| It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas |
 Halloween has barely passed, but it doesn't feel like the holiday season here Down Under. Probably because I come from the other hemisphere and it should be getting colder, not warmer! Warm weather at this time of year goes against all of my sensibilities.
Today, I had a little break from the warm weather, however, as the rainfall started, the wind blew, and the temperature dropped to a level that forced me to don a woolie cardigan. It feels more like the holiday season...sorta.
We took advantage of the cooler weather and went shopping for Christmas decorations. It's not that I don't have enough Christmas decorations packed away in plastic bins, it's just that Dan wants to build a Christmas train, and for that, we need a Christmas village.
Off to The Christmas Shop we go. I'm prepared to go into debt for some holiday "cheer," and when we get there, I'm shocked to see a large number of other shoppers who also feel the same way. The Elf Squad is on duty and they know us by name. There's something really wonderful about shopping somewhere they know you by name.
The Christmas Shop is located in a little building that was probably built just after World War II. It looks Victorian inside, without actually being Victorian. The shop is crammed with all kinds of goodies. There's only space in the aisles for one person to walk through. It looks like someone's grandmother's house. It's enchanting.
Dan and I pick out a couple of lighted ceramic buildings to start our village with. We can't afford more than that, but it's a start. We get a few other odds and ends and carefully pick our way past artificial trees, lights, glass globes, music boxes, ceramics, holiday dishes, tableware, candlesticks , tinsel, wall decorations, advent calendars, stockings, Christmas themed office supplies, dolls, brooches, tree skirts, fake snow, nativities, angels, baubles, bangles, beads and pop-up cards. In short - being in that shop is a bit like awakening to find yourself in one of your favorite childhood dreams.
We get home with our treasures and Dan eagerly opens each box and sets up the beginnings of our North Pole Wonderland. I'm not sure which one of us is looking forwards to decorating more - he, or I.
I think we're experiencing our second childhood, except that our parents couldn't afford fairytale Christmas villages when we were kids. The holiday season - the time of year when you wish you had a magic wand and could re-create the past the way you would have wanted. Thankfully, we've got the present to work with, even if it does feel like summer. |
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Name: Melanie O.
Home: Durham, North Carolina, United States
About Me: Female, American health and beauty-conscious professional who has rekindled a childhood love of dolls.
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posted by Melanie O. at 
