get so much loot, I wouldn't know what to do with half of it. It was all very materialistic, though, and that's what I thought of as familial love. When I got older and my mom didn't know what to buy for me any more, christmases got smaller. We didn't know what to say to each other, how to respond or say thanks for our gifts. What came out was a lot of fake pleasantries, and just waiting for the season to be over so we could get back to our regular lives.

I do remember one year, though, when I was 20, the Kate Bush box set had just come out and I told my mom that's what I wanted for christmas. My mom, a conservative, moralistic woman in her late 60s at the time, drove to the local underground record store, a hole of a place if there ever was one, and the only store that stocked the (import only) box set at the time. She walked in with her polyester pantsuit, sensible shoes and helmet hair and asked for the Kate Bush box set, which she bought for me that christmas. I was so impressed with her then.

Unfortunately, when I visit home for christmas these days, nothing much has changed with the repressed emotions and false pleasantries, but I do sometimes still get caught up in the spirit of giving that pervades the season like a bad rash. I've bought my mom some flameless candles this year. She's not really a candle person and has a rather spartan decorating style, with her irrational fears that everything will catch on fire or cause irreparable damage in an earthquake or other natural disaster. But hopefully she'll appreciate the flameless-ness...although I doubt she'll like the subtle vanilla scent they exude, since her nose is hypersensitive to any scent other than Clorox clean. But maybe when she puts in the batteries and turns them on, she'll appreciate the soft, atmospheric light they provide. Who knows. One can only try.

...Anyway, this song has always reminded me of christmas. Happy times.

I'm skipping my mom's side of the family's Christmas 'do' this year. For one, my granny isn't talking to me right now and I don't want to deal with her bitchiness. Two, my mom's brother always manages to upset me with what he thinks is his hilarious sense of humour. Three, I probably have to work, and honestly would rather spend the day in the bookstore.

But, I will probably send presents, tins of baked goods which I am planning to give to everyone this year because its cheap. And they will be impressed with the effort, I'm sure. I just have to decide what to bake first. I tried to make chocolate meringue cookies last weekend, and it was a complete disaster.

Currently I am debating whether or not my boyfriend and I should get a fake tree for our living room. He's Jewish, and doesn't care either way, but I can't decide if just some lights and decorations would do, or if I want a tree. I will decide by my next paycheque I suppose..

I think there are better ways to spend you holiday cash, lananans, than a tree, fake or otherwise. If it helps, my parents put up a tree every year, with blue-and-white decorations. You know, for Israel.

It's really classy of you to send baked goodies to your family, even though you're not going (which also sounds like the right thing to do).

34 gifts you can make yourself

tommy -- i agree, i don't think i am going to get a tree. just some candles or something. they're cheaper.

thanks for that post cocl!

yesterday a friend and i went and cut down trees! it was fun. we ended up with a lil one for her apartment and a 16 ft one for my house. we had to drag them about .5 mile and i had my 16 mo old on my back so i am sure we were really a comic picture (i live in the woods though, no one to see and laugh) i am sore today but it is so worth it. we got the tree up with lights and ribbons on it last night and it is really pretty! i love sitting and looking at the lights in the evening.

shiny, tree cutting and decorating is my favourite christmas tradition! i'm hoping to get to it this weekend. just reading your post i can smell the pine...

i have started my candies oranges. it is ablout a one week process and it takes over my life but it sure smells good in here.

i am not feeling very christmasy this year. my hubby is leaving for a week on sunday. he is going to tokyo and i am bummin'. he will miss shinyboy's birthday and will be all jet lagged for a few days when he gets back and then it will be christmas. i feel like he is missing the season this year. he is pretty sick with a cold right now and has been for several days so he really doesn't want to do anything that is not totally required. he is also busy getting ready for this trip so he is extra busy on top of being sick. so i am feeling bahumbugish.

