A Very Merry Christmas to You All

/ December 24, 2019

We are nearly there. All the shopping is done, the tree is up and decorated. There is the church service in the afternoon, then the traditional sausage and sauerkraut for dinner – and then it is unwrapping time.

At the beginning of December I wondered whether I was going to be able to go through with my “natural Christmas” theme that had been established with my door wreath. It all worked out, and so we have a somewhat “sustainable” Christmas tree this year: Less bling and more upcycling. I collected the fir cones in a nearby park, and gave them a little frosting of white paint. The jute bows came from an old bag that I cut into strips. Admittedly, the delicate paper decorations were new – but inexpensive, at about 30 Cents each. The silver baubles are over 100 years old – they are an heirloom from my grandmother for whom they were bought when she was born. They are the bling that cannot be omitted. The silver candle holders come out every year, and the candles were left-overs from last year. After Christmas, the tree will be chopped and warm us via the fireplace. I’m chuffed with the less ornate look on a tree that has plenty of space for unwrapping the gifts underneath.

Talking of unwrapping, time to update you on the advent calendRA, in case you didn’t open the daily door yourself.

I hope this has kept you warm. I have a little bonus for you – there is a late addition to the calendar. I have extended it to the 25th, as suggested by Kate. Check the advent calendRA HERE tomorrow morning, or whenever you have a minute on your big day.

I’ve been lurking on Twitter these past few days, waiting for the traditional Christmas message from Mr. A. No word yet. So in his stead, here is my message to you.

I’d like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas. If it doesn’t necessarily have strict religious meaning to you, this time may be the always recurring opportunity to spend some time with our loved ones, to watch our children/grandchildren/nephews and nieces enjoy the windfall of presents, or to simply have the space to breathe, reflect and enjoy the quiet. I hope you’ll have some nice food in your belly, exchange some pretty presents or good wishes, be happy and content with a roof over your head and a warm room to keep you safe. Despite all the personal trials and tribulations, the unstable politics and the divisive leadership this year, maybe we can have just a few days where we are just human – never mind our differences in opinion, religion, circumstances. That is the hope I always turn to when I feel discouraged by world news – or even by skirmishes in our little fandom. I have much to be thankful for, with so many old and new friends in this fandom, who have accompanied me through the occasional down-period, who have boosted by crafty confidence, who have read and commented and laughed with me, and who have been a true light whenever I felt dark. Thank you! Here’s a toast to all of you! 🍞

Happy Christmas to you all!

Related posts

48 thoughts on “A Very Merry Christmas to You All”

  1. Thank you for the wonderful Christmas/holiday wishes.🙌🏻 All the same to you and more 😉
    Thank you for making this space fun and full of armitaged things! (I’m sooo tired of politics and politicians 😱) And thank you again for saving RAnet site! 👍🏻💖
    Lots of love and hugs 🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hope you had a lovely Christmas celebration, Olga.
      Yes, this is meant to be a happy place. Ok, occasionally politics may creep in, mostly if Mr A adds his voice to the choir – although he seems intent on not doing it again…
      I hope we will soon have the RAnet site moved and online. Not sure what the developers’ holiday schedule is, but as long as the old site is still accessible, all is good…

      Like

      Reply

    • Yep, it’s an old house, with lots of old family things in it. The silver baubles must have been bought in 1918, when my granny was born. I still have the old boxes they came in…

      Like

      Reply

  6. Ein absolut wunderschöner Baum. 🎄Ich hoffe, ihr habt ein entspanntes Fest im Familienkreis.

    Vielen Dank für das wunderbare Jahr mit dir, für das Lachen und das Haareraufen im Fandom, für Flat!Richie, RDC, die Auktion, für RAnet und alles drumrum.

    Like

    Reply

  7. What a lovely tree! My daughter in law has been looking for ages for hessian bows without any luck, you’ve inspired me to have a go at making some for her ready for next Christmas. 😊
    We have a selfie from Richard, but no message yet that I’ve seen.
    Have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones S. xx

    Like

    Reply

      • He was late this year, but I have to commend him for *always* writing a little letter to his “friends” 😂. With his twitter otherwise rather devoid of a personal touch, the annual Christmas message feels like a real gift. Glad he didn’t forget it.

