I don't typically 'do' Christmas. It's kitsch and full of bells, pine, christianity and other things that make me itch.
2018 was a pretty big year for me though, since I got a new job. And in the canteen, they have a radio. Which plays Christmas songs all the time. Now I liked Slade's Christmas song but hearing it twice a day...
And then there's the company Christmas party...
Which was totally awesome - at the Evoluon, my beloved UFO-shaped building, with a circus theme and great spare-ribs. Could've stayed there forever!
Like some other members of my family, I'm a bit impulsive, but I'm also timid, that does curb my spontaneity. Yesterday I did something highly impulsive.
As I was cycling home from work, I noticed a sign that said "Free (couldn't read)." This peaked my interest, after all, I'm Dutch, so I walked over, bicycle in hand, to see what was free.
It was Christmas trees! We always used to have one, but back in 2007 the combination of high prices and my worsening pine allergy made us stop getting them, so now we have two little plastic things to keep things sort of Christmas-y. In a split second decision I decided to salvage the poor tree that would otherwise have been burnt, laid it on my bicycle and walked home.
Dad was a bit dumbfounded, he hadn't expected me to come home with a tree, but he directed me to the tree stand, and brought the decoration boxes from the attic.
All the baubles are there, from the newest one I got at work to the old aluminum baubles that my father made because mini-BBP loved to squeeze them. The newer lights break all the time but the oldest lightbulb ones that were in the tree when I was tiny are still there. The wooden figurines, the disco-ball, the elegant purple pendants, the beautiful mat purple baubles, the old silver baubles that are older than me, the paper angel I made aeons ago, the pompon balls we bought at the christmas market when I was in elementary school... It's a jumble of different colours and textures but all baubles are welcome here. For the first time in years, I feel the Christmas spirit. Not the tacky stuff from the movies, but a nostalgic spirit of the good ol' days when Christmas was worstenbroodjes and free from school, sleighing at Grandma's and gazing at the beautiful tree.
Unfortunately the tree toppled today, I hope it'll stay up this time... and that after Christmas is over, we can put him in the yard.
I wish you all very happy holidays!
I was stunned, so I just grabbed the door and slammed it shut - but apparently not hard enough, because she wrenched it open again and kept yelling about how I was so rude, etc. This time, I slammed the door shut and locked all the doors. 
Some of these people are very odd, but harmless. Others, though... yikes! Watch out. 
