We're dreaming of a snow day....

My children have always associated Christmas with snow. They were lucky enough to have snow at or around Christmas during their most formative years (about 3 until 7 for the Princess) and although the past few years have been disappointing, they still dream that White goes with Christmas.

 Ultimate dream? Snow tonight so hard that there is a snow day off school tomorrow and Tuesday but not hard enough to keep them in all day. Dream on, children, dream on. But it does mean that red skies are greeted with 'Will it snow?' Hmm.

My living room has grown in size again. I swear there is something almost Carrollian in the way my room shrinks at Christmas time, almost as though the tree and assorted decorations have the same power as that small bottle Alice drank, so that either we grow larger or the room itself shrinks and suddenly we feel hemmed in and trip over each other.

Today it is quite the opposite. The space is positively overwhelming. And not just space. A good clean round and wipe over makes me feel happy at home.

 I put pretty jam jars in a row with nightlights to decorate my mantlepiece, cleared the dining room table of all detritus and I have plans to invest a couple of pounds in some hyacinths or an amaryllis to provide the new life this month always requires.

But before it looks like I have cleared Christmas altogether, I struck a bargain with the daughter. She argued so convincingly that the Three Wise Men didn't come until Epiphany and it wasn't fair to clear the crib before they had a chance to visit that I agreed to follow tradition Christmas tradition and have the crib up until the end of Christmastide proper;

 so these are here til February 2nd!