As some of you know, I am the mother of twins. It’s the number one topic of conversation when I meet new people, and often with those I already know. I think people are just naturally curious about twins, and that’s OK. Most people want to know how they are alike, how hard they are to parent and how I manage a household with kids and a full-time job. Now, I’m no expert—at parenting or anything else—but I can share a little bit of what our crazy life is like.
My twins are a boy and a girl, age four. They are twins, but they aren’t a whole lot alike. She is clearly the boss of the duo and he will do whatever mischievous thing that she cons him into doing. He is 100% mama’s boy and gives the best kisses I’ve ever had. She thinks she’s Princess Elsa and lives a “clothing optional” lifestyle. He is obsessed with superheroes and will talk about Batman until your ears bleed. The twins fight with each other like they are in a WWE cage match, but are just as quick to curl up together on the couch and spoon while they nap. The bond that those kids have is very real and so very cool. I’m glad that I get to witness it every day.
Parenting itself is hard; doesn’t matter if you have twins or not. Sure, having double diaper duty and double potty training was not a walk in the park, but I quickly realized I had to laugh to keep from crying. It’s hard being outnumbered (I also have a seven-year-old daughter); it’s hard not having enough hands to hold everyone as we cross a busy parking lot. It’s hard picking up ALL. THE. SOCKS!
I work all day and come home to chaos, but it works for us. Also, my house is a wreck, but I’m this close to not even caring about that anymore. If I can keep everyone healthy, fed and clean clothes in the closet, that’s what counts. It also helps that I have a rock star hubby who totally picks up my slack. Overall, I’d say the best description of our home is chaotic. It’s loud, rowdy and messy until about 9:30pm. Then, finally, the silence comes and I start to think maybe we can do this after all.
I spent the first Saturday of the new year organizing my son’s bedroom, which was no small feat. When I realized how much new stuff had come into his room during the holidays, I knew we needed to make some space or my little boy would be lost in the huge mountain of mess. My son is four years old. You mamas of boys know what that means: we are knee-deep in matchbox cars, Legos, action figures, superheroes and pirate ships.
I had two main goals for the day: organize the bookshelf that had absolutely no order to it and find some inexpensive storage ideas for toys.
Project #1
First, I tackled the bookshelf, which was suffering from an identity crisis. It was clearly being used for a place to stack things, and none of them were books. There is a second bookshelf in his room for books, so I knew I needed to turn this bookshelf into a viable system for storing toys.
I found some inexpensive plastic bins at Target and went to work finding new homes for all the little things. I love how it turned out!
Project #2
Next, I scrolled Pinterest for some ideas for storing toys that wouldn’t break the bank. Because his clothes are so small, we had a lot of unused room in the floor of the closet. Since his large wooden toy box was taking up so much play space in his room, I moved it into the closet and put only his dress up costumes in it. By doing so, that left me without a place to put the actual toys. I found a large box in the garage that had previously held bulk snacks. I enlisted the help of Big Sis and we got busy transforming that big box into a toy box—using nothing but colored duct tape (in super hero colors, of course)! We enjoyed this project so much that we even found a couple of shoe boxes to tape up and add to the bookshelf.
In addition to these projects, I also wanted to share a couple of other DIY shortcuts that I use in his room. You know those clear plastic, zippered bags that sheets, blankets and curtains are sold in? I always save them—they are perfect for repurposing as storage! This one is holding all the little pieces that go with his toy pirate ship, and fits nicely into one of the new bins on the bookshelf. I’ve also used the bags to store doll clothes and crayons in the past.
Another easy, inexpensive thing I do is use paper to create art for the wall. This time, I used some Spider-Man gift wrap that I already had and put it into a frame that was collecting dust in the garage. It made instant art to hang over his bed and didn’t cost a thing!
Just tackling these small projects made a big difference in my son’s bedroom. Suddenly, he has more floor space to play with toys and also has a designated place to put everything once he’s finished. Here’s to a new year with less clutter!
