Thursday 13 December 2012

'Tis the season

It is very nearly my second favourite time of year. Closely following Halloween, Christmas is a time of year that makes me happier than any other. With beautiful decorations, colder air and an abundance of food, December 25th (or more accurately, the entire month) is one of those occasions that I am grateful for. Unfortunately, my Christmas cheer has been delayed until now due to exams and important assesments for Uni. But now that my last essay has been submitted and the exam is just a faint memory I am ready to fully engulf myself in the holiday season.
My holiday preparations started with a bang on Saturday. My Mum and I decorated our Christmas tree with blue and white lights before hanging some very old and some very strange ornaments which included my personal favourite... Badass Santa on a motorbike. It's always nice to decorate your tree with ornaments that have special attachments to family members and for the Moorhouse family nearly all of our decorations have sentimental value. Whether it reminds us of a particular place or time or whether it simply reminds us of Christmas as children, decorating our tree is a happy occasion.

After spending an hour or so decorating our tree and eventually the entire house, we sat down and watched some television. One of the more familiar memories I have of Christmases past, is spending more time with my family so it was nice to talk to my Mum for longer than the 10-15 minutes that it takes for me to ask her for money or for a lift.
But my day was far from over. Nathan and his flatmates Jordan and Anna, were hosting a Christmas dinner and movie and invited me to come along. Despite the hurdles I faced (a cat refusing to move from underneath my car) I made it to the flat in one piece. They had decorated their flat beautifully! Candles, Christmas decorations and a very cute table complete with place settings. To my delight Helen, Becky, Jordon and Nathan busied themselves cooking a proper Christmas Roast accompanied by Nathan's newly discovered Bread Sauce. Me and Anna took on the role of the typical men folk and stayed in the living room having a chat. It wasn't long before we were all sat at the table enjoying a glass or two of Champagne and our well prepared feast! Conversation flowed as usual and we swapped stories about Christmas and traditions. Afterwards we all sat down to watch The Grinch and Nathan and I were the only ones still awake by the end of it. Food comas all round clearly. The Grinch is my all time favourite Christmas movie and is very high on my list of regular movies too. I could quote it all day if I thought it was at all socially acceptable.
 
Needless to say I had a very festive day and I look forward to the big day on the 25th and all the joy it brings. But for now, I need to collect some presents for my parents and make them presentable in my own particularly disordered form wrapping.