Christmas | Auntie B's Wax

Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

The Season Is Here

Posted in Holidays, tagged Auntie B's Wax, Christmas, crafts, HandmadeMN, holiday, shopping, The Farmer's Daughter on November 10, 2017| 5 Comments »

I’m not one to put up the Christmas decorations right after the Halloween goblins have come to visit. I don’t even put up the decorations the day after Thanksgiving, although I confess listening to Christmas music then. I don’t want to rush Christmas; after all, the season is pretty long all by itself when you consider the actual twelve days of Christmas start on Christmas day. Then there’s the four weeks of Advent before Christmas Eve.

Christian calendars aside, there’s a calendar that requires the holiday season to begin in August or September. That would be the crafters’ calendar, especially when those crafts are scheduled to be displayed at shows and shops in time for the shopping season.

I’ve been working for months on the holiday cheer I want to present. The things I make throughout the year are great holiday gifts, but then there are those things made specifically for the season.

Today I’m going to drop off some holiday votives and magnets at The Farmer’s Daughter, a shop in my town at which I consign my wares. They’re having their holiday kick-off party this weekend and it will surely be wonderful event with free samples and perhaps a give-away or two, not to mention all of the wonderful gift items for sale.

And don’t forget the local art/craft fairs with local vendors displaying their talents. The HandmadeMN Blog has a feature every Thursday highlighting some of the events in the Twin Cities area. It’s a great way to support local artisans and get one-of-a-kind gifts for the people on your “nice” list. OK, get some things for the “naughties” too…might turn them around.

Happy Shopping!

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More Reflections

Posted in Holidays, tagged Christmas, New Year, reflection on January 1, 2017| 5 Comments »

Everyone’s writing about New Year’s resolutions these days. I’m not one to make such demands on myself anymore. Instead, on this day I’ll just reflect. Reflections seem to be catching my eye lately, as well as capturing my imagination.

I saw, with the help of Husby and others, so many reflections of our Christmas trees in the windows, hanging art, and clocks of our house. When it comes to reflecting on this Christmas season, there were so many wonderful memories formed, with three days straight of celebrating the season at different family members’ houses.

Husby and I hosted a gathering for my family a week before Christmas too. At one point during preparations I thought I’d give up even trying as the beater of my mixer refused to release. I’m nothing if not a baker at Christmastime, and a malfunctioning mixer would ruin everything.

Got stuck making fudge.

Luckily Husby figured it all out and got me unstuck, so baking resumed as usual. I think there were a few people happy about that, especially me.

New Year’s Eve, well, I was pampered by Husby as usual. It’s become a tradition for him to cook up a boatload of crab legs for us while we watch a movie or two. The crab was delectable, sweet and tender as usual, and the movie was a classic – March of the Wooden Soldiers, starring Laurel and Hardy. Yeah, ancient and corny, but so much fun. I used to play this movie for my little nephews when I would babysit them at Christmastime. The “little” nephews are now 22- and 24-years old. Guess what? They watched that same movie on New Year’s Eve this year!

The most reflection I’ve been doing lately has been in regard to this last year, the first year of my retirement of the day job. What an adjustment it’s been, but not one I’ll complain about. Every once in a while I have dreams about being at work, and usually they consist of a lot of chaos or bizarre circumstances. For the most part, however, my time as a civil servant has escaped my thoughts, save for a friend or two I made during my thirty-six years.

Retirement, or shall I say not having to be at a certain place at a certain time and doing certain tasks for forty hours a week, is feeling a little more normal by now. Seriously, it takes a while. And with my acquired comfort in massive amounts of free time I’m finally getting around to feeling more…settled.

At the same time I’m excited to embark on a new year with a new routine that will be filled with spontaneous adventures. Lots of people say they’re glad to see 2016 go, but I’ll admit I’ve a bit more trepidation about 2017 than I’ve had in many new years past. Not so much regarding myself as for the state of the planet. I won’t get into that though. My own little universe is enough for now and for me 2017 is going to be new, different, and wonderful.

Cheers to 2017!