It's that time of year

Yesterday was kinda wintery here, or at least as wintery as it gets by the coast.  I decided it was a good day to start pulling down the Christmas boxes and start the process of decorating the house for the season.  I know myself, and if I don't get the boxes down early in the month I may not decorate at all.  I think that stems from all the years I managed a retail store, "do it early or not at all" was my motto.  

Anyway, as I was unpacking I came across the Advent Calendar I made last year for a class Deb and I taught a few times.  I love this advent calendar, the rich red color of the flocked paper, the silver glitter and vintage music all combined to make one very spectacular piece that hangs more than 4ft long. 

I hung it in the same spot as last year, stood back and admired it for a moment before moving on to the rest of the boxes.

I continued to unpack the boxes throughout the evening, slowly unwrapping everything I have collected over the years...little bottle brush trees, mercury glass, a white feather tree and little village houses.  I had almost reached the end when I spotted the shoe box I was looking for in the bottom of one of the bins.  My guess is that the box probably dates to about 1970.  Inside the box is a simple (I mean REALLY simple) nativity I helped my mother make as a child.  

Made from simple spools of thread, felt, and glued on bits, it brings back warm memories of a happy home.  It was one of the decorations I looked forward to setting up each year and I am quite sure she let me set it up because I couldn't break it. 

Now, the shepherd is missing his staff and the little sheep made from a white spool of thread and a cotton ball have been lost.  But it doesn't seem to matter, the memories of making it with my mother will be forever cherished.  And now, almost 40 years later, I display it proudly, very close to the new advent calendar in all its shiny glory.  

New is good...but in this case old may be better.  I am glad they can coexist together in my living room.

If your interested, there are a few Advent calendar kits for sale in the Etsy shop.  But if you have a nativity such as mine, you might not need one...paula