This might be my first POV Christmas caption. Who said "everything has already been done before"?
If you wish to just read my Christmas note to everyone, skip over the part between the *'s. If you actually want a caption discussion about creating Xmas captions, feel free to read the entire post. Maybe come back in a day or two if/when you have more time as well.
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That statement in the teaser does resonate with me often, especially when I'm trying to make captions for trades or a blog exclusive here 3-4 times a week. It's hard enough not to try to rip off ideas from other writers, but also not regurgitate what I've already written when I have already put up almost 1600 posts and 2k captions. I was lucky enough to find this photo relatively early enough in the holiday season, and that I knew I could do something with it for my "nice" Xmas caption.
It gave me so much to work with, that I went right in and wrote it up from start to finish. I love the view of the tree, the view of Dee's body, and the stars among the decorations AND the mug that tie everything together neatly .. probably using the extra bows from the Christmas Eve caption! Literally was a perfect gif/gift for a TG captioner like me to make something fresh within the genre.
Every year at this time I worry that I won't be able to come up with Christmas ideas I haven't done before. Before this year's batch, I had posted 36 Xmas captions, and I don't think I repeated any of them before this year, where I reposed the one about suicide. Last year I made 9! I knew I had trouble topping that amount, and I have had a busy past 2 months that were happy, sad, and tumultuous all at the same time, so I had trouble even writing regular captions in that span. How the hell was I going to be able to whip up something seasonal again this year?
And then, I just went at it and did what I could. Decided, well the least I can do is make one for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Anything else was gravy. I think this was the first one I did, then the Home Alone one, then the Christmas Eve one. But luckily for me, I kept finding pictures that just made sense, the story was there and I didn't have to do something I have already done. I think that was my best Christmas Gift as Dee Mentia . that in a rough end of the year I was able to make SEVEN Xmas captions. Hell, now I'm not sure I'll be able to go back and do normal captions again for awhile. But I know that somehow, someway, I'll find some inspiration in something I haven't seen before, which will trigger my creativity again .. and that's a blast. When the time comes I can't find it, I think that is when I'll be done here.
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I think this caption sums up my thoughts succinctly for you, my readers, and it is sincere and pure. I wish for you all everything that you heart desires. I wish for you and your loved ones, no matter how near or far, a safe and joyous time with memories shared to keep you smiling as long as you roam this earth. Christmas, as I have mentioned in a few posts over the last week, has a religious aspect, but occurs at the exact time when people need to be cherished most. I wish you all will never know a lonely day ever again. That you all will always hear the welcomed bustle of those you love echoing through your day to day life. I wish that everyone out there is loved for who they are, deep inside, and achieve the inner peace we all strive for.
Merry Christmas and Many Blessings to everyone! Be safe!
If I had Christmas magic I would use it to make as many people happy as I could....including you Sweet Dee!!!
ReplyDeleteWishing you the Merriest of Christmases and all the joy you have given us, your readers, returned to you a thousandfold!!!!
Love and kisses
Kaaren
Awww, thanks Kaaren!
DeleteDee, your captions are always a special read to me. They can make me smile, make me blush, make me scared, but mostly they are making me reflect as I mostly can find a deeper meaning in your writings which I enjoy very much. (Sadly, I don't have that gift to use in my captions)
ReplyDeleteChristmas time will always be something special. However, it has lost a lot of it's magic for me when my mother passed away 21 years ago, since she was the one who made those days what Christmas really meant to me. Celebrating Christmas with friends is nice, but those family gatherings back then are one of the memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. Sadly, I never had a family of my own, which whom I could make new memories like these.
So on Christmas Eve, I switch every year which spending that holiday with my brother or with my sister. And the day after Christmas, (which is also my birthday) I also go to my brother and keep up our yearly tradition to have a special dinner with mostly Danish specialities to let us remind us from our home country.
It's nice to see that you can gather up so many great ideas and captions during this time of the year. Unlike me, since my muse seems to leave me alone then.
