I have to confess that over the years I have been very caught up in the period preceding Christmas…. from nagging my husband to get the Christmas lights up, getting my overseas cards written, buying too many gifts,…. the list goes on, and this was all in addition to working outside of the home. Since I retired, I have now taken a different take on preparing for Christmas without all the stress and doing my utmost to avoid all the commercialism. Luckily I do have the extra time now to continue with my card writing which is something that I have always enjoyed. The one time of the year that I connect with old friends in the UK going back to my school years. This year I had fun making my own Christmas cards and I have made simple homemade gifts (with inspiration from the Findleberry Garden and Pinterest). Being a gardener I love to make fresh centrepieces for my neighbours or passing on pots of forced bulbs which are so refreshing to see in bloom over the Christmas holidays.
To me Christmas is about treasuring the many family traditions not only passed on from my parents and grandparents, but those created over the years within my own family unit. This includes making the Christmas pudding and Christmas cake (as well as mince pies and shortbread* ), collecting fresh greens from the woodland around us and making arrangements both inside and outside the house (as detailed in my earlier posts). In the past attending children’s Christmas concerts or a special Christmas event. Most importantly, I look forward to time spent with my family and close friends and keeping these simple traditions to create a memorable Christmas. All that remains to be said is thank you to all the readers of my blog. I hope to continue to inspire people to garden and I always welcome feedback as to the type of information you would like to see on my future blog posts. WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!
*I use a great recipe “Salty Caramel Shortbread”. You can locate the recipe on my friend’s blog – “thefoodblog.net” under the tab desserts. They truly are tasty.