In which we celebrate Christmas

It’s a cloudy, almost foggy day here at Shadow Lake. A flock of geese just settled down in the middle of the lake, which officially froze over this week. Everything feels calm and peaceful. The smell of chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa fills my little home. Tomorrow is Christmas, and today is the day of preparation.

This year feels much more relaxed than last Christmas. We got our tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, and very lightly decorated it (we have a toddler, you know). He helped to remove some decorations, so it was looking sparse for a while. I tried making paper chains this week, in alternating hues of green and red, and wrapped them on the tree. It lends such a festive, cheery look. I had never made paper chains before, but I think I would like to do it again!

I finally did some work on our tree skirt- leftover fabric from my Rwandan wedding dress that I used to just wrap around the tree. This year, I shaped it, sewing it with a layer of fun red and green plaid flannel over top. It’s a charming blend of farmhouse and black tie, if there’s such a thing.

Half of our gifts are wrapped, and I’ll finish the rest today. My son’s gift is tucked behind the tree, still unnoticed. He did very well not opening the packages, although he wanted to. Once I explained who they belonged to (I haven’t wrapped his gift, so they all belong to someone else), he left them alone.

This year, my husband and I split the gift shopping for my family, and it was such a relief. The last three years, I was in charge of birthdays and Christmas, and it was a lot. That’s part of why I hand-made everyone’s gifts last year… a choice I regretted many times. This year was delightfully less work.

Tonight, we will gather at our church to celebrate Christmas together. While Christ was more likely born in the summer, we celebrate his birth on Christmas and it is a joyous occasion because it signifies a new life, the physical life of a baby (Jesus), and the future new life of all who have put their belief in Him.

Tomorrow, we plan to have my family over for cocoa and cookies, and it will be a fun time. I am actually really looking forward to celebrating together.

I hope however you celebrate, if you do, that you have a lovely time with people you treasure. I hope that you can find some peace and quiet, and enjoy the delight of another Christmas. And if you don’t know the one whom we celebrate, I hope that this is the time that you seek Him out, and receive the true gift of Christmas- the promise of eternal life with the Creator.

Merry Christmas!