My Christmas...

...attending The Nutcracker at the Capitol Theater with my eldest grand-daughter, taking the younger one to see The Hobbit, re-reading "An Island Christmas Reader" and "Old Christmas", making sugarplums for the first time, our book club Christmas evening, listening to Handel's Messiah, the whitest of white Christmases, tires spinning, people pushing cars everywhere, every branch and twig encased in ice, a winter wonderland, six inches of slush in parking lots, soft snowfall on Christmas Eve, waiting for family to arrive safely on slippery highways, a spectacularly beautiful Christmas day, diamonds in the snow, hot chocolate, candles, our first artificial tree and not hating it, old ornaments poignant with memories, the moving poetry of old Christmas carols, reading The Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve, reading from Luke chapter 2 on Christmas morning, sleepy teenagers, a new book, chicken bones, enough chocolate to sink a ship, easy laughter, a few tears, cosy blankets in front of the tv fireplace, the smell of turkey roasting for 6 hours, cranberries, the glorious mess in the living room, friends dropping in, the best caramel corn ever, the warm glow of Christmas lights,

towers of dirty dishes, settling back in the recliner with feet up, shortbread cookies, ice on the river, a red fox brilliant against the white snow in the back yard, taking Christmas treats to the neighbours, our big new tv, mocha cakes made by my husband, the shining star on top of the tree, my friend Ellen's fruit cake, corny Christmas movies, missing the days when my children were young, dropping an old and cherished ornament and hearing it break on the floor, the friendliness of people in the grocery store, pretty holiday napkins, After Eights, those lonely moments Christmas inexplicably brings, two snowstorms and an ice storm and a dying snow blower all in one week, a dvd of old Andy Williams Christmas shows, Christmas dinner with my mother who - frail and elderly - had a good day, remembering past Christmases, glittering Christmas cards, glasses of eggnog, exhaustion, winter boots and wet feet, power outages messing up the computer, a warm house, friends, family and gratitude for everything I've been blessed with.

So tell me about your Christmas...