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Loving Christmas

 

Christmas is one of my most favourite times of the year. I love all the decorations, taking time to choose gifts that are meaningful, the food, the excitement, the Christmas breakups (six for me this year) and the time with family. A little tip; put a small amount every week into a supermarket Christmas Club and if possible also put aside a little into a separate bank account for buying gifts so that even if you are on a low income you can still have a lovely Christmas with careful budgeting.

But of course it is not all about the decorations and presents. I never forget the meaning of Christmas even during the busiest of Christmas Days. Christina Rossetti wrote a poem in 1885 that begins with the words ‘Love came down at Christmas’ and that’s the love I feel every day but especially at Christmas.

But I digress. Now that my children and grandchildren live away and come home every second Christmas I have tended not to be quite so liberal with the decorating unless they are going to be visiting. It’s a funny thing retirement. You may have more time to prepare but somehow every year there is a little less energy. This year however, my family were coming so I decorated—but a scaled down version of previous years. Phew, pulling out boxes from storage and three hours decorating and I was ready for a shower and bed!  Then a week or so later I got to do it all again in reverse!

But what a wonderful Christmas. We had so much fun over the few days the family was here and what a privilege to spend time with those so precious little ones. I must admit that I was impressed that they waited until 7.30 am to open presents which was about the earliest Grammy could struggle out of bed. So yes, the day was very chaotic—seven adults including my ninety-three year old mother, plus three children. But everyone helped; my son did all the cooking, my daughter and daughter-in-law made desserts and did dishes and somehow everything got done when it needed to be done while my husband and I just coasted. Lovely.

As I reflected on the day later in the evening (my favourite thing to do Christmas night), I was very aware of how priceless time with family is. My wish for 2023 would be that people would realise the importance of family and be willing to swallow their pride, forgive and do all they need to do if those relationships need to be restored. God bless you each.

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