Webmanjoe : Christmas

Hi all. well its nearly that time of year again! Christmas 2009, where has the year gone, It feels only like yesterday when I sat down here and wished everyone a happy new year 2009, and here I am now wishing you all a happy Christmas! Well I do hope 2009 was a good year for you and your family, again the shops are stoking up on their over priced items again ! but this Christmas came around so fast,maby its the weather or me, so yesterday I dug out the outdoor Christmas lights, when I did, boy did it rain , but I thought a its Christmas so I got stuck in, did a quick test and off they went, I love each Christmas getting the lights ready, and I guess when I see them on Christmas eve, the time spent in the cold and wet, it makes it all worth while,

Here are some of my memories of my Christmases past

My Traditional Christmas

Ever since I was young boy, Christmas was a magical time of year for me, with the promise of Santa and my presents and also the school holidays which were nearly as good as Christmas it self. The TV. shows - of course most of them were the same old repeats i.e. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Over the Rainbow, Willy Wonk's Chocolate Factory and the likes. As years passed the magic of Christmas stayed with me, but as I got older Santa stopped coming to me ,and my Christmas had changed big time! Yet on Christmas Eve I would still listen for the sound of sleigh bells and the sound of his HO HO on the roof, but I never did hear it; but now that I am in my 40s I guess I still find myself listening out for the sound of the sleigh bells in the sky on Christmas Eve... so maybe one day I will hear them. And then I got married and my wife Breda and I have two lovely girls... and guess what Santa started calling to my house again! So with the hanging of stockings and putting up the Christmas tree, the crib and the decorations it all came to life again - so after midnight mass on Christmas eve we would go home, the girls would check to make sure all pillow cases / stockings / and of course Guinness for Santa & carrots for Rudolf were in place - even to this day when I go down to our sitting room on Christmas morning I look at the fire place and see the empty bottle of Guinness and the half eaten carrot and I think .............no , it couldn't have been! But the joy to see the kids opening their presents is Christmas for me all over again. Then come the familiar smells of Christmas - the turkey and ham and the Christmas pudding as my sister and her family arrive to share my traditional Christmas.......