Begin. What a tiny little word filled with so much hope; and what an appropriate theme for January’s posts. For me personally, it means so many things in 2015.
This year, I want to make an effort to remember that I get to start over every single day. Sometimes I feel like I’m struggling as a parent, as a wife and even as an employee. We are so lucky that each day starts over and we can adjust, adapt and/or fix what went wrong the day before. So many times I forget that, which often leads to unnecessary self- doubt and guilt. Nobody has time for that.
I’m going to hit a milestone birthday this year, and I don’t mean 30. I’m not too worried about it, but there are some goals that I want to accomplish before the big day. I want to get back in shape, lose a few pounds and commit to completing a 5K before my big day. There, it is written. I guess I just made that commitment?
Later this year, my twin babies will start kindergarten. It hardly seems possible! I’m so excited for them to begin that journey, and I’m so thankful they have each other to share it with. Luckily, they will also have Big Sister at school to show them the ropes—how to navigate the lunch line, riding the school bus and all those other scary school things.
Are you choosing a word theme for yourself and/or your blog this year? I’ve decided to go with motivation, which I desperately need. I want to start the year motivated to be the best I can be, ready to accomplish all the things that I need to do. OK, let’s be honest; maybe just begin all the things. There’s one hefty thing in particular that I want to tackle, which I’ll shared in my recent post here on ARWB. Check it out!
Have you ever had something weighing on your mind? You know, something lurking back there when you have a hundred other things to take care of first? As I mentioned in my previous post, there is one big project that I want to tackle this year. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about and imagining for a long time: I want to do a blog makeover! I’m sure many of you have gone through the process, but frankly, it feels a little intimidating to me.
I’ve come to a few realizations about what my blog is and how to make it what I want it to be. First of all, it’s mine. That simply means I can do with it anything that I choose! I never started blogging to make it into a business or to use it to get rich. However, I have to admit that when I see others doing these fantastic monetized things with their blogs that I do get a little tempted. That’s also when I have to take a step back and remind myself to get real; I cannot possibly find the time or energy to fit one more demanding thing into my life right now.
Another big point of contemplation for me has been the ever-present Blogger vs. WordPress debate. Yep, you know what I’m talking about. I have a group of blogger friends in my circle who will argue until their death that WordPress is the way to go (you know who you are). I’ve been on Blogger since I started blogging in 2007; it’s what I know and what I’m comfortable with. It’s not that I’m unwilling to learn something new; it’s just that, again, I don’t have the time or energy to start something new. For the time being, I want to keep what I have and make it better. I want to be happy and not second guess my decision…for at least another year.
I don’t have the skills to make design changes myself, so I’m going to enlist the help of some talented artsy friends of mine to help out. I have an idea for a header that I think will capture the essence of my blog perfectly and I can’t wait to see it finalized. I’m looking at color schemes, graphics and all those other fun things that make our blogs unique. The way I see it, something that we spend so much time on should make us proud to display. It may take me a while to get it done, but I will get it done.
Leave a comment here if you have any helpful tips or advice on the big blog makeover. Please?
Hello and Happy New Year! First, let’s all just take a big, deep breath….ahhh. If you are like me, you are happy to have survived the holiday season. I work in retail marketing, so I’m just coming off our busiest time of the year and I’m ready to slow it down for a little while.
I’m so happy to be the blogger of the month for January; I’m hoping it will give me fresh motivation to accomplish some big things on my blog and in my home. And, of course, I’ll share it with you right here!
Let me tell a little bit about myself. I grew up in Wynne, on the east side of the state. I came to Northwest Arkansas for college in the early 90s, and just decided to stay! I’ve had a career in public relations/event planning/marketing for the nearly 20 years since then. The most fun job I had was my first one–I spent almost 10 years working for a radio station, which led me to meet tons of country singers and celebrities. Catch me sometime and I can share some pretty good stories with you.
