It is tradition that each year around this time, My Mum, sister and I find some sneaky way of farming the boys off for an evening and use the time to transform the house into a Grinches nightmare.
Things start relatively low key; dinner and a vino followed by the donning of our Christmas nighties (Tenille dropped the ball on this one this year) and scrambling under the stair case for the Christmas decorations.
We reminisce for a short while over decorations been and gone;
- 'Mr Kalamanis' bauble' which Tenille received as a Christmas gift in year 4 (this always leads to the discussion of how old it is this year, which then leads to our dog Harley and how old he is compared to the bauble);
- 'The knitted Christmas Tree Stockings' that were purchased in 1990 with the 50c we were each given at a school fete purely because they came with a packet of life savers and last but not least;
- 'The singing bauble', this is the mood setter of all mood setters. Starting with a loud clap from Mum, followed by the singing bauble (who's accent seems to change every year) and ending with Tenille throwing it back in the box, Mum still singing much the same as Sister Maria would in The Sound of Music.
It's business time.
Our night is always broken up into these three categories:
1. The Erection
2. The Bauble Dance Off
3. The Topping
The Erection
Bing Crosby was our album of choice for this years erection ceremony. Over the years, we've managed to get this down to a fine art. Tenille - THE sister, was the erector and it was her duty this year to erect our pop up tree in less than 1 minute (last years record) - while dancing (in time) with Mr Crosby. If she failed, the consequences were dire. She'd be elected this seasons Gift Wrapper. Considering Mum usually cops this duty, she started her heckling early. The pressure was intense.
After a slow start, five clumsy pirouettes, a few not so graceful arm flaps and an attempt at a leg lift, the mission was completed IN...........35 seconds!
Time for a wine.
The Bauble Dance Off
The tree was up and that meant one thing...'The Bauble Dance Off'. Please note that our darling Mum pulled us out of Betty Bently's Dance Academy at the ages of 9 and 7 respectively, in fear of her public humiliation and death by stoning, so Tenille and I are blessed with the unco genes. Mum goes alright.
A quick CD change - We pulled out the big guns - A Very Mariah Christmas.
Baubles are placed one at a time onto the tree but much the same as 'The Erection' must be done in time with the music, with moves to match. Shit gets real when you're trying to attach a bauble to the tree and Mariah ups the tempo.
Mum won. Typical (just because her Mum let her stay at Betty Bentley's Dance Academy til she was 12).
Time for another vino.
The Topping
A very special tradition. One lucky girl is chosen to place the star on top of the tree. This year it was me!
A back breaking effort by Tenille meant I was launched up to the top of the tree and managed to 'delicately' place the star.
Mum hit the lights and our tree was aDELIGHT! fizzer. (I blame the clock on the wall for stealing the limelight).
By this stage we were all too tipsy and sleepy to decorate any further, so we reverted to chocolate and made our annual vow to drink less next year.
Bing Crosby was our album of choice for this years erection ceremony. Over the years, we've managed to get this down to a fine art. Tenille - THE sister, was the erector and it was her duty this year to erect our pop up tree in less than 1 minute (last years record) - while dancing (in time) with Mr Crosby. If she failed, the consequences were dire. She'd be elected this seasons Gift Wrapper. Considering Mum usually cops this duty, she started her heckling early. The pressure was intense.
After a slow start, five clumsy pirouettes, a few not so graceful arm flaps and an attempt at a leg lift, the mission was completed IN...........35 seconds!
Time for a wine.
The Bauble Dance Off
The tree was up and that meant one thing...'The Bauble Dance Off'. Please note that our darling Mum pulled us out of Betty Bently's Dance Academy at the ages of 9 and 7 respectively, in fear of her public humiliation and death by stoning, so Tenille and I are blessed with the unco genes. Mum goes alright.
A quick CD change - We pulled out the big guns - A Very Mariah Christmas.
Baubles are placed one at a time onto the tree but much the same as 'The Erection' must be done in time with the music, with moves to match. Shit gets real when you're trying to attach a bauble to the tree and Mariah ups the tempo.
Mum won. Typical (just because her Mum let her stay at Betty Bentley's Dance Academy til she was 12).
Time for another vino.
The Topping
A very special tradition. One lucky girl is chosen to place the star on top of the tree. This year it was me!
A back breaking effort by Tenille meant I was launched up to the top of the tree and managed to 'delicately' place the star.
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| I apologise for any damage this photo may have caused |
Mum hit the lights and our tree was a
By this stage we were all too tipsy and sleepy to decorate any further, so we reverted to chocolate and made our annual vow to drink less next year.
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