So This Is Christmas

I can't believe another year's rolled by and it's Christmas again. Christmas has been a bit of a mixed bag for this Princess. For many years it was less than picture postcard perfect, so in more recent years it's been important to create rituals and new memories with more sparkle than debacle(sorry about the cheesy rhyming - I couldn't help myself, it is Christmas afterall).

Its for this reason that I drag out my ever increasing collection of beautiful decorations, pack up a small portion of our house in Auckland and a large portion of our farm house, and redecorate with all things Yule. My poor long suffering husband risks life and limb up ladders and trees to get lights up and working and I'm to be approached with extreme caution until everything is arranged in such as way as to bring a smile to my face. Then there only remains the food and the family. This is usually the easy part - our family will eat almost anything as long as it's not moving and anything prepared with a bit more flair than cheese on toast is welcomed with great gusto.

The family is of the blended variety, so get togethers are always interesting. My offspring are a good bunch despite me marrying beneath my royal station the first time around (husband number one was just for practice you understand) and diluting the royal gene pool. My step kids are none too shabby either and together they make up this great mixed bag we know and love as our tribe.

Anyhoooo, once everyone who is coming is there, the picture is complete. Its not often we can all be there on there same day, but various parties wander in over the course of a week or two and that's what we call Christmas. All in all, it was another great one this year and I feel blessed to have shared it with the family and friends that have made up this year's wanderers...now the hard part - even princesses have to pack all the damn decorations away and prepare themselves for the working year...