A truly vintage holiday.....

I feel a certain level of envy at people who can immerse themselves more fully into their historical lifestyle, not just clothes but furniture, appliances and even their house itself but I have to say, with a young baby still in nappies (cloth of course dahhling!!!), the idea of life without the comfort of a proper washing machine and dryer is horrifying, so much so that I paid for a new dryer on credit (paid off now though) and I am calling in a repair man for the washing machine next week. Yes it means no lovely extras for a few weeks, but you can't actually have lovely extras as a mother on a restrictive income and let's be honest, what is more vintage than that?

I mean, we have SO much in general and waste so much.  So I am going to be really frugal the next few weeks, luckily for me I don't celebrate Christmas, but even if I did I would have a vintage Christmas too.  It pains me to see the ridiculous excesses that most mainstream people enter into, bff spends a couple hundred on each child, she has four, this time of year costs her a small fortune and to be honest, they are not the more appreciative children in the world, in fact they are incredibly entitled.

Let me be clear, I love, love, love the trappings of Christmas, I was brought up in NYC and no where (as far as I know) in the Western World comes close when it comes to Christmas excess.  Beautiful lights, not just in large shops and major thoroughfares as is the case in London, oh no, in New York every house was awash with colour, even the Jewish homes were brightly lit with a rather glorious electric Chanukiah

Like this one

New Yorkers love the Holiday Season and they are making sure that no one of any religion misses, non Celebrants mean less money so heck yeah it is all Christmas by another  name.  The Jews have Hanukkah (or they just celebrate Christmas as a non religious festival), the Muslims have EID  (or they just celebrate Christmas as a non religious festival), the African traditionalists have Kwanzaa (but they definitely DO celebrate Christmas too), the Hindus have Pancha Ganapati, the Pagans have Yule (they'll have the exact same traditions as Christmas but claim first dibs) Buddhists just go with the flow and the secularists, the large mass of 'not really anything at all but I was christened as a baby....'  they will definitely be celebrating Christmas.  So in all, the Christians have won this one.

The blatant consumerism of the time did far more to turn me off of it than my religion and beliefs.

But nothing makes me feel more squee!!!  Than a Victorian Christmas, I love plum pudding, warm fires, felt bonnets and A Christmas Carol, yeah I know, I had this same moan last year but it is my one weakness, drop me in the middle of a Victorian Christmas festival and I suddenly turn into a High Anglican from rural Kent or something...it really IS my kryptonite.