Getting Ready to Decorate

Before decorating the inside of the apartment, there were things that I needed to buy.  

First of all, I needed to buy green felt to set down for my nativity scene.  There aren't any fabric stores nearby, so on Wednesday I took the Metrobus and went to a branch of "Parisina", a nationwide chain of stores that sell fabrics and sewing supplies.

I found bolts of felt, but first you have to pay at the register, and then an employee cuts the length that you want.  However, on my way to the cashier I found bags of felt, in lengths of one meter.  So, I just bought several of those instead.

From there I decided to get some exercise and walk about a mile to the Lázaro Cárdenas public market in Colonia del Valle, the neighborhood adjacent to where I live.  There are no Christmas markets in Mexico as there are in many European cities.  However, most markets, at this time of year, have stalls surrounding the perimeter of the market building selling Christmas items.

I am always amazed that they are already selling cut Christmas trees.  The holiday season here lasts until January 6th  (Day of the Magi Kings).  Are those trees going to last more than a month?  Or will they have dropped all their needles by January?

There are lots of stalls selling Christmas decorations that are most certainly made in China.

Of course there are plenty of poinsettias, which are native to Mexico.  Notice the crates to the left.  They are filled with something the Mexicans call "heno".  The dictionary definition of "heno" is hay, but this is something more akin to Spanish moss.  It is sold in the markets this time of year to make the landscape of your Nativity scene look more natural.  Last year I bought a bundle of moss... but it is damp and dirty and makes a mess.  So instead I bought a kilo bag of "heno" for my Nativity scene.

I still had a few more things to buy, but I was tired and walked the mile back to the apartment with my purchases.  The next day I went to a nearby "papelería" or stationery store and bought some sheets of blue cellophane for creating a river passing through my Nativity scene.

I then headed to an electronics store inside a nearby mall to buy batteries for the strings of lights that I have on my tree.  They were all out of that kind of batteries.  However, as I walked back toward the apartment, I passed a photography shop.  They had the correct batteries,  and they were a brand-name, so maybe they will last for the entire season.

I had almost everything I needed to start decorating, but I still wanted to go to my favorite market in Mexico City, the Jamaica Market.