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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Christmas Gifts (11/13/08)
My ideal Christmas gift would be a perfect Christmas. I’m talking about a dream of the best Christmas ever. It would start with having all the Christmas gifts made, bought and wrapped before December first. Each one would be specially wrapped with that individual’s tastes in mind.
The Christmas tree would be tall, full, fragrant and cost less than fifteen dollars. It would only take half an hour to beautifully and tastefully decorate it.
Every day we would remember to put an ornament on the Advent Calendar and it would be an event we all looked forward to each day.
The house would be a dust free vision of Christmas adornment. It would be warm, inviting and always neat and clean. You would be caressed by smells of cinnamon, apple, ginger and baked bread.
The kids would never argue. They would wash their faces, brush their teeth, make their beds and keep their rooms clean without being told. My youngest daughter would never go outside with out shoes or socks and the boys’ hair would never stick up at the crown.
Christmas Eve would be spent in simple, unhurried preparations for the next day. When my husband gets home from work, early, we would spend a pleasant evening playing games and watching Christmas movies.
In the morning we would awake to a world covered in white icing. There would still be big, fat flakes gently rocking to the ground and the roads would be clear and ice free. Every one would wake in a good mood and dress quickly. Breakfast would be a pleasant affair with little clean up. Opening the gifts would be neat and orderly. Everyone would take the time to watch each person open each gift. The morning would be full of smiles and loving thank yous. Afterward, every gift would have a place to go and there would be nothing on the floor in the walkways.
Christmas dinner would be a stress free affair with no mess and no last minute rushing around. The table would have room for a runner of Christmas decorations down the center, yet , there would be an abundance of food. No food would be dropped on the table cloth. No goblets of cider or sparkling grape juice would be knocked over. The meal would last a long time because everyone lingered over the food and talked. Clean up would be easy and quick. No one would have dishpan hands.
The rest of the day would be spent catching up with each other, playing games, watching Christmas movies and enjoying Christmas presents. The children would play outside for hours without anyone getting hurt or cold. The adults would be able to visit with each other in peace. At the end of the day the children would go to bed quietly and fall to sleep quickly. The adults would sit around drinking spiced cider and relaxing .
However, Christmas is never like that. Most years we do not know where we will be until the week before Christmas. My husband and I are always realize a day or two before Christmas Eve that we forgot some gifts. Meals are always hectic. The children are always loud. There is never a clear place to walk after the gifts are open. The dishes take longer to do than the meals take to eat. The day is always so crazy that half the adults go to bed when the children do. Putting the children to bed is a two hour affair. It is too noisy to watch Christmas movies.
There are a few things that make Christmas a special gift each year. The children sitting quietly on various laps as one of the dad’s share the Christmas story. Laughter over silly things the adults did as children. Younger children surrounding an older child who is reading a story out loud . Girl cousins dressing up and pretending they are princesses. Dads playing in the snow with their children. Husbands threatening their wives with a glob of whipped cream. Babies sleeping on grandfathers’ chests. Grandmothers playing ring –around-the –rosies with their grandchildren. Christmas is never what I imagine it to be. It is a lot of work and chaos. But the dream can never surpass the special moments of reality.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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This article has been read 794 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Jan Ackerson
11/21/08
Really creative way to approach this week's topic! Tell you the truth, I prefer the real Christmas to the ideal one--this was great fun to read.
Deborah Porter 
11/27/08
Elizabeth, I just wanted to let you know that you did very well in the Challenge this week. Even though you didn't quite make it into the winners' circle, you made it into the highest rankings for Level 1, placing 11th for the level.

The competition is always quite intense in Level 1, so well done. Keep up the great writing.

If you would like to check the highest rankings for yourself, you can see them here:

http://www.faithwriters.com/Boards/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=343147

With love, Deb (Challenge Coordinator)