On the First Day of a Feminine Christmas

“We’ll use what we have in the house”, said my grandmother when I asked her how I could wrap a Christmas present for my mother when the shop was out of paper and ribbon.  With a piece of soft red felt dug out from the hall closet along with some purple rick-rack leftover from trimming a summer dress, my grandmother and I cloaked my heartfelt gift with Christmas panache.  We then took one of the holiday greeting cards she had just received and cut out the picture which was covered with snowy sparkles.  As instructed, I signed my name on the back of the card and then taped it to the package.  Everything we used was found in the house…

Even today, I shun most store-bought Christmas ornaments, preferring natural.  So many homes seem over-decorated to me and a lot of it diminishes the simplicity of the holiday.  I’m more Tasha Tudor than Martha Stewart in the Christmas department, the charming mother daughter duo above, notwithstanding…

With that in mind, I roasted orange slices last weekend which I tied with left-over velvet ribbon.  I gifted some to friends, attached some to my daughter’s fireplace garland for her, and the rest I will deck my small tree with.  I also make orange pomanders to fill a lovely crystal bowl which was a wedding gift and this becomes my table’s centerpiece.  Closer to Christmas, I will gently “pillage” a tree in my yard for greens and berries.

My grandmother’s old adage, “We’ll use what we have in the house” (and the environs around the house!)  has served me well through Christmas and through the years.  It’s why I cook, make soup, and create gift tags.  I’m no craft mistress by any means, but sometimes what one has in the house is already the very best there is.  Merry Christmas!