Confessions of a former Christmas Junkie

I have always loved Christmas. I loved the lights, the glitter, the excitement and always made it a full on production for my kids which wasn’t always easy as their Dad could be a bit of a grinch about it. . The stocking stuffers were a big thing with my 4 children, a tradition I carried on into their adulthood, soon realizing the fortune I was spending on the little funny stuff would be better spent getting them something useful.

Once the bulk of gift buying was under control I could then busy myself with outfitting a couple of Barbies in all the latest fashions, often not starting my sewing until 9 or 10 at night and sewing until the wee hours of the morning.  There were Christmas dresses for the girls to be made, new vests for the boys. The house had to be decorated, a tree had to located and cut down and decorated. Black Friday shopping was a must. Packages had to be wrapped and some to Post Office. Holiday meal for 10 or twelve folks to be prepared and lots of pumpkin pies, (my specialty) to be made from the Halloween pumpkins. From Halloween to Christmas was a constant whirlwind of activities with Thanksgiving thrown in in the middle along with November and December kids’ birthdays.

And I loved it, even when it just became the Senior and I.  We decorated the house, eight storage boxes, six more for the outside decorations.We did look festive! But with our children and grand children scattered over 5 states and one foreign country there was no more big holiday gatherings and we began to say why? Why are we doing this? And the answer was habit!

Now we have developed this wonderful new habit.  Christmas  in Zihuatanejo. Two poinsettias and a nativity scene and we are decorated. Christmas dinner with friends is a sharing of cooking between our small mexican  kitchens. We now do much of our Christmas shopping while sitting in the shade of a palapa on a warm beach and let the “stores” come to us. It’s so easy to buy lovely jewelry for the ladies in our family and before we arrive home in March most of the Christmas presents have been bought.  We no longer have to contend with pushy, stressed out holiday shoppers, just happy beach crowds. Life is good, no stress, no mess. Merry Christmas to all! Signing off KO

Author: zihuathyme

I'm a traveler, not as frequently as I would like , but I plan on doing more. After working full time at Mount Rainier National Park during the summer of 22 I have decided to retire completely and forever. Prior to that I was semi retired as a Wedding Officiant I officiated at about 20 weddings a season, and with my small delivery service I handled the distribution of a local high-quality Home and Garden magazine . Prior to my "semi retirement" I was in corrections and before that I owned and operated a bail bond agency. I now plan to travel to new places and exciting places, getting ready to do that as a solo as the Senior is no longer with me, his choice, and I am OK with that. For hobbies I'm a reader and love my kindle. And I enjoy writing. View all posts by zihuathyme