I have been married to my husband, Lee, for 10 years. We are parents to our seven-year-old daughter and a couple of rowdy four-year-old twins (boy and girl). I started blogging in 2007 as a way to keep a virtual scrapbook for our family far away. I just couldn’t handle the incessant bellowing for more baby pictures, so I set up the blog. I never really intended for anyone other than my mom to read it, though. Alas, seven years later, here I am.
My blogging hasn’t changed much over the years; it’s still a collection of family memories. But, just like everyone else, sometimes I slack off. I’ve learned that my kids will always provide me with material that I want to capture. I want to remember all the cute, funny and annoying things they do and say to each other. I also want them to look back on it when they are adults and not accuse me of over-sharing with the internet. Ahh, the pressure!
If you want to check out my blog, it’s Bramell, Party of Five. I’m currently working on a total blog makeover, to be revealed in the next few weeks. My other social media links are below:
When I first began to think about this last post as Miss December, I thought about just general ways to welcome in the New Year; and that could be fun. After thinking about it a little more, though, I thought it’d be even better to put a blogging spin on the New Year. So, without further adieu, here are 5 ways to welcome in the New Year as a blogger:
1) Step away from your computer (and other oh so handy electronics). Put down the mouse, take out the ear buds, shut it all down. Take some time to really enjoy this last part of the holiday season with the ones you love.
2) Take time to re-evaluate where you’re going and what you’re doing. Get a fresh perspective on things. Step away long enough to get a grasp on where you’re headed with your blog in 2015. Think about what you want to accomplish and how you want to grow. What is most important to you? What is most important to your readers? What are you most passionate about? What are you doing right now that you would drop in a heartbeat, and what would you replace it with, if anything? If given the opportunity, what’s the one thing you would like to accomplish in 2015? What do you want to learn, and how can you learn it? Can you take a course, attend a conference, network? Write it all down…this is where you pick up pen and paper and write it all out the old-fashioned way.
3) Begin to formulate a plan. Once you’ve written everything down, begin to create a plan that is both doable and actionable. Whether you set goals, resolutions, or just take baby steps…set your sights on the plan before you and don’t waver. Small steps lead to big successes in life. Taking enough time to take those steps, and not hurry through just to get to your end goal, leads to more quality work, more quality relationships. As a wise woman once said at AWBU (Alli Worthington), “Learn to say no, so you can say yes.”
4) It may seem cliché, but get organized. Organize your blog and business just as you would any other professional entity. If you want to be taken seriously, as a professional, then you have to be professional. Get your finances in order and create documents to help you stay on top of accounting, client work, payments due, writing assignments, and more. Google Drive is FREE(https://www.google.com/drive/), as is Wave(https://www.waveapps.com/) for finances. I’m also loving the Shake app for contracts. These are just a few options within the multitude of options available. Looking for a planner? I recommend Plum Paper; I heart my planner!
5) Take time to take care of you. I get it…as a busy mom who homeschools and works at home, there’s barely enough time in the day to figure out which end is going which some days. Get up a few minutes earlier, and enjoy a cup of coffee before the kids are awake. If you’re not an early riser (the older I get, the more of a night owl I’m becoming), take advantage of that time after the kids go to bed. Or maybe it’s just stopping at your local coffee shop for a treat…or starting a good book (and finishing it, even if it takes a month or two)… Take time to take care of you because you are so worth it, my friend. Doing something you enjoy, even if just a few minutes a day, makes a world of difference in how you feel, how you respond, how you live.
Happy New Year to you and yours! May 2015 be a beautiful, wonderful year!
“Marley was dead, to begin with.…Old Marley was as dead as a door-nail.”
And so begins one of the most beloved of all ghost stories, A Christmas Carol.
One hundred and sixty-nine years ago the author Charles Dickens, was facing increasing financial distress even though he was thought to be at the peak of his career. The sales of his most recently published work were doing poorly, and he had been told by his publisher that his royalties were likely to be reduced. The father of multitudes of children and the supporter of a large extended family, Dickens was desperately seeking a solution to his financial woes.
