Sunday 7 December 2014

Christmas Club

Hey, hey, it's Christmas Club day! i want to offer grateful thanks (and a mince pie or two) to everyone who said "yes!" when I put forward the idea of bringing back Christmas Club. You made me sit down with my notebook and freshly sharpened pencil even though I'd had a mid week panic. I couldn't think of a good story, every one I tried to conjure kept slipping away, or I remembered that I'd told it before. Though maybe, now I think of it, that's the best bit about Christmas? We can do the same thing over and over again, a hundred times over, every year, and it never gets old. And every time we do it, we honour the times we've done it before. We remember.

So I decided to take my own advice and pick up that pencil and remember.

At Christmas we...

wrap up the gifts we have chosen with love and care and we cast our minds back to presents from the past


* There was the Christmas my little sister ruined her new toy kitchen mincer (it had a handle and a big mincing screw and everything) on its first outing. With a wine gum. She put a sticky, chewy sweet through her mincing machine. Well wouldn't you try to mince a wine gum on Christmas morning if all your Mum offered was a slice of white bread? I guess she was making stuffing at the time. That mincer never minced again.

* Or the time Grandma asked my little brother what he would like and he said "Ask a silly question" . Which isn't really the reply a kind, list making Grandma has a right to expect a week before Christmas. It took my Mum a minute to rally and then step in smoothly to explain that it was actually the title of a book he was after; and not a scurrilous slight to her tentative enquiries. Ask a silly question became the standard answer to any kind of query that Christmas.

* And then there was the morning a neighbour called in unexpectedly early - you know, before her present had been wrapped? "Wooden bowls," my Mum mouthed at me behind her back. I ran, i wrapped, I handed the parcel over and Mrs f accepted. End of the week, my Mum decided to finish sorting out the presents. "I thought I had more wooden bowls," she said. "I bought them specially and I had one for Mrs G and one for Betty and one for..." The next thing she heard was my hand being clapped over my mouth. I'd wrapped the whole lot. At once. All together. Happy bumper Christmas Mrs F. Hope you liked them. 

It's only as a grown up that I understand why my Mum looked like she wanted to cry that day. Just before she dug into her handbag for her shopping list, and started re adding names to the bottom of it again.

That's the thing about saying
At Christmas we
Sometimes you can see a story in a whole new light.

Like to give it a try? It's only a suggestion. Any story, any Christmassy post at all would be perfect. Come join our Christmas Club! I've added a linky so you can be part of the Club and it's open for the next week, so you've plenty of time to come up with a post. I'm looking forward to it.


My photos this week are of a present Santa brought when Paddington Bear was popular the first time round. He had a duffel coat,yes, but my Mum made sure that Santa knew he should also have wellies and a suitcase and some warm clothes for our snow that winter. The scarf is an early example of Sian knitting.

And photographing Paddington has given me some idea for next week. I need to start writing again. Thanks for reading!


27 comments:

Jane said...

on a miserable, cold morning you have made me chuckle, thanks Sian x

Lizzy Hill said...

Oh my! What fabulous anecdotes! LOOOVED the wooden bowls one in particular. Wish I could think of a decent story! I so 'get' the bit of panicking to find one that went on before the Muse flowed!!!

Jo said...

A really lovely post that stirred many memories for me. I'll be back later with my link :)

Susanne said...

What wonderful reminiscing! You will get us all started thinking back - just as you plotted!

Anonymous said...

Love your post.....you know how much I love your writing....will be posting mine later today most probably.....hope you're having a lovely Sunday!

Anonymous said...

What great memories you've shared the look on your Grandmother's face must have been quite something and I love the bowls story.

Missus Wookie said...

Oh what a lovely set of stories to capture - thank you for the invitation, I shall get thinking.

debs14 said...

What a fabulous start to Christmas Club! Love these stories Sian. What a lovely festive mood you've set.

scrappyjacky said...

I can just imagine your poor mum and the bowls!!

This West London Life said...

I love that PB has his underpants on! You've put together a wonderful bunch of memories ~ I could really see the look on your mum's face!
I do so want to join in ... if only I could remember a story from Christmas past!

Sheena said...

I'd forgotten how much I'd missed these Sundays here x
Loved your story especially about the bowls!

Abi said...

That wooden bowl story made me smile so much. I'm so glad we are telling stories again on a Sunday!

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

Great post! I love the Paddington bear photos!

Jennifer Shaw said...

Fun Christmas memories to read. Love the "Ask a Silly Question" story.

Lesley G said...

Great stories, you have made me chuckle :)

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

A perfect post to warm our hearts on a cold December day.

Ladkyis said...

great story, just like old times eh?

ally said...

Fab stories

Carmen said...

Beautiful stories, all of them but the bowls one in particular. :)

Karen said...

Great stories. Each one could be a post, I think. I can feel your mother's pain about the wooden bowls! But totally understand how it happened.

Melissa said...

What great story snippets you've remembered this week! I've got an entire list of posts I want to write this month, things I want to share & catch up on, but I just might have to work on a snippets posts like this one for next week's club. I'm off to check out more stories now! :>)

Barbara Eads said...

I love that you chose to pick a few little stories to tell. They make your Christmas Club interesting!

Becky said...

This was lovely to read and I am so pleased to be able to join in with the Christmas Club again this year :)

Lou said...

lovely stories Sian. The bowls made me smile...that's something i would have done!! x

Sandra said...

This had me smiling but then feeling oh so sorry for your poor Mum. Goodness, I can just imagine the panic lol

alexa said...

Such splendid storyu-telling, Sian! oh, and yes, the realisation later in our lives that there was a bit of the story we didn't quite get at the time ... Hoping to be able to join in next Sunday :).

Alison said...

Lovely memories Sian...I too hope to join in next Sunday...am commenting 'on the hop' here whilst in cold, snowy west coast of Scotland xx

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