Well, the snow didn’t last long. It melted in yesterday’s rain, but not before we managed to make a snowman and have a good, old-fashioned snowball fight.

And, best of all, it ushered that ‘Christmas is coming’ feeling. We haven’t decorated yet, which is unusual, because I like to have everything in place on December 1, but then this year I really seem to be trying (and failing) to catch up with myself—the Christmas pudding is steaming just now, and I usually have it ready by mid November. That said, the plan is to decorate between today and tomorrow, and we are starting to feel very festive. Or at least, I am, and am trying to make sure the rest of the family catches the Christmas bug.

Which neatly brings me to my Christmas spirit afterschooling plan. This month, I am selecting festive readings for Nicco, and mingling them with stuff on the Victorian era. That’s because we have the endearingly quirky (some would say outright bonkers) habit of celebrating a Victorian Christmas in this household. We started it in 2004, the year Nicco was born. We never spend Christmas at home, as we are either at my parents’ or at Manfredi’s, an we thought it would be fun for him, as he grew older, to have some memories of Christmas at home and some family traditions to call his own. And since the Victorians were the first to celebrate Christmas as we know it, we decided to have it Victorian style. We have Victorian food, eat plum (read: Christmas) pudding and indulge in Victorian customs (such as carols) which both Manfredi and I have come to appreciate during our married life but which are not common in either of our families of origin. No presents though—those are saved for the proper Christmas.

I must admit my family are somewhat critical of what they see as ‘too many Christmases’ because they believe it ruins the expectation and the atmosphere on the day. But it is also true that Manfredi and I, perhaps because we both left home when quite young, have a different approach to life and different traditions from our families of origin and it is our own traditions that we want to pass onto our children. Until now, Nicco was too young to really understand what was going on with our Victorian Christmas. We’ll see how it goes this year and then re-evaluate whether to continue or stop it.

While we do it, though, I want to enjoy it to the full. And that means reading the books that bring on the Christmas cheer. I haven’t drawn up a complete list yet, but I here are some ideas off the top of my head:

Beatrix Potter’s The Tailor of Gloucester

Celia Thaxter’s Little Piccola

Charles Dickens’ Christmas Stories

Clement C. Moore’s Twas the Night before Christmas

Maud Lindsay’s The Christmas Cake

I also came across Pearl S. Buck’s Christmas Day in the Morning, which is a real tear jerker for me, but I think Nicco is still a bit too small for it (though if it helped get him out of bed in the morning…what a blessing that would be!).

Meanwhile, here’s someone who is already feeling Christmassy..

Caterina in her Christmas outfit