Sorry for being so long and writing down my thoughts. In a few days I will be my old self again, and hopefully will bring a smile to other members at the Haven too when the will read something, I have made for them.
Merry Christmas to everyone from Nadine, the teasing Marquise
I lost my mother at age 23 so I understand the mood. I have all my mom's Christmas ornaments so it brings back lots of memories .. so much so that I have my GF take care of all the tasks related to the Christmas Tree. I have since passed on some of them to my daughter for her Christmas Tree.
DeleteI am glad that you still have family to be with. The holidays can be a lonely time and human contact is a remarkable thing. I know that we online are a community, but it is still a bit different.
I so enjoyed coming online now and reading some wonderful comments that light up my spirits brightly as this has been an eventful Christmas for myself and my family. It's good to share good times and bad with those who care about you and accept you for who you are.
Wonderful sweet and heartwarming writing, and looking at the picture I like to imagine that's me looking down my legs. It also makes me miss the fireplace we had in the house I grew up in. It brings up that feeling of a cold Christmas day,flames in the fireplace dancing in the burning wood and me with a cup of hot chocolate being enchanted by it.
ReplyDeleteUsually I find it easier to write stories around a theme, and with the right theme I can become very productive, and I believe even versatile. Alas Christmas isn't one of those themes. I guess like Nadine's muse, mine is busy elsewhere.
Still, even though I haven't written nearly as much captions as you did,I also find it hard to come up with fresh original ideas for my caps, and though I neither like to rip off others ideas, it's unavoidable to be inspired by other cappers.
I find that listening to the Monkees "Riu Riu" on your blog is becoming a part of my Christmas feeling. So I hope you keep them around for many years to come.
I wish you and your readers a loving and peacefull Christmas.
The POV was one of the reasons why I loved this photo and was eager to whip something up for Christmas Day. The fireplace is also something I miss, having lived in apartments for more than half my life now.
DeleteAnd it warms my heart to know that I have become a bit of a tradition that you look forward to a musical selection I play just about every year.
Thank you for being a good friend and booster to my creative juices when I've often needed it most. Merry Christmas to you Helena!
A very merry Christmas to you, Dee. We appreciate the effort, the creativity, and the heart you put into every caption. You are consistently one of the most delightful people I know, always good for an exciting read.
ReplyDeleteI love that you share so much of yourself and process, letting us into what goes on behind the captions. It allows us to know you a little better, and makes it easy to consider you a friend.
The holidays can be a time of darkness and sadness for so many, but you shine a light that brightens us all. I wish you a very happy holiday season, and hope that all your wishes come true for the new year.
Hugs,
Sally
Thank you so much for your kind words and your well wishes too.
DeleteIt has been an eventful Christmas for myself and my family, and something happened last night that reminded me that there are both light and dark spots to life, sometimes within the same moment .. which get magnified during the holidays. Perhaps I will reveal it sometime soon when it is a bit more in the rear view mirror.
Thank you so much for your support and kindness to me and my creative work over the last few years and I wish you a safe and happy holidays for you and your loved ones.
I hope you had a great Christmas to make up for what lead up to it. I love that you take time to actually write an entry and provoke input from your viewers and other artists. Due to my current job I often find myself away from my family for most of the year and spend the holiday with friends and partaking in thier traditions. They are always fun but it never seems to compare to those early ones spent with the family.
ReplyDeleteFor the cap. I love the openness to the wish at the end. Not only was there stockings but also it was a pov. (why are they so uncommon.) If ever get off my lazy bum and write captions like I keep telling myself I'm going to fix that.
Here's to (raises drink of choice) another year of great memories, captions, and adding to the female population.
Thank you very much for the compliments! I very much like to evoke a sense of community, and the only way to do that is be fairly open to others and express yourself the best you can though the creative process and what I write up to accompany it.
DeleteI hope that as time goes forward you get to have both friends and family around at the same time to enjoy their company, but at least now you have options, which is always a good thing. I've noticed some holiday celebrations get smaller as time marches on and people get older. I am hoping the young generation keeps the spirit of camaraderie going in the future.