For me (but, isn't it always about me somehow, tee hee), December 1st is D. Day - the day Christmas invades my life every year. And, as you can only imagine, I am armed with an arsenal of lists. Oh the lists, you might sigh and roll your eyes, not the dreaded lists again. But, let us think back to when we were just wee ones in footy p.j.s and didn't the 'Great One' himself (Santa Claus) ask you to write down all the things that you would like for Christmas on a 'list' and mail it to 'Him' at the North Pole. And, didn't the 'Great One' himself operate off a 'Master List' of who was 'naughty' and who was 'nice' that somehow was updated in covert precision throughout the school year (report cards, slugging irritating siblings, and room tidiness even subject to the 'Great One's' curious omnipresence).
Uh huh, . . . So go to the kitchen, pour yourself another cup of coffee (I presume you are reading this in the early a.m.) and let's get started with our Christmas Lists and Christmas Timetable. There are basically 3 weekends (4th, 11th, and 18th) left until Christmas.
"Expletive! Expletive! Expletive!" You mutter.
I know! But, someone had to play it straight with you. Now, don't panic, let's just get organized. We'll start with the easy stuff . . . .
Christmas Party Invitations
First off, this would be a good time to go through the mail that started to pile up over Thanksgiving and sort out all those fun, merry Christmas Party Invitations. As you open them, decide whether you plan to attend or not and please R.S.V.P. immediately. If a hostess was thoughtful enough to send you an invitation, you could at least be thoughtful enough to acknowledge receipt of 'said' lovely invitation and R.S.V.P.
Regrettably, I (we) can not make it, but thank you ever so much for including me (us).
or
Yes, thank you for including me (us), I (we) would love to attend.
Mark all parties you wish to attend on your calendar, crackberry, iPhone, or whatever it is you look at everyday to remember to pick up little 'Sonny' from his various soccer games. Once you have accepted an invitation, please remember that you are committed to showing up. Under no circumstance (never!) should you better deal your hostess with a better, 'funner,' must-be-seen upgrade party and not show up as acknowledged. That is just poor manners, not to mention incredibly shallow.
Hostess Gifts
A Hostess Gift is a lovely gesture and should not be construed by 'said' guest as a dollar-for-dollar party expense/entertainment value. At Christmas time, you have a huge range of lovely items that you could arrive with and discreetly leave by the front door with a penned note.
Thank you for including us, The XYZ Family
or, simply
Happy Holidays, The XYZ Family
Some Fun Hostess Gift Suggestions
Mariah Carey Christmas CD
Not-Exactly-Real Paperwhites
Single bulb in terracotta pot $25
Glimmery Pine Cone Votive
Boxed set of 6 is $12
Kenneth Turner Candle (just happens to be my favorite Christmas time fragrance $35)
Hand Painted Glass Ornaments From Austria
Each $15
French Christmas Tree Candles
Available in sm. $12, md. $27, lg. $40
Outside Christmas Decorations
Every family has different Christmas traditions. My family (Mother) always put the Christmas Tree up a week before Christmas and took it down the day after New Years. Nowadays, I know that a lot of families start to decorate their homes for the Christmas Holidays just after Thanksgiving. On my way to work yesterday (8:30 a.m.), I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of all the Christmas decorations that were already up in my charming neighborhood. One particular neighbor's house was just aglow in bright twinkly lights (obviously he couldn't figure out adjustable timer a.m./p.m.). Just as I passed by his driveway, his sprinkler system kicked on full blast. That is when I noticed that his perfectly manicured lawn had faded to the same putrid shade of yellow that our lawn had (indication of seasonal winter Houston lawn fungus caused by overpowered sprinkler system and not enough sunlight). What a strange sight - dangling from every branch of his expansive oaks and hanging from every eave of his house were charming Christmas twinkly lights that somehow seemed to be an exact color match to his putrid yellow lawn. The house, the yard, the trees all seemed to be awash in . . . . yellow? Not exactly very ho, ho, ho. And, did I mention that it was 70 degrees outside? Ha, ha, ha.
Even if it doesn't feel very Christmas-y outside yet and you are out running most of your Christmas errands in Lanvin ballet flats and not your new Chloe to-the-knee-biker (hooker) boots, you can still turn the A.C. in your home way down, and load Mariah Carey's new Christmas CD and dream of how this Christmas will be the best Christmas ever, filled with long lasting, joyous Christmas memories.
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Inside Christmas Decorations
My Mother stored our family Christmas decorations in the creaky chest of the upstairs guest room. I specifically remember the great awe and excitement that I felt as a wee one when my Mother would open the chest drawers, take out all her charming Christmas decorations, and smile as she asked me which ones we should display around the house.
I would squeal with delight, "I want to put out everything. I love everything. They are all my favorites!"
Every year my Mother would buy a 'little something' to add to her already sizable Christmas Decorations Collection. It comes as no surprise to anyone who knows me well that my drawers runneth over with Christmas decorations too (figuratively speaking). Actually, my Christmas decorations are stored in ginormous tupperware bins in the attic. No matter how many bins filled with reindeers and sparkly spruce trees crowd the attic shelves, I still want more. Here are some of the incredibly charme choices we have at Indulge this season.
My Ideal Christmas Table
Every Detail Is Charme.
