Christmas Shmistmas

SO, it's feeling a little Christmassy up in here. Our tree is up, and its so pretty. Christmas is one time I can pretend I still work in Visual Merchandising and get all control freaky with the decoration of the tree. But with 2yo twin boys, I had to throw that out the window! I hoped that if they were involved in the trimming of the tree, they may not see it as their sole mission in life to destroy it and everything it stands for. 


So far, so good. Eli is so in love with our pretty tree, he could barely sleep on the first night we put it up. He had to come back upstairs to say goodnight to it again.  And again.


And I got to add another sentence to the list of Crazy Things ONLY Parents Of Two Year Olds Say:
"Jasper! Stop licking the Christmas Tree!!"


Why would you lick a Christmas Tree? But then again, why the hell not? It's the only way you can find out how it tastes! Or how the cat tastes, or money, or your brother...


I sometimes dread the Christmas period. Starting from the Awesome Teenager's birthday in November all the way through to the Lovely Husband's Birthday in January is often a guilt ridden, white knuckle ride of  uber stress and extreme anxiety. This year, something is different. I am not stressed. I am organised. I am looking forward to Christmas day. Probably because we are going out for lunch. To an airconditioned venue, where someone else will make and serve the food, then clean up the mess. And I will drink wine. In air conditioning. Awesome.


I totally understand why this time of year is can be such a trigger for stress and depression. There are so many expectations of the day- the right gifts, the right food, the right dress.... Who is coming? What are they bringing? Will they piss me off? Will I say the right thing? My family are super cool and heaps of fun, but we have all been guilty of over-stressing over the last few years when it has been our turn to host Christmas. This year, we are all guests. We can all relax. Sometimes, we get so bogged down in the logistics of the day, we forget to just enjoy each other.  This year, we will remember.


Are you organised for the big day? Do you love Christmas, or does it stress you out?


x gillian