GARISH CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

I have to admit that even though I live in an area that sees much of the Christmas Spirit displayed in 6ft plastic I am not a fan! I hate to see Santa, lit from within, parachuting down the side of a house only to meet his body double on a sleigh in the garden. Then, as though by magic, another St Nick-clone is spotted waving merrily from atop the garage. Surely Santa must get confused by so many of himelves. Not to mention steam trains puffing out "Merry Christmas' in yellow and red lights; snowmen, reindeer... I mean the list of tacky Christmas light-adornments just goes on and on. What's the point?

For me Christmas is about Jesus coming yet you see very few nativity scenes displayed anywhere. Maybe this is something to do with Santa being a tenner down the local B&Q and nativity scenes being eighty quid for one that can hardly be seen indoors never mind in your garden and made out of some rare oak/birch highbrid. Having said that, the thought of the Holy Family parachuting down the side of someone's house being lit from within doesn't fill my heart with the same kind of cheer...

It is hard to express what I really feel about Christmas without sounding all Helen-Steiner Rice-ey but it is about the best gift ever given with the most long-lasting consequences. It is about giving gifts to each other as a reminder of that ultimate gift... it is about being together and celebrating... it is about angels and donkeys and mangers and straw and dressing gowns with tea-towel head coverings... Christmas is nostalgia at its best!! I love it.

Down with 6ft, inner-lit, plastic...