I always seem to just poke my head up in time to see the change in weather. It seems not only is winter upon us, but Christmas too! I am pondering actually decorating for the season this year, even though it's late, since we'll be spending Christmas at home for the first time in many years, rather than traveling to family. I used to gather rhododendron and holly from the bushes near my house in the mountains to put on the mantle with a tiny white nativity scene. We would add cards to the mantle as we got them and maybe a bow here and there. That was all the decorating we did, since we were going away for the holiday. We would listen to Tender Tennessee Christmas and a few dulcimer carols and we would have a few little treats to eat. Except for the year I made homemade dog treats for gifts, we usually would have homemade Christmas cookies. I never liked the butter cookie types, so we would have peanut butter cookies with the hershey kisses on top. I did make spiced nuts once and they were yummy!

I love the holiday cheer all around and also can't help but ponder the many people who are struggling to have a bit of cheer this holiday. I guess for us, it is just like another day, since we aren't set on having a big Christmas and can't really afford giving to one another. So we are forced to ignore Christmas largely, or perhaps to make gifts for one another. This is harder to accomplish for guys, since handmade bits are less impressive than electronics and necessities they really could use. So I haven't solved the conundrum. Since there is no money to buy gifts, it is largely a moot point. We are just happy to have a home with heat and water and food to eat this year :) .

So we are pondering just doing a few little extras we'd really enjoy for the day and having a non-traditional celebration this year. We might go see Voyage of the Dawn Treader or visit friends. What sort of thing are you doing this Christmas to celebrate? We are having an involuntarily frugal Christmas...but we hope it will still be fun. Mostly, we will just enjoy being together!