        Like

        Reply

    • You know, I was looking for hessian on Amazon, but the ribbon there was not what I wanted. Or if it was the kind of width and texture I wanted, it just seemed terribly overpriced. So I rummaged in the garage and found this old jute bag (which the hubby occasionally uses for his painting paraphernalia). It had paint splashes and other assorted stains, but I ripped the whole bag apart and then cut it into strips. I made the bows by simply wrapping some silver wire over them. Cheap-skate me was delighted with the result 😂

      Like

      Reply

  8. that’s a really lovely tree, but i can’t stop myself from having all of the colour! my baubles apart from one new one every year are vintage ones picks up from charity shops, but couldn’t trust the new kitten .
    The calender has been very amusing 🙂
    Have a great Christmas and we can all relax now that RA has put his yearly letter out there

    Like

    Reply

    • Colour is lovely, too, I agree, Rachel. In my case, I was just hankering for something different after many, many years of red baubles and decorations.
      Lovely idea to get vintage baubles!
      Glad the calendar entertained you for another year. It’s almost become a tradition now 😉

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • Many thanks – the tree shined brightly with its candles. Only drawback of real candles: You don’t light them every day… Maybe we’ll get another session out of it 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  12. Love your tree. It looks like you went to a forest and cut it down yourself. Ours are trimmed as they grow so they have fairly uniform shapes, no matter the species. Merry Christmas to everyone. I have been too busy with family health issues to comment much, but I am as much a RA fan as ever.

    Like

    Reply

    • Oh yes, we have done that in the past – going to a Christmas tree farm to choose our own tree. This year, it was only in a car park 😂.
      Hope you had a lovely Christmas, Kathy, despite the worries and sorrows over health issues. Wishing you health and happiness in the next year. xxx

      Like

      Reply

  13. Thank you for the lovely Christmas message and the fun advent calendar. Your tree is gorgeous! What a special treasure to have heirloom baubles from when your Grandmother was a baby. Amazing! Happy Christmas to you and your family. Wishing you all a joyful holiday season. 🎄❤️

    Like

    Reply

    • This is one of the very best trees I’ve seen this year. Understated, but deeply meaningful all the same.

      Wishing you and all your family a happy, peaceful day and a healthy and prosperous new year.

      The same to everyone in our little bubble. 😎😂❤️ You’re a really special kind of bunch.

      Like

      Reply

      • Oh, that’s a lovely compliment re. my tree, Jenny. Thanks 😘
        Bubble. Yeah, not my favourite part of his message tbh. But we definitely are a special bunch. Long may it last 🙂
        Hope you had a lovely holiday season, too! xx

        Like

        Reply

    • I’m very proud of my granny’s Christmas decorations indeed, and somehow they always make it onto the tree, no matter what colour scheme/style I may have decided on. It is a nice way of remembering her, too.
      Hope you had a lovely time with all your family, too, Donna. Lots of love! xxx

      Like

      Reply

  15. Merry Christmas to you! We have a couple minutes left here. What a lovely tree. Have you ever lighted the candles on your tree? When my dad was young ( he was born in 1923) they would light the candles on the tree with a bucket of water next to it just in case. It never did go up in flames. They only lighted the candles on Christmas Eve. Everything on my tree has been around for a good many years including ornaments that both my husbands and my grandma made. Most the ornaments that the boys made in school also.

    Like

    Reply

    • Oh yes, the candles get lit every year. Of course you have to be there to watch it closely, but – knock on wood – in my own 50 years, about 15 years of which I had my own candle-lit tree, we never had any problem with the tree. (We usually light it on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, possibly New Year’s Eve.)
      I love the idea of collecting an odd assortment of meaningful ornaments. Somehow, I never got round to it, and my children never seemed to make any ornaments in school either… But such lovely mementos to have, and extra special because they only come out once a year.

      Like

      Reply

      • Just saw your new post and saw the candles lit on the tree. It looks very nice. I did forget there are a few new craft ornaments on my tree from 2 years ago, these are my school made ones. Part of one of my classes was to give a craft class, we had age groups we had to work with and plan the craft for that age group since it was at the end of semester there where a few Christmas crafts. My craft group was to make pine cone bird feeders with bird seed and peanut butter, so my craft is long gone. I had the age group of 65 to 80. Nice to look at the ornaments and think about the classmate that lead the group and the fun we had during those 2 classes. Also how much easier it is to put together an activity for a patient for therapy.

        Like

        Reply

Let me know what you think!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.