A COUNTDOWN TO A CANADIAN CHRISTMAS- 1 DAY TO GO

Many people are out doing last minute shopping. Picking up one more thing for the stockings or fresh veggies or bread. A good time not to be on the road. Italian-Canadians will be having their Christmas Eve Seafood dinner- the Feast of the 7 Fishes. Adolph and I will be on our own so will have lobster with some fresh pasta using up the seafood sauce from the weekend dinner along with some asparagus and fennel! What dessert to have from all the goodies we have in the house!! The Christmas table is set. A go around the house will occur to tidy those little clutter corners to make things look nice or just nicer and cleaner. Amazing how those clutter piles keep occurring. My grandchildren enjoyed two days at our home while my daughter and hubbie worked before having time off  until the New Year. Loved hearing them sing along to the Children's Christmas CD with many of the favourite Christmas carols. One way to get some religion into them- through music that praises the baby Jesus! Bought some last minute lottery tickets! Did one load of laundry and hung the precious items to air dry. No more laundry until the weekend. I have the Giller Prize book- US Conductors- on the go. Pleasure to sit in the Family Room to read. Prepared my outside for the weather forecast of a bad wind. My son-in-law hammered some nails in the front fence where it had come loose a month ago.  I will be making some Christmas Eve phone calls to family out west and overseas. Christmas Day is always so busy and sometimes the lines are jammed. There is no snow today but may be flurries over night so hopefully Christmas morning will be white. My children will not be on the road very much. Just one couple tonight to go into the city- Toronto that is to be with family for Christmas Eve. My grandchildren will see their Nonna and Nonno along with their zio, zia and cugine! Plus they get their Christmas gifts from them!! Looking out the window, I have seen many Fed EX, Purolator and Canada Post trucks racing around delivering lots of last minute parcels. My sister's parcel arrived yesterday so the goodies were delivered to my girls in a timely fashion to be under the tree for Christmas morning. TV has lots of Christmas music and movies and the regular weekday programming. For me, I am actually enjoying the quiet today. It is good to have some time to hear and think my own thoughts. Having some time away from work was needed more than I realized. Being home at this time of year is so precious. Besides if there were a Code Orange I am 5 minutes by car to get to work. The turkey is starting to thaw. So Christmas morning preparations for the dinner will start before Adolph and I open our presents. I always seem to give away more presents than remain in my house under my tree. However there are three huge presents that take up lots of room to make it look fuller. Christmas day will be opening the stockings by the fireplace in most homes. Opening presents. Having a simple breakfast by the tree. Christmas dinner is Turkey with all the trimmings- bread stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, peas, carrots, broccoli, fennel, sweet potato, mushrooms, Italian sausage, dinner rolls with butter, and a beverage of choice- red or white wine, water, beer, milk for the children. Dessert- a chocolate yule log, cupcakes, gingerbread cookies, chocolates, mints, and whatever else can be found in the house or brought by my guests. Many of the items served are similar to the ones I ate as a little girl. Although Adolph does most of the cooking, Christmas dinner is mine to do. The good old fashioned Canadian way that my Mother taught me and hopefully my girls will continue one day. Christmas in Canada is celebrated from coast to coast to coast. Little variations in some meals but Canadians know how to have a good time and include others in the celebrations. Children from all cultures will get a toy if needed from those local toy and food drives that occur across this great land. So from our house to yours- Have the Merriest of Christmases! Happy Holidays to all!

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS ARE ON CANADIAN STREETS

Slowly, houses are beginning to shine with Christmas lights and lawn decorations. I put mine up in two stages. With 2 new prelit Christmas trees, it was a challenge to find enough extension cords for all the plugs. It is a beautiful time of year with each house or business using their own imagination to have lights. Richmond Hill has old fashioned lamp post lights-quite pretty at night. Of course, with other cultures abounding there are many gaps on streets with no lights. Other faiths do have lights as part of their traditions but just not in the Christmas season. Lights are joyous not just pretty!

