Winter Solstice Fun

The Winter Solstice is one of my favorite holidays. There are so many things that we do to prepare for it. First, we get the tree out of the space that it was left in. Sometimes it was in the attic. Or in the basement when we used to live in a house. When we were living in a trailer it was in a closet. I missed the days that we had our tree in the closet. It made it so much easier to get out.

Despite it being much bigger than the tree, we have now. Like three times as big if I’m being honest. And I missed that tree. Decorating it with everything that we have. Baubles and other such stuff. Including the family cats’ stockings. That way we could fill them a whole lot easier. Along with our own stockings. For similar reasons the cats’ stockings are left up. There was also the fact that we didn’t get to nail them to the wall. As I’m pretty sure the landlord would have kicked us out.

Soon as that was decorated, we’d make cookies. Decorate them by painting them before leaving them to dry. Mom would put them in a large Tupperware container. Or in large plastic bags. We used to leave some out for Santa when we were younger. But obviously we don’t do that anymore.

I’m 33. A little too old to be believing in Santa Claus. Though Mom would still leave presents for us with that written. Along with our cats’ presents. She writes it as ‘Santa Paws’ though and it’s precious.

We wrap our presents before Winter Solstice. Having bought them way in advance. Like I buy them a few months in advance. Like I normally do with my mom’s birthday presents and my younger brother’s presents. I also make sure that I get enough wrapping paper along with tape. I make sure that my presents are anywhere that neither of them is going to find. Like the closet.

So does my mom.

Trevor rarely buys presents but when he does, they’re nice. For the most part they’re something that I can use. Just like the presents that I buy for him. Pajama bottoms, socks, underwear, and hygiene products.

My mom gets more spa stuff or pajamas. Like bath bombs. Fuzzy socks. Or stuff that she could use for her cats.

I used to get our housemate similar things. Along with slippers. Toys for his cats.

The other cats get toys to play with every year. Treats. Pajamas. And the most important thing, catnip.

We leave them under the tree until Solstice. And only get to open one present per person at midnight. It’s some of the most fun we have.

For dinners we normally have turkey or ham. Or really anything formal that mom and Rodney make together. It’s also with mashed potatoes, stuffing, and a lot of other vegetables. Like brussel sprouts and asparagus. We also have rolls with butter to spread on it. Then we have pies like sweet potato and pumpkin. Along with a lot of whipped cream on top.

It's the best night of the year and I love it. We leave the tree up for a while. But we eventually put it up before Valentine’s Day. Along with our other decorations. Which isn’t a lot and makes cleaning up a lot easier. I wish that I had those days back.