Those of you who read my posts for aliljoy will know that this weekend we put up the Christmas tree! I know, it’s quite early but, after a week of Xmas music we thought, why not get really enmeshed in the spirit of Christmas, after all we did miss out last year!
Decorating the tree is one of those image perfect moments isn’t it? Where the family gather around in matching Christmas jumpers beside a roaring fire. The gentle whisperings of silent night crackles over an old gramophone and popcorn is thread delicately on string ready to be hung . The parents enjoy mulled wine and cinnamon cakes and the children tuck into hot chocolate and mince pies…….
REALLY?? NOT IN THE MACDONALD HOUSEHOLD
I guess you could say preparations for Christmas began in early summer for us. When house hunting there are those vital questions you ask yourself: is it near a good school; Is the area nice; are there enough bedrooms; Where will we put the Christmas tree?…. Luckily our house has a lovely little nook in the corner of the family room, perfect for our 6ft (artificial) fir.
On locating (and negotiating) the decorations from the loft and down two flights of stairs, we discover that said perfect nook does not possess a plug socket. It is conveniently nestled between patio doors and the archway to the kitchen, even an extension lead can’t compete with that. So what to do? Ah yes, the sofa shuffle!
For an hour and a half, we shout over the sound of Slade, while baby Roo sits patiently in the play pen and the eldest makes suggestions. We do a fantastic chuckle brothers impression ‘to me then, to you’ and finally, after trying and abandoning the idea of putting one module of the corner sofa upstairs, we successfully find an alternative place.
Unfortunately most of the letter guides have fallen from the tree branches and it takes 45mins to erect the beast. The eldest, having been very patient, asks to put the first bauble on the branches, ‘if only it had those little bits of string attached Mummy’ Oh Feck! Its 7pm and we need to start threading the ties. We promise her that tomorrow morning we will start the actual decorating. She is gracious and understanding!!
We don’t quite manage to fulfill that perfect image, we are all in our jammies and all too aware that visitors will be arriving later so the house needs to be in some sort of order, but, cup of coffee in one hand and plastic icicle in the other we have a great time making that tree sparkle! We are not even phased when we lift H to place the star on the top only to find it brushes the ceiling and needs to be placed lower, or when we discover baby Roo holding a loose thread and pray he hasn’t swallowed a bauble but, the shock comes when we decide to add the lights….. We don’t have an adapter plug. After all that hassle we have to decide if we want lights over Xmas, or a working telephone……………