At last - I feel I can raise a sigh of relief and hang my apron back up, remove the hair grips from my hair and become me again!
Something perculiar tends to happen to me over the festive period - I change from easy going, non traditionalist, tis my house - to...
shock, horror -
A stepford wife!
And every year I swear it will not happen again - yet it does!
I become the 'perfect' daughter, cousin, hostess, etc.. whatever the required role is - I smile (alot) I curtsey (lol - only joking on that one - almost) I am polite, I do not retort with the sarcastic quips I employ the rest of the year and I gush over the thoughtless gifts! 'Why thank you for another bottle of *insert drink* that I do not drink - shall I add it to the collection of the last 5 years of undrinkable rubbish that is only fit to clean the drains!' or 'Lovely, bubble bath & smellies - just the ones that I am allergic to - you shouldn't have!'
The house becomes a festive delight - most showhomes would be envious of!
Now, please don't get me wrong & classify me as un-grateful - just that one would have thought with my nearest & dearest knowing me for so long (Eg Parents) they would be aware of what I am allergic to at least? Perhaps I judge too harshly? I tend to spend conciderable time & thought on getting the right gift, and buy into the it's not the size or the expense - whereas my Mother tends to believe that the more you get the better - thus we end up with a lot of tat. Sometimes the same tat as last year - & can easily identify the impulse buys - when we all end up with a purple pair of gloves - males & females alike!
I have also noticed that other believers in the tat - wrap back up tat from previous years and re-distribute! I swear the same make your own soap set has been passed around since the late nineties!
Then we come to the food - Hubby & I try to avoid people on the day itself - this year we nearly managed it - we were picked up around 6 ish to pop into Brothers house by parents - which was nice - if perhaps Mother had thought to inform said Brother!
Somehow I tend to find myself agreeing to cook on boxing day - (Why????) then various people invite themselves and turn up - drink me best then snore! Each year I say I will do something different - Chinese... but I always conform at the last minute - have not got over Xmas a few years ago when I deviated slightly from prawn cocktail to stir fried prawns in plum sauce! You would honestly have thought I had served up Rudolf! I do not however serve turkey - & that I insist upon.
So we all sit / cram ourselves round the table, laugh at the cracker jokes, listen to Dad's funny story for the 100th time and smile - keep smiling! Inside saying next year we will go away - somewhere far away like the moon!
I think the worst thing - is that Mother starts planning for next christmas while the current christmas is still playing out - definately the cause of the grey hairs I feel brewing!
Anyway -to the basis - I thought I had put it all behind me, till I get home and realise I still have the holly wreath on the front door!
Same time next year?
Is there something wrong with serving Rudolph? I know some suppliers of very tempting reindeer sausages :-)
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people get sucked into the whole traditional, family Christmas thing. I can only assume that, no matter the complaints, they get a certain, secret thrill from the whole thing ;-)