Showing posts with label Gift wrapping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gift wrapping. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Breathe In...Breathe Out



[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"]A Christmas tree inside a home.[/caption]


Normally, I am an organized person. I love my calendars, daytimer, and to do list. This Christmas season has seen me running in circles, and having the feeling of not getting much accomplished. I told my daughter this morning that I have yet to watch more than ONE of my all time favorite Christmas movies. The only reason I was able to watch The Bishop's Wife (with Cary Grant) is that I squeezed it in WHILE I was balancing my checkbook. How sad is that?

I had such high hopes of eating warm cookies, and drinking hot chocolate while watching Christmas movies. I would have plenty of time to shop and wrap gifts. Yes, in my mind it was going to be like a Norman Rockwell picture or a print from Currier and Ives. Sigh. Instead it looked more like this....

1. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T SHIP BY CHRISTMAS???!!! You have to ship by Christmas. There are lives at stake! Namely mine.

2. I think the tree is leaning forward. Can we prop something under the stand? What would fit up under there without knocking it over?

3. Why are the lights blinking? Stop the blinking. I'm about to have a seizure!

4. I'm too tired to make cookies tonight.That is pretty tired, people.

5. The materials for the gingerbread house are still in the box. Wow, the picture on the box looks really cute. Maybe we could just cut the picture out and prop it up. Will people even notice?

6. I asked my son if he'd be offended if I just chucked his and his brother and sister's gifts under the tree and forgot the  gift wrapping? He just stared at me. Really? Okay, fine. It was worth a try.

7. My company will be welcomed to our house through a pet cluttered deck, and into a laundry (alas, mud) room. The floor is covered in mud and snow.....and quite frankly, at this point I don't care. This is our life. Mud and all.

8. If I get cut off in the parking lot at Wal-mart one more time, I might have holiday road rage.  On the up side, my mug shot could be used for next year's Christmas card.

9. Speaking of Christmas cards, I had such good intentions. Really. I did.

10. I'm playing Mary (as in Jesus mother) this year. It's an Advent monologue that I am performing this Sunday. I love drama. I just hope I can remember my lines! Breathe in.....breathe out.......

Merry Christmas Everyone!
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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Through The Eyes Of A Child

Austrian stained glass

Memories...as warm and cozy as a blanket. Memories that I am able to wrap around me, even on the coldest of days. Memories that make me smile, even now, years past my childhood. Memories that are ignited for me, when the weather gets cold and Christmas is right around the corner.

Getting the live Christmas tree from the sale at the local fire department. "This one is too skinny. This one looks like a bush. This one has a bare spot."  One year we did have a Christmas tree that resembled a pine bush. It was short and fat. Didn't really matter though, because to a child it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen, when decorated. Pretty glass ornaments that my mom had...blue bells, pink icicles. A ton of tinsel....which my mom had a special way of adding to the tree. She did not appreciate my sister and I throwing the tinsel on in "clumps". Why not?

My sister and I got dressed in our Christmas Eve outfits. We went to Mammaw and Pappaw's house for a HUGE family dinner. My cousins and I would sneak upstairs to the living room while all the adults were downstairs still eating and socializing. We would look to see the gifts that were addressed to us. We'd carefully shake them...try to see under the wrapping paper. The anticipation was too great!

Footsteps!!! An adult! "What are you kids doing?" Nothing, was our reply. My aunt knew we were lying...and we knew that she knew we were lying. But, it was Christmas Eve....and sneaking a peek at gifts was part of the fun. After the meal all of us went to church for the Christmas Eve service. Our church was made from stone with beautiful stained glass windows. The church was built in the 1800's and I heard that the windows had been imported from England. The candles glowing in the windows made the stained glass come alive. I have some wonderful memories of that church on Christmas Eve. All I have to do is close my eyes to see it once again.

Back to my grandparents house for dessert and the opening of gifts! It's funny the things I remember from childhood. When I was very little I got a small, brown toy puppy. His head moved back and forth and his tail wagged and then he would bark. I thought it was the neatest thing. As I got older, the type of gifts changed, but it was always the family get togethers that I loved so much.

Christmas morning was fun with all the usual excitement of unwrapping gifts, giving gifts, and the expressions on each face. I remember one year, I think I was 13 or 14, I got a miniature "boom box".  To those of you that lived in the 80's, you know that was a cool gift! Before we knew it, it was time to get dressed and start the holiday trek to family houses. One relative would have breakfast, one would have lunch, one would have dinner/dessert. This was a great way to visit, see everyone's tree, get to look at all my cousins Christmas presents, and enjoy family. I have such good memories of my growing up years.

I feel extremely blessed to have such wonderful memories from my childhood. Family, friends, church services to celebrate the Savior's birth, food, and gifts. All these things wrapped up, making a gift that my heart can open each Christmas...as I reminisce .
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Monday, December 13, 2010

Gift Wrapping Envy



[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"]Christmas gifts.[/caption]


I have to wrap gifts today. At least START to wrap gifts today. At least TRY to wrap gifts today.

I love to buy gifts for people. I love to have "a theme" to my gift buying. Most of the time my family and friends enjoy my gifts. Really.That is because I put thought into what I'm giving people....and they know it.

It's the wrapping that I'm not the best at....I don't make perfect corners. The corners are almost always uneven. I probably use way too much tape. My seams are crooked. And I have been known to cut the gift wrap too short and have to "patch" the area that the gift wrap didn't cover. Don't judge me.

Hey, it's the thought that counts, people! Not my (lack of) gift wrapping skill!

The weather is  yucky and cold. I may as well make good use of my time, being stuck inside. I think I will barricade myself in my bedroom with wrap, scissors, tape, bows, and tags. I won't come out until the deed is done. AND if one person makes a crack about my wrapping resembling something a kindergartner would do, well let's just say "Santa" might not be visiting them this year. To be honest, my kids wouldn't say a word--they care nothing about the wrapping. Once given a gift, the wrap is only on the gift for .0002 seconds. In a flash it is a crumpled mass on the floor. In light of that, why should I worry about making neat corners?

 
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