Our Christmas Tree Decorating Story

For the last three years my family have been trying to created family traditions of our own, and break away from the older traditions that no longer fit our lifestyles or our hot December weather

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My mother insisted on the old English tradition of a hot lunch with more food than a small country could devour let alone our small family,and try as my sisters and I might, we couldn’t convince her to make any allowance for the sultry, humid and downright hot Christmas in Brisbane, apart from ‘allowing’ a salad to grace the table along with everything else.

Three years ago she said she could no longer ‘do Christmas’ at her place and my sisters and I rubbed our hands together with glee.  Finally, we could put our own individual stamp on the seasons celebrations, taking it in turns to host Christmas Dinner at our homes.

Little did we realize Mum only said she couldn’t “do Christmas" she never mentioned us being allowed to do it our way! So it has been a bit of a struggle to say the least, and the saga continues this year as my youngest sister Leonie takes her turn.

Rather than wait for my mother to die to have our own family traditions, we have begun creating our own.

One of these is decorating…..

I’m a lazy Christmas decorator, it’s hot, it’s busy, it’s messy, and so many other excuses I seem to find to delay the dressing of the tree.  This year Greg suggested we invite Leah and Corrie over to make an evening of it. I thought it was a wonderful idea, I could prepare dinner while they did the decorating, we could open a bottle of wine and I could take photographs as they progressed…….

Sounds simple enough, I hear you say….. I didn’t count on influences beyond my control,

What the?

Greg put up the tree….then headed outside to decorate the BBQ area with fairy lights, leaving me to begin food prep.  Leah and Corrie arrive with Brooklynn.  Leah looking like thunder….she to put the baby into the porta-cot in the spare room, fortunately she stayed asleep. (They had been out all day and had a cranky baby, but that’s another story)

Unbeknownst to me, I had upset Jordan earlier when he asked if he could use the internet, and I said “No, Leah and Corrie will be here any moment to begin decorating the tree!”….this sent him into his room where he refused to budge, even when the decorating began.

Greg was a bit peeved that  I had upset the apple cart, I’m shaking my head in puzzlement all the while, because this doesn’t seem to be the makings of any Family Tradition I had in mind?

No Jordan, No wine, and very little fun, until the dog got involved at the end and began to run around the house chased by Greg with a couple of torches????

 

Finding this extremely sad looking polystyrene Pirate Snowman Decoration with only one eye, no hat, covered in discoloured sticky tape and a little bite mark in his bottom gave us all a much needed laugh, and provided the light relief to the evening.

Next year we may have to re-think the Tree Decorating Family Tradition!!

Thanks for stopping by,