The Work is Finally Done

Isn't always with a sigh of relief that I survey the kitchen and living room and say with a smile, "I finally did it all. I'm ready for Christmas."
I try to begin the extra Christmas duties, Thanksgiving weekend. That's when the decorations come out, along with the gift list, wrapping paper, etc. It all gets laid out in the spare bedroom and the assessment begins. What needs replacing? What is broken? How much tape do I really need? Then it's off to the kitchen and a look at the supplies of sugar, flour, dark cocoa, and walnuts.
Now that my kids are grown and gone, I don't do much baking any other time of year, so making cookies, fudge and other goodies is a rare treat and the house quickly fills with the wonderful smell of pie dough and baking chocolate chips.
But it's always these last few days before Christmas that I enjoy the most. The tins are filled, we' ve attended the parties, gone to the concerts, shopped, helped a few charities, and shopped some more. We wrapped and turned the lights on and hunted up the Christmas CDs and DVDs. Our all time favorite, A Christmas Story will be watched on Christmas Eve.
Everyone has their own way of handling Christmas from the truly organized to the miracle it gets done, but it doesn't matter how you handle it, what matters is that you enjoy it. And at my house, we honor and enjoy Christmas very much.
Merrry Christmas to all.
Best
Linda Bilodeau
www.lindabilodeau.com