Praying to catch a Christmas groove

Does the Christmas season suck the life out of anyone else but me?

Yesterday, as I dressed wine bottles in raffia and tulle (yes, I have declared they do go together), I wished aloud for the Christmas spirit. The husband agreed and wished he would "catch" it too. Here's a look at the bottles I was "dressing."

We called them Real Estate Survival Kits, since the husband operates a mortgage company & most of the gift receivers are our favorite realtors. Accompanying each bottle of wine is a box of crackers, cheese and some chocolate. Isn't that a well-rounded meal for anyone in this crazy business? The best part is I can't take credit for the idea. The husband thought it up all by himself. I just helped with the packaging.

Getting back to my whine: I love Christmas, or let's say I have always loved Christmas in the past. For the past few years, I haven't been myself and the Christmas season just plain wears me out. In the old days, I wrapped presents with amazing amounts of creativity. I've even painted my own wrapping paper for heaven's sake. Custom-made name tags are not out of the question. I'm just not into those pre-printed To: and From: tags you tape on the side of the box. This year, I haven't wrapped a single present. In fact, there is not one present under my less-than-stunning tree. That my tree could be less than stunning is distressing because usually it is stunning. Last year I declared it would be "vintage-only" after I stumbled upon a very charitable but clueless estate sale operator in Odessa of all places, who asked me to haul off "all that Christmas junk."

This year I just ran out of steam and decided not to sweat the small stuff, letting my three-year-old daughters help me with placement of any and every ornament in the box. Let's just say there's a community of little snowmen, all together, in one place on the side of the tree where the girls could reach if they stood on the arm of the big leather chair. It's a wonder no one was seriously injured. Let me also say that on that day, I really, really disciplined myself and had to fight off having a glass of wine beginning at 11 a.m. I finally gave in to the pressure at 5 p.m. but was quite proud of myself making it that long. The husband was deer hunting, if that tells you anything. Texas translation means I was alone with the kids all weekend.

Here's a peak at the vintage wreath I picked up in one of my favorite re-sale shops for $12. It's about 4 feet wide and as tall. We decided it was a great place to tuck all our Christmas cards at the husband's office. Actually this wreath does make me Christmas-happy.

Today we're going out to play Santa and deliver all the pretty wine bottles to the friends we work with all year. Hopefully the "giving" part of Christmas will put me in the mood and lift me from this overwhelmed funk.