For this last Five on Friday before Christmas with Amy at Love Made my Home here are five pictures of some Christmas craft and a few thoughts.
When I was a child we always traveled from Yorkshire down to Hampshire where my Grandmother and my mother's family lived. There were lots of aunts, uncles and cousins so it was often a big, noisy family time. As my brother and I got older we began to have Christmas in our own home with family and friends joining us. Eventually my brother married and had a family and Christmas moved to their house across the Peninnes to Cheshire. There were lots of preparations, much food prepared (and transported over the M62 motorway), new recipes tried out, fun, noise and celebration. I remained single and moved to Buckinghamshire but always returned home to Yorkshire and drove my parents over to Cheshire for Christmas.
Time moved on and circumstances changed. Following the death of my father, my mother decided to move closer to me in Buckinghamshire and since then we have had a quiet Christmas Day with just the two of us. My brother's family has expanded with the addition of spouses and grandchildren. He and his wife have now moved to West Sussex, where they will all spend Christmas together. They are quite close to our mother's extended family and join the cousins we used to play with as children for a big family party. It is funny how life has come full circle.
The family members will come separately to visit here, which is much more manageable for Mum who is now in her nineties. So Christmas extends over several weekends for us. It is lovely that the tradition of the big family celebration continues but has been adapted with time.
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| Christmas Elves relaxing on Christmas cushions Pattern by Steph at Ric-Rac |
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| Socks for elves? |
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| Last minute crochet Pattern by Kate at Just Pootling |
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| Indoor robins |
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| Scandi hearts and stars |
When I was a child we always traveled from Yorkshire down to Hampshire where my Grandmother and my mother's family lived. There were lots of aunts, uncles and cousins so it was often a big, noisy family time. As my brother and I got older we began to have Christmas in our own home with family and friends joining us. Eventually my brother married and had a family and Christmas moved to their house across the Peninnes to Cheshire. There were lots of preparations, much food prepared (and transported over the M62 motorway), new recipes tried out, fun, noise and celebration. I remained single and moved to Buckinghamshire but always returned home to Yorkshire and drove my parents over to Cheshire for Christmas.
Time moved on and circumstances changed. Following the death of my father, my mother decided to move closer to me in Buckinghamshire and since then we have had a quiet Christmas Day with just the two of us. My brother's family has expanded with the addition of spouses and grandchildren. He and his wife have now moved to West Sussex, where they will all spend Christmas together. They are quite close to our mother's extended family and join the cousins we used to play with as children for a big family party. It is funny how life has come full circle.
The family members will come separately to visit here, which is much more manageable for Mum who is now in her nineties. So Christmas extends over several weekends for us. It is lovely that the tradition of the big family celebration continues but has been adapted with time.
Christmas means different things to different people and is not necessarily a happy time for everyone. There seems to be so much pressure on the commercial aspect through media and advertising. It must be very difficult for families who are struggling financially or living in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation. There has been a steep rise in the number of people who are homeless in recent years and it is difficult to imagine how painful it must be to have no one and no place to call home.
Many people work over Christmas supporting and caring for others or are apart from their families for one reason or another. I am truly grateful that I have been very fortunate to have happy family Christmases throughout my life, where it is the people who matter and who make it such a special time.
Wherever and whoever you are spending Christmas with, I hope you have a wonderful, loving, peaceful time.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
