Christmas has to be one of my most loved and most hated holidays. I love what the season is all about, giving, sharing and fellowship. I detest the stress and hype that is part of the Christmas I know now.
One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing anything remotely “jolly” before December 1st. Call me old fashioned, but I really mean it. Selfridges annoys me to no end with their Christmas shop opening in August. I cringed at the beginning of November when Oxford Street installed their holiday lights, and at the end of October, I caught my first whiff of an eggnog latte from Starbucks! What is this all about? Christmas comes in December!
That said, I am not a total Grinch. I do enjoy the time with a warm fire, a hot drink in hand and some light carols (not Channing) in the background. The smells are great and the general feeling brings me back to “name that decoration” with my sister Heather in the rec room of our Minnesota rambler.
This year, I decided to celebrate the season in pictures! My friend Federico (model/opera singer/gorgeousness incarnate) and I teamed up to create this little wonder. Lee’s sister Sue made the box. She is a trusty handy-woman to be sure (quite a totty too!). One of the best parts of preparing for this shoot was buying the wrapping paper and ribbon. There were two Chinese women behind the giftwrap counter and one was making my bow. Assuming I didn’t understand Mandarin, one of them turned to the other and asked, “Did you just fart?” I immediately began to giggle and said I believed she did because I could smell it too. The woman was mortified, but we shared a laugh in the end.
Federico was a great sport. He popped into the box. We did the shoot and within minutes, my season’s greetings was a reality.
