Decorations and Gifts

I didn't want to deal with stringing lights and I didn't want to get up on a ladder this year. That limits what I can do outside to decorate for Christmas.

And I didn't want to line my front sidewalk with farolitos, the little orange paper bag lanterns (electrified) that everyone in Santa Fe uses, either along the ground or on walls, or often up on their rooftops, outlining the flat roof lines of their homes. I do love seeing them all over town at this time of year but they are not me.

So my limited efforts at decorating have resulted in:

       A fake frosted tree in an urn on the front portal.

       And a green wreath on the gate, the same as I did last year.

Meh. Nice enough. Practical, though, as I have no basement and no attic to store big decorations off season, and I'm no longer willing to climb to string lights or hang things.

I'm happy with these modest efforts. 

I'm more excited about the Christmas experiences of a two year old in California. When I learned I would have a granddaughter I was so excited -- after raising two boys I was thrilled to think I could buy dresses and dolls and sparkly shoes, not trucks. 

So what am I getting her for Christmas? A garbage truck. A big one with a blue bin that raises and dumps upside down, and with real paper trash inside.

She is fascinated with the noise and look of the garbage trucks on trash day at her house and talks about them. She is mesmerized by a TV cartoon called Trash Truck about a weirdly expressive garbage truck and his neighborhood friends -- loves it. So.

I'm having more fun with this holiday planning -- garbage trucks as gifts -- than I am decorating the house for the season.

🎄 Merry Christmas to all truck lovers!