NANA SAYS IT IS HARD TO GET A GROUP GRANDCHILDREN PHOTO

Every time there is a special event, it is an opportunity to take a group shot. Let's have one with the grandparents. Getting the children to stay in one spot is the first effort and then having them stay. Take a dozen! Each picture has one child looking away, mouth open, not paying attention, well you understand because you probably have the same problem with your group pictures. While reviewing and wanting to scrapbook the photos from the recent celebrations, the pictues make me smile. Each child with their own personality shows up in them. As with most pictures, they will improve with age. Luckily my children always get some good portrait shots for birthdays and Christmas. Even their school pictures are okay! So out of the dozen there can be one sufficient picture to enlarge! Digital photography allows us to delete any photos we do not want. I suggest to keep the misfits because over time there may be the ones you treasure the most! Casual pictures tell a story! Are you the photographer in your family? Do you have lots with the grandchildren? They are lots of fun to review, aren't they?

A FUNNY CHRISTMAS WREATH STORY

So one day during the recent Christmas holiday, Adolph had just left. I hear this stratching noise at the front door thinking it is just Adolph making a funny knocking sound to tease and annoy me. So I quickly opened the door to find a grey squirrel hanging on my Christmas wreath stealing one of the pinecones! He leapt hurriedly and ran away with his find in his mouth, also leaving two other pinecones on the front step! I had been wondering why my beautifully made wreath was coming apart in some places! My girls thought it was like the scene in a Chevy Chase movie where there was a Squirrel in the Christmas tree. Sometimes life can imitate art!

NANA SAYS ENJOY THOSE SCHOOL BREAKS AT CHRISTMAS

Now that the excitement of Christmas is over and the children do not go back to school for two weeks, it can be a good time to regroup as a family. Many parents also have reduced work hours and a chance to do activities with their children. It does not mean running around and shopping. Quiet ones like playing with the new toys for the little ones or having your older children teach you about your new gadgets. My Sonya is helping me with my new RIM Playbook! Close to my home there is a good hill by the library. When there is enough snow, old and young are toboganning or using a sled! Old fashioned fun. Little backyard skating rinks help the little ones practice their skating skills or even using a patch of ice found in parks would do. For the skiers and snowboarders, a chance to go to the slopes! Playing in the snow making snowmen or snow angels is also simple! A midwinter cleanup! Filtering through unused toys or items replacing with the newly acquired things. A drive to your major city, looking at the lights before the New Year when they all come down. Crafts, cookie making, a new recipe, or just watching movies together or even going out to a movie make for fun family moments. I remember enjoying the time at Christmas as a child. The break from school gave opportunities to lounge in my new jammies, read any new books and just play. As a teenager, spending time with friends and maybe a sleepover! Listening to music and dancing in my room! When my children were little, just enjoying the days off work to be with them! It can be a time of renewel before we face the rest of the winter. It is also a chance to establish some new winter routines to help enjoy a season most of us just tolerate. Children embrace snow and the joys it brings! Perhaps we can learn from them! What are some activities you do in winter? Are you enjoying the break with your children or grandchildren? Tell me your favourite winter tale!

MY CANADIAN CHRISTMAS DAY

Not the whitest Christmas but there is a little sprinkling of snow on the ground. Opened presents with my hubbie, Adolph, had phone calls from both daughters, will be calling family out west later, Adolph has called Italy already and the vegetables are ready. I will be making my traditional Canadian bread stuffing for the turkey. We will have all the trimmings- mashed potatoes, gravy, bread with butter, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoe,cranberries, a few Italian sausages, wine, eggnog, and of course many, many desserts- the Christmas yule log,cupcakes with a Christmas theme for the children, homemade cookies and sweets and lots of chocolates. Our day is spent preparing the meal and anticipating the arrival of children, husbands and grandchildren. There are Christmas crackers to pop so we can wear the hats and find our little surprises inside. I even bought candy canes for the table in the shape of hockey sticks!

The best joy is being with family, reaching out to family that can not be with us and remembering those no longer with us! What do you do on your Christmas day? Have a joyous one!