Minggu, 16 Desember 2012

Oh Christmas wrapping paper...where art thou?





I thought I was so clever.
When we packed up our house in England, 
I divided the contents.
Part of our shipment followed us to Vietnam, 
and the other half set sail to the USA.

I explicitly marked the Christmas boxes that
I wanted to go to Vietnam.
I guess I must have been distracted.
In opening them the other day I discovered..
those odds and ends for winter weather.
Ice scrapers, shovels....the sort of things 
I will have absolutely no use for in Vietnam.

But most disappointing is my 25 year collection 
of Christmas wrapping paper.
I imagine it is tucked away in the container, 
in a warehouse, in Boston.
Not helpful.

Not surprisingly, there is not a large selection
 of Christmas wrapping paper in Vietnam.
I decided creativity and ingenuity must prevail.
When in Vietnam do as the Vietnamese do.

In fact, I am kind of glad that I had to move on.
I am enjoying the change of pace.
I was lucky enough to grab a few things at
 French Christmas market in our compound.


My wrapping paper of choice...

9 Nguyen Phuc Chu An Hoi


Their gift paper is hand screened...with a choice of 
three symbols and their meanings. A nice touch, to pass
on the message to one who receives a gift wrapped in this paper.

The Owl
Ruler of the night,
seer of souls and a true keeper of spirits.
A symbol of wisdom, mystery
protections and secrets.

The Fish
Water is a universal symbol 
of subconscious and depth of knowledge
the fish representing transformation 
and creations
A symbol of fertility, creativity, feminity and
good luck.

The Bird
Air animals assist us with matters of 
higher knowledge- heralding our desires 
to the gods in the skies.
A symbol of communciaiton,
 curiosity, vibrancy and clarity.

Christmas wrapping just took on a whole new meaning for me!

A few coulourful accents go a long way.



I came across these little tags at another booth...
I wish I had grabbed a card..they are a lot of fun.



Ok..so the paper below may not be on a Christmas theme
but I was happy to have found it. I think it works in
a tropical climate. I may be stretching that one a bit...but
I am going to go with it.






Last but not least...when in doubt. 
I pulled out the stack of London Review of Books newspapers 
that I have not been able to part with.
It is time.
Perfect for small gifts...and interesting reading too!




Christmas paper....check
Sending Christmas presents overseas...
more difficult than anticipated.
It involves clearances by the post office, 
paying a tax for sending the item
 and wrapping gifts in the post office.

I think I will be passing out Christmas gifts 
for months to come during my 2013 travels.
That makes the wrapping paper just perfect! 


Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Google+

Related : Oh Christmas wrapping paper...where art thou?

  • Colours of VietnamOne of the things I love about Vietnam...the colours.More colour on Instagram...herePhotos by Jeanne Henriques ...
  • Life in Vietnam...questions and answers When I was told we were moving to Vietnam I went into full Google search mode. Who, what, where, when, how...lay it on me. I searched out other expat bloggers ...
  • The Lone Mango...at Chateau MangoShortly before we moved into our home in Vietnam, a tropical storm swept through and uprooted a large fruit bearing mango tree on our property.  We were left with a ...
  • Wednesday in Saigon...full of rain We are flourishing...literally. The rainy season is upon us with skies that are cracklingand roaring with thunderclaps that has our dog, Tika, in a tailspin.O ...
  • From a rickshaw in Hanoi...Hanoi, VietnamOne of my favourite things to do when we travel to a new city is to take random shots...quickly and hopefully. Always hoping that I will com ...

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar