Perfect Vintage Christmas

Here's my entry for the super cute Super Kawaii Mama and her vintage Christmas Competition to win many fabulous prizes. Entries are to be sent in by 4 Dec. and the winner will be announced on 7 Dec. (Hey, that's my birthday).

I know that the entry was supposed to be under 200 words and is now 437 words, but I'm still in end of term paper writing mode (1200 words=easy, 200 words=really hard).

The perfect vintage Christmas would be at dusk, curled up on the chesterfield with a mug of hot cocoa watching Mr. Astaire dance or Mr. Stewart romance Miss Sullavan, whilst Mr. Crosby and Miss Kitt's emanate from the gramophone as the snow softly drifts past the window. There will be a real fire popping and crackling in all it's majesty and slowly warming the empty stockings hanging from the mantel, waiting to be filled with mandarins, candy and wooden blocks.

The tree in the centre of the room will be real and will have just come from the forest, so that it's sappy, spicy, woodsy smell will disperse through out the house and one's home will retain that uniquely Christmas-y smell long after the last present has been unwrapped and the carpet vacuumed. The tree will be decorated with lights, baubles, tinsel and ornaments until it sparkles just right. The ornaments wont be valuable antiques but will be sentimental ones that have been carefully passed on from one generation to the next, from that little fibreglass bird bought by the grandparents for their first Christmas together to the popsicle stick reindeer made by the youngest child last year. And beneath the tree on Christmas Eve there will be a small pile of presents wrapped up in brightly coloured paper and bows. There wont be as many presents as what the neighbours have, but instead each one will be handmade or selected with such care and devotion to what the receiver would love and no one from the house will be standing in the returns queue next to the neighbours come Boxing Day.

The house will be filled with the sounds of loved one rushing to-and-fro in a happy frenzy of last minute baking, wrapping and sewing as the beloved pets peek out from beneath the furniture waiting for the opportunity to sneak a bite of dinner. And once the bird has been eaten and the paper hats have fallen off the adults' heads then the family will retire to the living room to play a board game or perhaps a round of charades or else to go for a stroll in the newly fallen snow and admire the lights around the neighbourhood and the snowmen dotting every garden.

For the perfect vintage Christmas is the Christmas that should be celebrated by everyone. One that isn't about the latest gadget or decorating scheme or going to every party; it is about spending time with one's family, friends and indoor animals, exchanging thoughtful gifts, recipes and traditions and creating wonderful memories that will last longer than any present.