Christmas Traditions

Having grown up in a family that didn't celebrate christmas overtly or loudly, I'm all for starting christmas traditions for my family.

And one of the simple, quiet ones that The Husband and I have stumbled across is watching the movie Love Actually a day or two out from Christmas, choking up a little and having our hearts warmed.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  The boys and I always walk the floor of The Husbands office with a bowl of choccies to do a kids version of a meet and greet with the lovely peeps he works with.  We put up too much christmas bling, we put up a real christmas tree so our house smells like pine.  We give stuff away, we buy thoughtfully, we eat too much, we drink good quality champagne.
But one tradition that I have been doing for lets say 20'ish years, is one that my dearest friend Katie loves/hates (you tick the box Katie) but that is comfortably predictable.  We worked in a budget department store during our university years, Katie got the record counter, I got the cigarette counter (nice touch with my mum passing away a handful of years later from a smoking related illness), and every christmas we would flog ourselves by working fulltime (so we could fund our alcohol fueled trips to Wanaka for New Years, and tuck a little away for the next year).  And every year, the shop would have the same christmas music playing on rotation.  We had a fixation on one particular song.  And most years since, I'll ring Katie up on Christmas Day and warble this down the phone to her.  I know she's wearying of it, but I'm sure she'd miss it if I didn't.  But this Christmas she'll be out of mobile range, so what better platform to share it than here.

And because it's Christmas, I'm taking a Giving Back Girl break.  I'm going to hang, and write and run.  I'll pop back on the 10th January.
And thank you for your support, your comments, and your company over the last year, I only do it for you.
Be safe, be happy, and live life loudly.

Merry Christmas everyone!

This is for you Katie.