We have our little christmas tree up and decorated, and although it's artificial it's also very cute and pretty and - bonus - up on a table where Rosie mostly cannot reach it, though yesterday I heard jingling and looked to find her shaking the whole table. Whether that was just playing with the noise or hoping something would fall, I don't know.

We've also been working on spreading midwinter festiveness to the rest of the house, and it's starting to show, I think. I might need to get some more white lights to replace the string that died two years ago, and I'm pondering outdoor light options since we have some convenient plug outlets. We've started playing christmas music and we've done some shopping, and we're starting to enjoy seasonal drinks like eggnog and spiced cider (best with rum in them, so we've stocked some of that).

This isn't a religious holiday for us, yet I think it is very much a time to celebrate things we have faith in - each other, friends, family, love and the generosity of the human spirit. And of course there's the recognition of the importance of both Joy and Peace, and our hope that people around the world will have some of both in their lives. These things we will aim to teach Rosie in time. But for the moment there's the music and the decorations, the greetings and news and messages of love shared with others, good food and, eventually, some presents. And that's a good start, I think.