Capturing the Christmas Fairy

 

I hope that everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all a fantastic 2014.

 

The magic of Christmas. If it came in a pretty red bottle, we’d be buying it by the crate load… What is it exactly?

Some people say Christmas is just for children (sorry for the triteness – I’ll be saying puppies aren’t just for Xmas in a minute and they’ll boot me off WordPress) but I’m not one of them.True, you can’t beat that sleepless Christmas Eve feeling that you only got as a kid (now I sleep through the night after a couple of Mulled wines thanks very much); when the night seems to last the same duration as the current year. Tossing and turning in tight sheets, you glance at the clock to see if the hands have moved at all. They usually haven’t. You screw your eyes shut tight, willing sleep but it laughs in your face and makes you hotter, more fractious and adrenaline courses through your festive veins faster than Santa on his sleigh. You hear rustling as parents (who’s kidding who if you think your wee ones are actually asleep?) push unbearably inviting wrapped parcels into your stockings and sacks – or an old pillow case if you were in my family.

And then…

The utter feeling of euphoria when it’s finally the time your parents said it would be okay to get up and, despite the fact you haven’t slept a wink, it’s the best morning of the whole year.

Sure, we can’t expect that any longer but you can still feel that fuzzy, warm festive mood. The Christmas tingle is rather illusive though isn’t it? For many years I’ve sought it out: buying a gorgeous tree and adorning it with beautiful baubles; buying ornaments for around the house; opening the advent calendar; ordering much seasonal food and drink; all in the name of capturing the magic. A lot of times I’ve failed though – because I just tried too hard.

This year I caught that pesky little Christmas fairy, trapped it in the bottle and firmly put a stopper in the top. Sounds a bit cruel I know but when you find it and it settles in to your home, you must pounce! What did I do different? I didn’t expect a thing. Everything was a bit last minute and rather spontaneous. I didn’t worry if I’d managed to get all my cards out (sorry if you were one of those); I even laughed when I mixed a couple of gifts up (well it was funny: my slim little sis ended up with a size 16 tunic meant for my mum and my mum got a tiny, slinky, sexy nightie); the tree went up later and we risked getting the Xmas food delivered last minute as supermarkets are my idea of hell on Earth. Somehow, it all just fell together and my hub and I had the best, most relaxing and happy Xmas we’ve had in years. A winner!

So, for future reference? That Xmas Fairy only likes to land in your home under its own terms and in fact, the less prepared you are, the more likely it will visit with you awhile… I hope it visited you too.

And so onwards to New Year and a million writing resolutions loom. Please stay with me on my journey to get book number two published: ‘Demon Match’ (currently working hard on its ending) – it can be lonely out there for a children’s author so any followers are much appreciated