Hi readers,
With Christmas just around the corner - 17 days away and counting- I thought I'd write this post, which possibly will be the last one for 2013. Like everyone else, I'll continue to be busy now in the run up to the big day. Most of my presents are ready and I've done a lot of Christmas shopping too.
The major thing on my list right now is getting all the Christmas decorations up. I love doing that as it means that Christmas is truly on its way and I like making my house look really warm and homely. Like many families we have a lot of special and traditional decorations. My favourite decoration happens to go on the Christmas tree and it's a Jiggle Bug. This cardboard, brightly coloured 'bug' came from one of my favourite Christmas story books; The 12 Bugs of Christmas. For me it holds childhood memories of Christmas eve and being read lots of fun books. 
Each family member also has certain tasks to do every year. My task is setting up the nativity scene. My mum and I are the religious people in our house. I believe its' important to remember all the different reasons behind Christmas and I do this whilst I'm unwrapping the figures. The scene always goes on the kitchen windowsill in-between the potted plants. When I place the figures down, my thoughts turn to the birth of Christ. Ending the task with a pray, I then quietly move on. Second on the list is wrapping presents and writing cards. Both things really get me excited and I enjoy giving presents and seeing peoples' reactions. I think even more so this year because all my presents have been handmade. After I've done that, the last task will be getting in all the food and drink. Though, I enjoy eating and drinking it far more then the shopping! Then it'll be time to celebrate Christmas!
I actually started this post because today I visited the Victorian Christmas Market at the Lowry Outlet Shopping Mall in Manchester, UK. The weather just about held up, though it was very cold. There was plenty to see and all the stall holders were really chatty. Most of the stuff was handmade and a few stalls had unique items. I was very drawn to the fudge stall which was selling alcohol fudge in beer and wine glasses. I'd never seen that before! I also liked the wood craft stall, which had lots of different things made out of wood and painted. Most were decorative, but some had uses like stools, instruments, bookends and tables.
The food was also a winner for me, as there were many stalls selling traditional Victorian food stuff. The pies and cakes were awesome and I got myself a massive cupcake too. They also has had the more normal Christmas foods and the foreign foods like German and Meditation. The one thing that actually made this market different and special was the fact they had people dressed in Victorian costume acting out events. It did feel a bit odd at first, seeing women wearing massive dresses and men in suits and police uniforms, once I got use to it though I wonder if I could write some kind of Christmas set story about people from different years coming together.
It also got me thinking about where some of our Christmas traditions and aspects come from. Many were actually Victorian and they did create the Christmas today as we know it. Some parts also have their roots in Europe, especially the countries closest to Britain. I guess that most people don't really think about where certain Christmas things - like Christmas trees, Christmas pudding, mistletoe or Santa- come from and how they developed. Maybe if you have the time you could start to look into it and see what can be discovered about the history of Christmas. I guess it'll be different in every country, but that just makes it more interesting!
I really enjoyed my afternoon and though I didn't need to buy Christmas presents for people, it was still worth going and soaking up some more Christmas spirit. This was actually the second Christmas market I've been to, because at the start of December I went to the Manchester Christmas Market. I go with my family every year and its' become a tradition in a way. We were a bit disappointed with it this year though, because even though it's got bigger, most of it has become food and drink. Also a lot of the stalls seem to be the same and the prices are expensive. Still though it is worth going for the experience, but I warn you it gets really busy fast and going at peak times can sometimes feel like being in a traffic jam after a major accident.
Still though it's part of the madness of Christmas! I really hope that in the future that people will still be interested in going to these markets and buying the items. The internet has really changed the way people do their Christmas shop and I worry that it takes some of the magic out of the holiday. Even though I'm not a fan of crowds or shopping I love the experience I get when visiting these markets. It makes me feel more in the Christmas mood and also you can often see and buy things that you just won't normally find on the internet or even had consider getting.
Hopefully, I shall put up a small post as my official last one of the year though it'll probably be after Christmas. So, even though I know its a bit early; Merry Christmas everyone!
Images from:
http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/victorian-sleigh-ride-richard-de-wolfe.jpg
http://jreneearcher.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/christmas-books-for-kids.html
http://www.hdwallpapersinn.com/nativity-scene-pictures.html
http://visitmanchesterblog.wordpress.com/
http://blog.thistle.com/christmas-shopping-in-manchester/
