Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

This past weekend marked the beginning of December and the holiday season for Mike and I.

While Christmas has been making a slow appearance in window displays and yard decoration in the surrounding neighborhood, this was the weekend when Mike and I were going to pull out our holiday decor and get into the spirit of the season.

This is our second Christmas in Canada but our first in our apartment on Commercial Drive (aka The Drive.)  The two of us were super-excited about getting the chance to decorate our little flat but also purchase holiday lighting for our new patio.  As some friends of ours put it, "we're nesting" for the winter.

Our tree is a mostly decorated fake tree that we purchased at a home decor store.  To customize it to our tastes, Mike and I hung ornaments that we have purchased or from our childhood on the small branches.  Instead of lights, we have the old fashioned candles and holders that affix to the branches.  Obviously, we can't light them but it does make for one pretty display.

But don't think we skipped over light displays entirely.  We picked up a few strands of LED to hang from our balcony and living room windows, spreading joy to the neighbors and the people who pass by our home on a daily basis.

As it turns out, the weekend was also the first annual Christmas on the Drive celebration which included the lighting of the Commercial Drive Christmas Tree.  While we missed the countdown to the lighting of the tree in the park a block away from our house, Mike and I made a special trip out into the wind and rain view the lovely holiday display.

I think it was a fantastic way to kick off the holiday season -- and our first one on The Drive.