Time to initiate CCC.

Carol’s Christmas Campaign has started a little earlier this year. Maybe because of the jacarandas blooming, slim and  stately agapanthus starting to pop open with their purple and white flowers, the jasmine emitting that sensuous, luscious perfume, the air warm and inviting , the sea cool and invigorating; maybe that’s why I’m already feeling festive and excited.

Or maybe it’s just because the family started asking me around September, “what’s happening for Christmas Mum?” 

This year, I am going to be organised better, and earlier, than ever. As said by myself last year, and the year before ….

With the precision of a military operation, Christmas preps are underway. I have set steps I follow. Making the Christmas cake starts the ball rolling, or rather, the drunkening up of the mixed fruit. This soaking of raisins, currants, sultanas and dates in brandy is my traditional Opening Ceremony. Let The (Christmas) Games Begin!

The ordering of the tree comes next. Oh how I love my real Christmas tree. For many years I had a fake tree, a perfectly shaped  little green plastic contraption which folded neatly , and was retrieved from a cupboard each year, decorated with baubles, then put into hibernation for another year when Christmas was done & dusted.

But it had no soul. 

The wonder of a real tree is That smell. That exquisitely piney,vibrant, green,Christmassy smell. 

And so each year I purchase my real, imperfectly shaped but divinely perfumed tree from my local primary school, Minnamurra PS. They provide the trees, we buyers support a school fundraiser. It’s a win/win.

Just the picking up of my tree from the school in early December has become a cheery, festive event, with many local Santa’s Helpers pitching in, resplendent in their Christmas T-shirts and Santa hats. 

The dusting  of boxes of decorations stored in my garage, and then adorning  the interior of my house with a multitude of garish ornaments, sparkly tinsel, a potpourri of Christmas-related paraphernalia is for me a delightful, annual walk down memory lane. So many fragile paper chains, cotton wool snowmen, pipe cleaner, tinsel and cardboard Santas and Stars made by my children, now sadly all grown up. I’ve kept every one of these treasured decorations and they’re once again proudly displayed.

What of the exterior of the house? 

I’m not quite Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, but according to hubby I’m  headed in that  direction. 

I need help in unravelling, placing, and securing those lights with myriad ties. And it takes so long! Poor hubby. The patience he has to have at this time of year to cohabit with Mrs Christmas.

The outcome is always the same. The effect, the dazzling , glittering aura of these tiny bursts of colour in the darkness is always well worth the effort. And makes up for the fiddliness and the painstaking nature of the task. My house glows with Christmas for at least a month, and I love it.

As for gift buying, I have to admit to leaving things a little bit later than those who purchase throughout the year. On purpose. I know people who have all their gifts bought and wrapped by end October. I feel they miss out on sharing in that joyous Christmas spirit.

Not me! I actually enjoy being part of the Christmas crowds, competing for a parking spot, queuing for a coffee or quick bite in a very busy shopping environment, and watching the antics of excited little children. 

Along with sore feet, it’s to be expected, this Christmas razzle dazzle . And of course there’s comfort for some in the fact that it’s only once a year.

Shopping locally  is definitely the way to go. As with my Christmas tree purchase, supporting our local shops and purveyors of food and beverages gives back to our local economy and community. It saves time, it saves petrol, and your local ToyWorld, Butchers Nook, fish market, pharmacy, liquor store, grocery store and cafe will love you.

Carol’s Christmas Campaign is now off and running. It’s early days,and there’s a bit to do. With organisation , I’ll get there without too much fuss.

Which is exactly what I said to myself last year.