It’s all over now for another year, but I love that the tree is still up and there’s still turkey in the fridge. Hey, we even got a few centimetres of snow helping Christmas linger on. Everything slows down so we can feast with family and drown in wrapping paper and I’m in no rush for things to speed up again.
We didn’t join the queues of bargain hunters in the January sales, or jump online to get the latest deal because where’s the Christmas in that? There is no doubt it’s got so commercial these days and nothing brought it home to me more than a bag of mixed nuts, or lack of them! Did you have a bag of brazils and walnuts in an orange net bag this year?
When I was a child, we always had a bag of mixed nuts at Christmas and a nut cracker. Those nuts always seemed to take some cracking, but getting that brazil out was always so satisfying. A small box of Quality Street might make an appearance too, or maybe even Roses but they were a treat, not a given.
Now the boxes of chocolates have got bigger, and many more make it through our door than they did back in the day, but the poor old nuts have been forgotten. There’s no money in nuts I guess, or more to the point, no profit.
I reigned in the present giving this year. The baby nearly got her big sister’s toys wrapped up as she wouldn’t have known any different, but Princess would have realised so I made a treasure basket instead. I gave them joint presents to help promote the concept of sharing, I can but hope. My OH and I didn’t make a fuss, as it was about the children this year and I can honestly say it was the most content Christmas I have had.
I’ve finally learned what Christmas is to me, and I’m so glad that I’ve got small children to share it with again. We started our own traditions and I’ve already got ideas for adding to these for next year already. We have found the magic in Christmas for us, and for many years to come. Next year I’ll have to get a bag of nuts, to add a little nostalgia to proceedings.
We had a bag of mixed nuts in shells with a nutcracker and the kids love them 🙂 We always had some when I was younger and I wanted to carry on the tradition.
I always think of my dad when the mixed nuts are put on the treat trolley because one of his favourite sayings come November is, ‘roll on Christmas, lets have a bag of a nuts!’