Christmas

Y has to work both Mon and Wed, so we decided to have our Christmas on Sunday.  I had purchased about a dozen gifts for him (mostly clothing) and stacked them around a small ceramic lighted tree I put in the living room.  He was so excited to get to open packages, even though all the items were practical, and holiday paper was flying all over the carpet as he tore into his packages in a flurry of activity.

I had purchased a couple of novelty items, including two Nestles chocolate chip cookie cast iron  "frypans" for us to each make a single cookie, and a set with novelty Christmas mugs, hot chocolate, and S'Mores. It was fun to work together to bake our cookie and fix our hot chocolate (which tasted like sour milk, so we didn't drink it.  Sour milk was my fault as I used some milk in cooking a couple of weeks ago and didn't buy fresh milk for our hot chocolate.)  Y also made toffee to take to his co-workers as well as enough to give to 2 of my desert friends who love it when Y makes toffee because it's so good. Once the cookies were baked, we fixed the leg o'lamb and put it into the oven for our dinner, which also features mashed potatoes and fresh broccoli.

This year, I promised myself I would actually send gifts to my children and their families, so I spent the month of November shopping online and finding gifts that are probably a whole lot more practical than fun.  The postage to send the 2 boxes, one to each recipient, cost me $100, so I quickly remembered why I always send money!  If I had been thinking better, I probably could have had the gifts shipped to their home addresses, but live and learn. Watch out for my newly-acquired experience next year … right?

So, how did it go with me "doing Christmas" for the first time in a long while?  I enjoyed myself a lot. I had fun picking out presents and I really loved the look on Y's face as he opened all his packages. It wasn't the cost as much as it was the joy he shared with me as he admired all of his gifts. The gift he likes best is a toss-up between the 2 long-sleeved sweaters I bought for him and the 2 pairs of lounging pj's.  He's determined that he can wear the loungewear "out" of the house, maybe even with one of the sweaters that I got for him, but I've told him that what he's wearing is definitely pajamas--and he doesn't want to wear his pjs out and about the community!

What did Santa bring me?  The most gorgeous, all-leather, navy blue Coach handbag.  There are small shaped tea rose flowers on both sides of the bag, along with  hand-painted floral detail.  It is the most gorgeous handbag I've ever had and I think it should only be used for dress-up events, but Y told me to use it every day because if anything happens to it, he'll buy me another bag.  He really is a sweetheart who takes very good care of me and my dogs. and I'm glad he's in my life.

Happy Holidays to all of you from G'ma, Y, Cinnamon and Sparkle