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The A B C’s of Christmas

December 4, 2018

The ABC’S of Christmas

It was a few years back, just after we’d moved from southern Ontario to Vancouver BC., when my husband Stephen and I looked at each other with total exasperation. The topic of Xmas had been placed on the table. Sigh…

The boys were grown and had moved along. One was in South America doing his own thing with a group of artists and the other had left for Australia to find work. There wasn’t even a reason to shop for anyone, besides each other.  We had to figure out what ‘Xmas ’ was all about; time to redefine the holidays for both of us.

Xmas is tough for the empty-nest. It is really tough when the relatives are all dying off and the family parties are all 5,000 miles away. We’ve met some nice, interesting people out here and been invited to share some of their West Coast traditions. As enjoyable as that is, we wanted to explore new traditions for us!

We started brain storming. We were trying to find ‘fun things’ to do. We wanted some new experiences that would mean something, perhaps have a theme, and something that we could talk about later.

After a few discussions, somehow we ended up with the Alphabet. This first one would be our ‘A’ Christmas.

So, the rules were;

• We limited ourselves to ONE big present and assorted little presents for each other.
• The gifts had to be something that started with an ‘A’, or be described with an ‘A’ word.
• Purchase nothing that needs to be dusted or maintained.
• Since we are a modest pair, the hunt would be interesting as we really don’t need anything. We decided on a budget of $200. /per person.

And off we went!

For our ‘A ‘Christmas, I went looking for a sweater I thought Stephen needed. I looked for Angora, then Acrylic, and Anything in between- then settled on an Italian Merino Wool cardigan. A lovely choice, I thought. Which adjective should I use to describe this? ‘A’ cardigan? An Amazing cardigan?  Another cardigan? The choices were so lame I was thinking of giving it to my husband for his birthday present, rather than on Christmas. My cheeky friend came up with a great idea, “Just put an ‘A’ in front of Merino!” Therefore, an Amerino sweater was born! I just bent the rules on my first purchase!

I did better with the next gift.  I was able to purchase a ticket for an Aviation Experience; a one hour lesson in a flight simulator at the Airport.  This went over really big! And I wouldn’t have even thought of this if I hadn’t been focusing on the ‘A’ project! (And, I went over the $200. limit.)

Stephen’s gifts to me included African Art and an Autobiography from an Artist I really liked.

We started to talk, and joke about the ‘A’ holiday. By Dec 25^th we had extended the ‘A’ celebration to include things to do that began with an ‘A’. Then, Xmas breakfast had to include ‘A’ items. We purchased Almonds, Apricots, Amazing bread, Amaretto coffee, and more! Finally, there was something to look forward to on Xmas morning!~

The ‘B’ Christmas was a bit of a bust at our house! (pun intended) We decided to go back to Ontario and visit with the relatives. We left early Christmas morning,  therefore, we had our ‘B’ celebration Christmas eve. The gift exchange included things like a Bracelet, customized BBQ apron, another Biography, and we decided that we would treat ourselves to new Bikes after the holidays.

When the ‘C’ Christmas came around we decided to go out on a Crazy Christmas Carol Cruise in English Bay with another couple. That year, we started with the silly puns and Corny jokes more than 2 months before Xmas!

The ‘C’ breakfast consisted of Croissants, Cheese, Crackers, Cherry jam, Cranberry juice and Coffee. The gift purchases were getting smaller as we were spending more time planning the activities and the food. We never did buy the ‘bikes’ from last year, so we decided that we could buy ‘Cycles’ this year! HA! We were getting ‘Crafty’- and that also starts with a C!  Smaller gifts were exchanged including hand Crafted earrings for me and some Clothing. I even found a sailing book for Stephen with a ‘C’ in the title! Then I wrote him a poem, with all C words! (I’m expanding my skills!)  

 

Ironically, the ‘D’ holidays started off with a death in Detroit. One of our relatives suffering from Alzheimer’s died early in December. Depressing. We just couldn’t get down to the funeral as we were packed and ready to spend the holidays in De Nang, a mid-sized town in central Vietnam. My son was working in Vietnam and that was the best time to visit him. The gifts this year were smaller as we were on this fantastic visit to S.E. Asia, but that didn’t stop the jokes either.

By the time our ‘E’ Christmas came along, we decided the focus would be Entertainment and Exercise. We went to 3 venues for plays and entertainment. After purchasing an Exercise bike (spin bike) for the top floor, I bought a hula hoop! And EVERYTHING was awesome!

This year 2011, is our ‘F’ year. Yep, the infamous ‘F’ Christmas. So, tempting as it is to use the f word to describe a few things, we decided to ‘FORGET ABOUT IT!

We were leaving town; heading back to SE Asia to a little island named Phu Quoc. (Sounds like an F.) I could meet up with my travelling son and have some FUN along the way!

Every time I explain to people what Stephen and I decided to do for holiday celebrations, many are delighted to find us breaking the rules and forming our own traditions. I thought I’d write this down and share it with more people. This silly little game has been wonderful for us as it does bring us closer. I can’t believe how much money we save on gifts each year; focusing more on experiences than presents.

Our Christmas holiday time has been something to look forward to, and it is just for US! We have a new project (a letter) every year. We have new puns and jokes every year. And now, we have new experiences every year! I wonder when we finish the alphabet if we’ll start over again…

What have you planned for excitement this year? Perhaps you can think of new ways to incorporate more FUN (and less stress) into your Christmas.

Happy Holidays! – Kathryn Wilking

 

Update/Epilogue:

This article was originally published for Ezine Articles in 2012. It has been well shared with many people on that site. It has been a delightful process working the alphabet into our holiday time. With acknowledgement to my friends that do not celebrate Christmas, this little game can be played anytime; Valentine’s Day, anniversaries and more.

The one son that was in South America, has settled in Toronto with a lovely gal and retrained as a Paramedic in Southern Ontario. The other son landed in Vietnam and ran a Jeep Tour company in DaNang for seven years; he’s is working in the USA right now. As well, we’ve moved back to Ontario in 2018; it’s now our ‘L’ year. Change happens!

Interesting, for this ‘L’ year, we purchased a large home in a semi-rural area on Lake Simcoe. We just LOVE the fresh breezes, the stars and constellations at night and really Love our new lifestyle of ‘quiet’! This year we’ll be stocking up with Lined gloves, Leggings and Lattes watching the burning Logs Linger in the fireplace.

Yes, LIFE IS GOOD! You get out of it, exactly what you put back in! 

I encourage you to enjoy life while you can as no one can predict what is really, ‘just around the corner’. Life changes so fast…

Choose your path wisely, and don’t forget to bring some fun into the mix.

All the best, Kathryn, 2015/2018

~

Kathryn is a Feng Shui Consultant, Home Stager and Author; relocated to Simcoe County (near Barrie) in Ontario; formerly based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Kathryn is available for your home or office makeover through Home Visits, Computer Face 2 Face and Floor plan Analysis. Or, ask her a question through Ask Kathryn. She’s had extensive experience with raising a family, home and business relocation and renovations.

Life is a stage! Her goal is to rearrange things to create safe and happy environments.

– Everyone should love their home!

Kathryn provides informative talks to organizations and host workshops for small groups. For more info about bringing the practical application of Feng Shui into your space, check out her website: kathrynwilking.com

Her book, Practical Feng Shui for the Office; never goes out of style! Would you like to chat with Kathryn? No charge for 15 min questions about how Feng Shui can work for you:

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