A Stable of Playpeople

My youngest has fully recovered from his ordeal, and is now in roaring form, having slept for 36hrs and been pumped full of vitamins.

On the strength of his perky state, and in an effort to catch up with the accumulating retard, we programmed our trip to Botanic to buy the Christmas tree for last Monday evening. Braving the home-bound traffic, we ventured out en famille on this traditional quest and mooch amongst the thoroughly desirable items on sale.

The shop was quite peaceful at 6.20pm on a Monday evening, but as it shut at 7pm, we had to make sure our main purpose was fulfilled, and thus made straight for the Christmas tree section. I love the smell of real trees, and while I know it's not really a serious ecological act to buy a cut tree and chuck it after a couple of weeks, at least at Botanic I know that the trees are grown from renewable sources, and livelihoods are maintained.

The cheapest ones are the Epicea, which lose their needles at the drop of a hat unless you spray with non-ecological needle spray, but have a lovely smell, and densely packed branches. Botanic thrust them into a stand made of half chunk of trunk, and put them through a metal tunnel so they come out wrapped in nylon netting. With our tree standing proudly though tightly bound on our trolley, we trundled over to the deccies section.

There, I dream of living in a home where one can design Christmas decorations to fit in with a languid lifestyle, where money is no object, and people gasp at the style and elegance of one's creativity.

Alas and alack, I have neither the time nor the money to fritter away on decorating my child-filled abode with pricey and sophisticated baubles. However, I always buy at least one deccie to add to my collection. This year, I decided it would have to be a stable. Just the stable. The little figures that go in it cost 10.50Eur each which means that we'll have to make it a project. The boys were charged with the task of finding fitting elements from the debris in their bedroom to inhabit it for the duration of Christmas.

This is the result:
The 'baby Jesus' is a mini Lego Star Wars character who is, for the moment, lurking behind the stable awaiting his grand entrance, and around the sitting room, three Kings are making their grandiose way towards the humble birthplace.

Ulysse finds it terribly amusing to scratch at the moss and see it come away in his claws, after which, he knocks poor 'Mary' and 'Joseph' over and onto the floor, usually into the clothes basket which is ever full and awaiting attention underneath.

Christmas is coming to the Red House, however. The tree is up and decorated and twinkling, the tiny poinsettias which I also bought in Botanic have found a home on the piano and I just need to finish putting up the stairs lights, piano lights and anywhere else I can possibly fix lights to lights. I will place some presents round the tree this weekend whilst the boys are away, and hopefully finish my Christmas shopping in town.

Unless someone else falls ill....