this year I am going for simplicity of decore.
the mr & I bought a 7 ft pre-lit fake tree (white lights) a few years ago on sale, and every year we always say once it's up " wow, it's so pretty just as it is" and so this year, after framing just the porch door frame w/ icisle lights ( a big 1st for us ever) & a simple green garland over the actual door topped w/ a red bow (another 1st) by the time we got to the inside stuff I told the mr ' honey, it may be crazy but I don't want to decorate the tree this year; let's leave it as it is' and he was all for it. so it has the silver glitter star (new) & a small snowflake ornament w/ a small pictuer of our beautiful Golden Boy Lucky that we lost last year, and that's it. and the white tree skirt w/ baby pearls at the bottom of course.

and then I did very minimal decorating in the rest of the house as well although Had to include some special things frecklette has made for us over the years.
I try to stick to silver, gold and white decorations too, so everything blends easily together, but usually do at least 1 goofy thing just for fun.. and this year it's wrapping paper that's Only snowflakes; I figure if I can't have snow here Outside, I can certainly at least have it under my tree!

shiny, I am sorry about your mr's trip .
my mr has been traveling a lot (gone ths moment as a matter of fact) & so I understand.
shopping & decorating on your own is lonely, but esp that your mr will miss shinyBoy's birthday makes me especially sad for you.
(((((((shiny familie))))))))))

I am starting to get really excited for Christmas. I know that there is a ton of commercialism but I still enjoy Christmas. My family has never gone overboard with presents which I really appreciate. I feel bad for my mom though because she's getting stressed out. I know that she has low energy but I guess I don't see what's so difficult about just going out to the mall and picking up a few things really quickly. I feel bad because usually I'm the one who pulls everything together at Christmas. I do all of the decorating and wrap every single gift except for my own and I do most of dinner. But this year I have to work right up until Christmas Eve (which really pisses me off since home is a 4 hour train ride away) so everything is up to my mom. The only thing I really want this year is to go home and see everyone and have a nice turkey dinner.

As for trees, at home we always get a real tree and decorate it with all of the ornaments that we have collected over the years. So for my own apartment I decided to do the opposite and get a super tacky tree. I have a four foot tinsel tree with flashing lights!

My mom gets stressed out at Christmas too but it's because she does EVERYTHING. She buys us all great presents way in advance, puts up most of the holiday lights outside, buys the tree, puts on the dinner, does all the cooking, and decorates the inside of the house too. I always try to help out a bit but she's also kind of got her groove going and sort of likes things done her own way.

This year I find myself getting stressed. Almost all my shopping is done but I still feel pressure. For the past 5 years I've had pretty much all of December off because I was a university student, but now I'm working right up until the 24th so it doesn't feel like the usual great break. I do get the 24th-January 5th off, but I wish a portion of that fell BEFORE christmas.

But I also find myself getting more into the spirit now. I'm looking forward to enjoy some of the festive things going on in the next two weeks.

Yeah, pretty much everything that you just mentioned is what I do. I decorate the tree, put up indoor garland with lights, put together the nativity scene, the Christmas village and I put up the outdoor lights. I'm kind of worried that this year our house will be completely dark. I wish I could just go home and do my regular thing. I'm used to being in charge. At the same time, I don't want to bug my mom because that will just put more stress on her. What bugs me the most is that my brother still lives at home and could help out so much but instead he spends every waking moment with his girlfriend. It would be nice if he would help around the house just a little.

today we make truffles and popsicle stick ornaments and put up the tree. but i still am not in the xmas mood, i jess ain't gots the spirit. i don't know what's wrong with me, nearly 100 holiday cards later you think i'd get with it already! alls i gots is a hand cramp though. durn it.

yeah, i feel ya pepper. i was sitting here thinking the same thing. i just don't have the christmas feeling. maybe cause our house doesn't look festive to me.

maybe it's because i had to spend an freezing hour and a half on the porch sorting out and repacking the halloween stuff before i could even get at the ornaments for the tree. oh yah, that was fun. *grumble grumble*.

feelin' grinchy.

*pouting* hubby is stuck in denver with no flights home till the 24th. i knew i didn't want him to travel around christmas and now i have done most of the chrismas stuff without him and it looks like i will be doing damn near al of it with out him. bahfuckinghumbug!