Christmas Cards

This blog is also posted on my Peggiesweb blogspot site.

Since the beginning of December I have been getting a trickle of Christmas cards from friends and family. This is a lovely tradition, I always think, and it is such a pity that with the popularity of social media it is dying out.
As an ex-pat, living in Germany, I was often starved for news of friends who wrote once a year at Christmas and updated me on their lives. Even more valuable were those who gave me a thumbnail sketch of what was going on in the country they were living in. Of course, you had the one-liners who simply wrote on the expensive Christmas card "we are all well" and added a pious hope that my family were equally healthy and happy. But even these few lines meant that they had thought about me and my family for a couple of minutes at the very least: they had to pick a card to send from the pile they had bought  and in order to write something, they had to call me to mind. I am a great believer in the power of thought or prayer if you want a better word. I remember when I was in hospital following surgery for breast cancer that I could almost feel the get-well wishes pouring out to me.
But I digress. So here I am thinking about the niceness of receiving Christmas cards and the fun of reading how those friends and family who only contact me once a year are doing. How was it all those years ago, when receiving a letter at any time was a big event? When the post coach with its four horses plied between the cities and towns and delivered news of loved ones far away?In those days, far away really meant just that. Many Irish people who emigrated to the USA never came home again. All they and their families had were these letters, cards and well wishes, all of which were read over again until the next time.
I sometimes think that we kept in touch to a much better extent before the advent of email, whatsapp, skype, etc. Letter-writing is an art, of course, and there were people who, because of the lack of education or abilities, simply could not write a very coherent account of themselves. Nowadays they'd simply send you an emoji - enough said!
I still write Christmas letters to friends or family members who I don't get to see very often. These are getting fewer, though, I have to admit. This is partly due to the fact that the cost of travelling has really come down over the years, and let's face it, it's much nicer to see people face to face than to write to them.
This year I have written all my Christmas letters and sent off all my cards except the very local ones. I hope I have made a few people as happy as I am to hear from them.

A Cozy Christmas Read

The blurb on the back of my Christmas novel CHRISTMAS AT CASTLEDARRA says:

Molly O'Neil is looking forward to a family Christmas at Castledarra. It will be the first time for a number of years that everyone is at home for the festivities. She has some important things to tell them but little does she know that her three children are all at a crossroads in their lives.

The idea for this story came to me some time in the Spring of this year. We all have such high expectations of Christmas or indeed of any major family gathering. Yet we forget that our relatives and friends come to these events with very different feelings. There is a theory that all that advertising of happy faces and close families causes disappointments to spill over into family rows. The beaming faces of the people sitting around the dining table with the perfect meal in front of them and the adorable children hugging everybody do not mirror reality, at least for some families. Aunt Mary is soon going to start complaining about the noisy children, mother-in-law is going to sigh over the undercooked vegetables, sister or brother is going to roll their eyes at their sibling's behaviour. After a couple of glasses of wine, the Christmas spirit will have disappeared up the chimney.

Now, I don't want to be a spoiler, but people are only human, aren't they?  If we realised this, we might not take it all so seriously. The more tolerant families simply laugh at the eccentricities of the other family members. More importantly, it doesn't have to be perfect. The decorations, the Christmas dinner, the whole thing need not look like an advertisement. The most fun I have had in past seasons was one Christmas Day when the electricity went off. No lighting, no cooking. Fortunately, like so many people, I had a huge stock of food bought in and we all had great fun making sandwiches and making do. It brought everyone closer together. And the kids were more than relieved at not having to eat that Christmas staple in many homes: the Brussels sprout.

So this year, decorate by all means and cook the traditional turkey and ham and serve up Christmas pudding or whatever the usual fare is, but don't forget to relax, take time to laugh and more especially, more time to chat to family members who you haven't seen for a while. The festive season should be a people time not a present-giving, eating spree.

Christmas in the Air

There is something very magical about Christmas. We all love the colourful decorations, the candles and the bustle. For my part, at this time of year I love to settle down in front of a log fire, sip a glass of red wine (as sweet as I can get it) or if it is frosty outside, to indulge in a mulled wine and have a plate of mince pies within easy reach. Could anything be cosier on a dark December afternoon?

Although I am a fan of crime fiction, at this time of year I look for gentler stories. I am currently reading an old Robert Goddard novel Hand in Glove which is intriguing to say the least. Goddard is a very talented writer and tells a tale as convoluted as any author I know. In other words, this is a page turner. When I've finished it, it will nearly be Christmas so I'll either pick up a nice family story or I will go back to Jane Austen. Whenever I am feeling fragile, I start to re-read one of her novels. I haven't read Mansfield Park for a long time and it is thicker than her other works, so I must get this out for the festive season. Yes, I know the story and how it all ends happily, but it is a bit like visiting old friends, like putting on your pajamas and sliding your feet into those comfortable slippers.

What do you like to read to wind down at Christmas?