Christmas China

Christmas comes to Linderhof slowly now

Thanksgiving weekend is not a hectic week

madly decorating every nook and cranny.

But rather a time for family,

A time for friends

But on Sunday,

we do set up the Advent Wreath

(for it is the first of the four Sundays before Christmas)

and light the candle

And say a prayer

And . . . 

we bake the very first of the Christmas cookies

Usually Christmas tree cutouts sprinkled with green sugar

This year however we made gingerbread cutouts

And . . . 

We bring out the Christmas china

Eleven months of the year it lives in the top corner cabinet in the kitchen

Way up on top where they are out of the way

Come the first Sunday in Advent

We climb a ladder and swap them out for our beloved Indies breakfast china

So that it's handy for the month of December

Because (unless we're eating soup) that's our china of choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Most of it is Royal Dolton Tartan

8 cups, saucers and plates bought on a long ago trip to England and the Royal Dolton potteries

(for the amazing sum of $8)

We added 4 more of each along the line for 12 seemed a better number

And because Royal Dolton Tartan was so expensive and we decided we needed dessert/salad plates,

we bought Lenox Holiday

We started with 12 but friend Shirley Ann pointed out that you really need 24

If you have a houseful for dessert, you'll have enough plates

If you serve both salad and dessert at a Christmas dinner party, the extra plates will come in handy.

It's always good to use the Christmas china again.

It's like an old friend who returns for a visit!