A COUNTDOWN TO A CANADIAN CHRISTMAS- 3 WEEKS TO GO

The house is decorated and the unused items shoved away in the closet out of sight. Monday night mailed the parcels to destinations across Canada- Leduc Alberta and West Kelowna and Victoria British Columbia. The over sized envelopes with the special family projects were weighed and mailed. Of course all the cards to Italy, United States and across Canada are on the way.  One work function on Tuesday at a Chinese/Western buffet restaurant with about 30 people. We all brought a $10.00 gift to have a mini gift exchange. A number was put on the gifts and each of us picked a number from the bag. Often it is called a Secret Santa exchange. The gifts are almost finished. I have made overall lists of the grandchildren gifts to ensure I have kept the purchases even for all. A shortlist of who needs one or two more things on their Christmas list. As always in this modern world, a last minute gift card can fill in the gap!! Some babysitting tonight to let one daughter and spouse attend a work Christmas event. Saturday to start to decorated the real Christmas tree Adolph bought for $20.00 last week that has been waiting in the garage. One year in the future I may buy an artificial one but not yet. I will be going with the daughters and families on the Santa train ride in Uxbridge this Sunday. Hoping to get some fun pictures with the grandchildren and scenery of the countryside. Of course sorting and wrapping will slowly and methodically be done over the next few days. A couple of online purchases are yet to arrive. Yes the Christmas CDs are in the CD player. Another time I may get one of those docking units but CDs are still so good to hear and there is no downloading and sorting. If I like the singer or choir just put in the whole one and listen to the whole track. No jumping around from one singer to another. Christmas shows and concerts on TV are enjoyed. I watched the Country Music Christmas special this week while I did some Christmas stuff. I love this season. As short drives in the area are taken, it is wonderful to see the Christmas lights each household puts up. Of course many houses do not have lights, so the ones that do are a pleasure to see. The stores and Santas at the Malls are decorated with festive colours. So the daily activities that are done until stress sets in then stopped to relax the body. At work, the stream of goodies for staff are starting to arrive. So must pace the eating of cookies and chocolates with some needed exercise. Walking and weights are good. Maybe some pre-Christmas cleaning of dusty corners will burn off some calories too. Maybe just laying back once the tree is up with lights and decorated. Some of my favourite activities while  sitting beside the tree in the Family Room are knitting or crocheting or just reading. It reminds me so much of my childhood. The lights on the tree that flash at intervals can be mesmerizing. Yes there are other lights in the house- on the bannister on the staircase and a little tree in the living room.

Oh Christmas- don't you just love it!!