Old Fashioned Christmas

Call me old fashioned. That’s fine with me. You won’t find me standing in line on Black Friday, I’ll be working Small Business Saturday, but I’ll probably be offline all of Cyber Monday. It’s just not the kind of holiday spirit that suits me.

I remember one of my favorite children’s Christmas albums, back when all our records were on “tape,” and you had to flip them over to hear the other side. We probably played that tape until it frayed or demagnetized because I haven’t a clue where it’s gotten to…but the tune has stayed with me. In this song, a Christmas tree from the forest is in search of a family.

So she put on her coat,
Pulled her hat down low
And looked for a house where
She could go and
Be a part of Christmas.

And as she traveled, this was the family she was dreaming of:

I want a house that smells like cookies
(ahhhh)
A house where people sing,
(la-la!)
A house where people make their presents
(Merry Christmas!)
Instead of Christmas shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping.
(and in the background, everyone was clapping their hands on their laps, like busy feet rushing around.)

Eventually, the little tree finds a family who is stranded in their home because it’s too cold to start the car. How will they ever get to have Christmas without the usual shopping binge? They welcome in the little tree, and together they make their own Christmas merriment, including (I believe) hot cocoa.

In a house that smells like cookies
A house where people sing,
A house where people make their presents
Instead of Christmas shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping.

There’s something magical to me about making gifts during the holiday season, whether it’s listening to Kara baking a zillion family recipe cookies in the kitchen to the songs of her favorite musicians or taking the time to crochet something special with my own hands and yarns from our sheep.

This last week, I was making balsam wreaths to add cheer to the homestead. With relatives traveling in soon from long distances, it’s nice to have the greenery cheer at doorways. The smell of the fresh balsam boughs filled Farmstead with the scent of the holidays, mingled with cinnamon and nutmeg wafting from the kitchen below.

On an especially slow day, Kara and I broke out the polymer clay, letting our imaginations play. Once baked, these adorned the lids of hand-folded paper gift boxes, which we’ve been handing out to friends and family.

Snowflakes of all colors, a crescent moon with a cat, a sheep with holly on a star, swirls and roses… The options were endless, and the time slipped by quickly. Sure, these creations might not be as sparkly or as intricate as something from a store, but they are completely individual, made using our own hands and small, simple tools.

The olden stories of Santa Clause tell of him making toys for children who otherwise would have none, working hand tools with wood. In today’s franchised retellings, droves of elves are put to the task. But I still like the idea of Santa’s hands at work himself, rather than him being the benevolent overseer of his minions.

It’s simple things home-baked cookies, a crafted gift box, or a wreath that share the love, time, and attention that brings Christmas alive in our hearts on the farm. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. Sometimes the most exciting package to open is the one you know has a new pair of insulated work pants in it for chore-time! Or, well, maybe you didn’t even bother wrapping it and started using it as soon as it arrived…but you still know it’s a special gift from the farm to you.

It certainly shows that agrarians can be rather practical with their gift-giving. Can you eat it? Can you wear it? Can you use it? But then, there are the just-for-fun things too, like making ornaments and fun little decorated boxes. There’s something to be said about having a home that feels pretty and festive, especially when outside is a black-and-white photograph for the next several months.

This holiday season, I hope you’ve mixed in a bit of the old-fashioned sort of Christmas, so that you can also have the joy of:
A house that smells like cookies
A house where people sing,
A house where people make their presents
Instead of Christmas shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping, shopping.

A very happy holidays to you! See you down on the farm sometime.