Its’ the same every year the weeks and weeks of preparation and build up to Christmas are at times hectic, at times frustrating but mostly enjoyable to me. The big day comes and goes so quickly that I always feel a little flat on Christmas morning. The anticipation of the presents, the preparation for the big lunch are swept up in the excitement of the day and it all speeds by so quickly. Because of this I think my Mother came up with the idea of ‘Tree presents’. I can’t remember when it was – sometime during my childhood, she used to keep some of the presents back for us to open later in the day so that the excitement lasted a little longer than the 5am early rise to see if ‘He had been’! These presents then became ‘Tree Presents’, just a little extra thing to open after lunch was finished, but before we settled down to watch the Queen and start the usual round of Monopoly and Charades. Well needless to say the ‘Tree presents’ are now a well established family tradition which any new member of the immediate family is introduced to as well as anyone coming for Christmas.
So when we have opened all the presents around the tree in the morning we still have the ‘Tree Presents ‘to look forward to. There always seems to be far more of them and they are usually something silly or rude and cause much extended mirth as (mellowed with a few drinks) we gather our not so little pile on the table and open them with glee.
Well we are back to normal again now with a house full of guests expected today for the New Year break. Christmas has gone and the next will come round far too quickly – but during the year if I see any little thing that takes my fancy – I will probably buy it and put it away for a ‘Tree present’ .
Happy New Year Everyone.