Table Topper Christmas Tree Shown With French Zinc Ornaments
Note: Zinc Ornaments Used As Charme Napkin Rings In Picture Above
Set of 6 zinc ornaments $36
Metal Candle Tree From France Shown With Bla Bla Knitted Toys
Christmas Nativity Scene From Denmark
Would Make Great Gift For Young Family
Handmade Stockings From Hungary
Frosted Trees in Gray Pots
Juliska Mini Canisters Filled With My Favorite Chocolate Kisses
Juliska Compote Filled With Handmade Glass Ornaments From Austria, Beyond Stunning!
A Trio of Juliska Cake Stands Shown With Funny Little Tree Wrapped in Burlap
I swear, every year the decorations are just cuter and cuter. I just can't decide which ones to buy (borrow, take home, tee hee) this year.
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Christmas Tree
Cornelius Nursery - 713.782.8640
I have heard from several people that Cornelius nursery has the most beautiful and freshest Christmas trees in Houston.
River Oaks Plant House - 713.622.5350
As you can imagine by the name and address, River Oaks Plant House is all about quality and service. Picking out a Christmas Tree at ROPH is beyond civilized - you just point to your ideal tree and ROPH will put the twinkly lights on it, deliver it to your home, set the tree up, return after Christmas, and cart the remains away. Like I said, ROPH is all about service.
Carolina Fraser Fir
A favorite customer of ours couldn't say enough about CarolinaFraserFir.Com. She ordered her 7ft. tree online and it arrived 2 days later by Fed Ex. She said her Christams Tree was the most beautiful and freshest (cut 2 days ago) tree she had ever had. Wow!
Indulge Decor Blog Insider Tip: Years ago, something terribly creepy (poisonous spider) came with our family Christmas Tree. In the middle of the night, the ichy spider bit our lovely dog Reny and by morning Reny was partially paralyzed. We rushed Reny to the vet who took one look at her and knew exactly what was wrong with her. He prescribed crazy strong antibiotics and told us to take the Christmas Tree outside and hose it down really well. I don't know why that whole scenario (wilderness, mountain, tree, creepy bugs, home, pets) had never occurred to me before. From that year forward, we've had very 'clean' Christmas Trees.
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Santa's Little Helper
Who can't remember that incredibly awesome feeling of getting that one thing for Christmas that you just had to have or you would just die? One year, I wanted a puppet show. The next year, I wanted a white rabbit fur coat (Please don't tell Macaroon, the shame.) And, the following year, I wanted a pony. I thought the pony was a 'sure thing' because every other year I had received all this great stuff that I had written on my Christmas list and mailed to Santa at his specified North Pole address. Well, I'm sure you probably know how that Christmas ended . . . . . Me, fighting back the tears of disappointment, and trying to be excited about all the wonderful presents that I did receive.
My father could tell that I was upset and in an attempt to make me feel better said, "You don't want a pony. I had a pony at your age and he bit me."
Huh? I didn't get a pony because your stupid pony bit you, what 40 years ago! What kind of reasoning is that? I want Santa . . . .
As if I couldn't imagine my life any worse at the moment, the phone rang. It was my BFF calling to tell me that Santa had brought her a real live pony for Christmas. She knew how much I had wanted a pony for Christmas and now we would both have ponies! The ponies could play together and be best friends just like us.
"I didn't get a pony." I tried to sound brave.
"Oh," she paused. "Well, you can ride mine all the time. We'll share."
And with that sweet, caring comment, I burst into tears.
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40 Christmas' Later . . . . .
I try to always get the people on my Christmas List exactly what they want. I would much rather get loved ones what they want rather than what I think they should have, ahem.
My Niece (age 7) - An American Girl Doll, purchased online at www.americangirldoll.com
My Nephew (age 10) - Xbox 360 with Kinect, purchased online at www.bestbuy.com
My Mother - Cashmere Scarf, purchased at lovely store called Indulge, tee hee
My Father - World Peace, having trouble ordering on internet. Will check Amazon.com or Ebay later, tee hee.
My Sweet Husband - A Winter Coat (we've already been to the mall to model several different candidates.) Winning coat - www.burberry.com
My Girlfriends - I can't disclose because they all read the blog, but it's really good.
My Incredibly Hard Working Employees - All gifts ordered and on the way.
Business and Neighbors - Fresh Baked Goods
French Gourmet Bakery
Approximately 41 gifts to conjure, order, wrap, and deliver. Everyone on my lists should get exactly what they want because I started the whole Christmas gift buying process early. No 3 day air. No rush overnight penalty charges. No stress. Just joy, joy, joy. Who doesn't love to give the perfect present? And even better yet, who doesn't love to receive the perfect present?
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Years Ago, A Very Clever Someone Explained To Me - There Are 3 Great Tragedies in Life.
Getting What You Want
Not Getting What You Want
Having Your Best Friend Get What You Want
Well, it's not hard to guess what immediately popped into my head - The Christmas Pony, you say? Not even, ha ha. That was a really long time ago. I have moved way beyond ponies by now. I'm more interested in say, ahem, carats, these days. Lots of carats, wink, wink.
Gotta go now, my cat just left me (hurled) a really awful present by the back door, ho, ho, ho.
