Memories of Xmas Past

 Christmas cards are a thing of the past.  This year I sent four. To England. Ones sent to NZ don't arrive till February. I have received one and maybe I'll get another two. 

But I have saved cards from years gone by. I hang up a few strings of these old cards although I'm told by my English friend it's cheating and not quite British. I like the old cards. They're jolly with robins and sleighs and children carolling.  And if I look inside I find greetings from friends often forgotten or no longer around.

This string is from grandchildren, some homemade, most with a sweet message 

And these cards are from NZ with Santa's in shorts or arriving on a surfboard, the native pohutakawa tree bursting with red blossoms and greetings in Maori

These are permanent decorations, angels and roosters, good to go for Xmas or Easter 

And the very old Happy Birthday sign.  The kids tried to take it down when they put up the greenery. The tacks wouldn't come out. Must have been up there for over ten years and seems to have become a permanent fixture.

It's always someone's birthday around here anyway