Tis The Night Before..

… well, the morning before, anyway.

As a child born in mid-December it always irritated me when well-meaning but dim adults asking me what Santy was bringing me when I hadn’t even had my birthday presents yet.

What I thought whenever I was given one present to cover both involved words that a child my age really shouldn’t have known.

Anyway, with two November-born children as well as myself in the Tinhouse I have made it a rule (I wear the trousers in this house) that Christmas is not to be mentioned until after the three birthdays have past, and there are to be no decorations until after the final one, my own birthday on the 13th.

I came home from work on the 14th to find all of the decorations up. I suspect that they started when I went to bed the night before.

We have had a lovely, though fake, tree for many years. Tingirl’s wish for a real one was always satisfied by putting a tiny one, with its own little lights on the table outside her bedroom door. This year, however, she wanted a proper, full-sized real one and was backed in this by Tinson2. Mrs Tin stayed out of the discussion while Tinson1 and I firmly insisted on using the fake one.

So this is a photo of our real tree:

I wear the trousers in this house, but my family decide what colour they will be.

We also have a real, shop-bought crib

With a small statue of another God beside it to prove that a multi-denominational, or perhaps mixed-up, family we are.

But these are not important. A far better, and more loved, crib is this one:

And our favourite ornaments are these:

and this:

and our Christmas Tree fairy:

and finally this, which I love because I have no idea what it’s supposed to be:

We can’t remember which child made which decoration, but it doesn’t matter. They are part of each Christmas now, just as is the tradition that this evening we will all gather in Tingirl’s bedroom, that I will read “the Night Before Christmas” and that all of us will join in for the final “Happy Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night”.

And Happy Christmas to all of you. Thank you all for coming here and reading, and caring, and supporting. I think of you all as my friends and I wish all the best for the coming days to you all.

Love,

Tin x