CHRISTMAS 2016 -- GET READY

The Dolls' Christmas, 2015

It happens every year. The holiday season comes and goes and leaves me wondering what happened. This year was no different, but fortunately I have instigated a few mind tricks to help me get through the post-holiday blahs.

1.    First, during December I imagine my Grandma Ina’s 1930’s Christmas. The purpose of her understated celebration, which she related to my dad in her letters, helps to keep me grounded. She loved Christmas because it helped to pass the time in the winter months. What we gain from Christmas in terms of memories and gifts should carry us through the dark months.

2.    Before Christmas I order a few things so that I look forward to the mail. This year I ordered vintage Christmas cards from Etsy sellers, a few copies of “Farm Journal and Farmer’s Wife,” from the early ‘40s, a cookbook (America’s Best Lost Recipes), and machine embroidery fashions for Barbie.

3.    Missing the decorations? Candles provide a warm glow on dark evenings. I deem snowmen appropriate to bridge the gap between Christmas and the welcoming of the first crocus.

4.    Most of all, Christmas is coming, and we have less than a year to get ready. I give myself permission to spend January pursuing my list of Christmas goals and projects, some of which have been unfinished for years.

I’ll get tired of it before long. The world will begin to warm up. Things will happen, and I’ll move gently along to other things.

By the way, 2016 is a leap year and so was 1932. So, the 1932 calendar correlates to the 2016 calendar. If I write about Ina next December, the year will be 1932. Christmas Day will fall on Sunday.

Shirley Ann models a shirt created from a newborn onesie

The dolls posing for this post celebrated Christmas on top of the storage cabinet in the sewing room. The shirt that "Shirley Ann, American Farm Girl," is wearing is actually an altered newborn onesie I purchased at Walmart on clearance for 79 cents. At this point its another unfinished item, my excuse being that I'm out of green thread. It could be that Annabell the Build-a-Bear would wear that shirt better than the doll. KW