Oh Christmas Tree

I don't know what it is about Christmas lights . . . but I LOVE them! Maybe it's because they add to the magic of the season or maybe it's some deeper theological side of me using them as a metaphor for the Light of the World who's birth we celebrate this time of year . . . whatever the underlying factor is, they just make me happy. Whether it be a house all decked out to the point it looks like it could have been something Hansel & Gretel stumbled on to, to a beautiful nativity scene (like the one my grandparents had that now my cousin still puts up each year) or a Christmas Tree, I love them all. Wait, let me re-phrase that I love them all unless they are blinking to the point that they look like a swarm of some kind of bug crawling all over said house or tree.

When I was a child, one of my favorite things to do this time of year was to turn out all the lights except for the Christmas tree. Then I would just lay on the floor and soak in the season by Christmas light - and firelight (my parent's house has a fabulous fireplace) I loved to watch the light bounce off the ornaments and remember when and where some of the ornaments came from. My own tree is like that now. I try to collect an ornament as a keepsake from a special trip or occasion, or if one especially happens to catch my eye. I have an angel that my dad brought home for me from one of his duty weekends when he was in the Air Force Reserves. I was around 4 years old. It is without a doubt, one of my favorites. Then there's the plush Jack & Gus from Cinderella. When Cinderella was re-released in the theaters when my nieces and nephews were little, McDonalds was a proud to offer Cinderella's buddies in their Happy Meals. I remember on a shopping trip to Salt Lake we were all having happy meals trying to make sure each household had a set. There's a Nutcracker and a Clara ornament as well which were from my mom who knows when. One I simply had to have this year is one from Hallmark - it is a chimney, with Santa trying to cram a hippo down it. It plays "I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas" (I LOVE that song!)

All I can say is its nice to know that as we get older (take note that I am actually admitting it) it's nice to know there are some things that have become a part of us from when we are little. Think I'll go have a cup of hot chocolate, sit by the tree and reminisce Happy Holidays!