As a child, Dickens’ entire family spent months in debtor’s prison in London because of the fiscal irresponsibility of his father. At the age of twelve, Dickens went to work in a boot blacking factory six days a week for twelve hours a day in order to help support his family. These thoughts of a childhood filled with suffering and hardship would haunt him throughout his life and are often seen as a basic theme in his works, including A Christmas Carol.
He needed an idea that would quickly earn him a large amount of money. But under the stress of his financial woes, he was finding it difficult to write. He lacked a story, and the fears of his childhood poverty, claimed his thoughts and time.
Out for a nightly walk during which he hoped to clear his head, Dickens found himself in the tenement district near the Thames River. The streets were strewn with litter and lined with open sewers. Instead of the elegant ladies and gentlemen of his own neighborhood, there were bawdy streetwalkers, pickpockets and beggars. From this dismal scene he was struck by a flash of inspiration.
Dickens’ hand-edited copy.
He would write a Christmas story. This would not be a story of shepherds, stars, angels or wise men, however. It would not be a tale of Christmas festivities, trees and tinsel as we know them today. Instead, as Dickens often did in his works, he created a cry of anger about the poverty and neglect he witnessed among London’s children, about the horrific conditions which the city’s poor were forced to endure, and about the lack of concern by those who were in the position to assist but did nothing. This little novella has been called by some a “sledge hammer” against the ills of industrialism and commercialism.
Indeed, his message of social reform becomes abundantly clear in the character of Christmas Present who introduces us to the poverty stricken boy called Ignorance and the girl who is Want. Dickens spares no bitterness in his description of these two: “They are yellow, meager, ragged, scowling, wolfish…but prostrate in their humility…Beware them both, but most of all beware of this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.” His message to us is that we as a society must make certain that no child grows up ignorant and lacking in the basic necessities of life. We are our brother’s keeper.
Christmas Present Source: Google Images
As Dickens’ story unfolded, he became more and more engrossed in the writing of it. He often found himself weeping and laughing, then weeping and laughing again as he penned his tale. Dickens was known to have said that the story transformed him. It seemed to take on a life of its own, and his characters, many of whom were modeled after people he knew, came to life as well.
After only six weeks and just in time for the 1843 Christmas season, Dickens self-published his little book insisting upon a rather lavish design in a salmon and gold binding with hand-colored illustrations by John Leech. He set the price at five shillings so that almost anyone could afford to purchase it. The response to the first edition was overwhelming; the initial publication of 6,000 copies sold out within a week. Unfortunately for Dickens, due to the high cost of production upon which he himself had insisted, he did not realize the profit he had hoped.
In many ways, A Christmas Carol which has never been out of print, became Dickens’ gift to the world. Its themes are timeless and its message universal: 1. Spiritual wealth is more important than material wealth. 2. It is better to give than to receive. 3. Human beings should treat one another with love and compassion. 4. A society is responsible for the welfare of all of its citizens. 5. A human can always grow and change.
Scrooge’s nephew Fred says it best: “I have always thought of Christmastime, when it has come round…as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”
Charles Dickens’ name became so synonymous with the modern celebration of Christmas that when he died in 1870, a young London girl asked, “Mr. Dickens dead? Will Christmas die too?”
“It was always said of Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Everyone!”
Plum (Cherry) Pudding
Unlike Mrs. Cratchit of A Christmas Carol fame, I am not accustomed to the making of a plum pudding. For the Cratchit family this pudding, which did not contain any plums at all, would have been the highlight of their Christmas dinner. Typically, plum puddings were dark, moist and full of fruit – somewhat reminiscent of a fruit cake. They were dark and hard and usually ignited with brandy at serving. A sprig of holly would often serve as a garnish.
This version adapted from Teacher Created Materials: A Christmas Carol is super simple and a good way to extend the reading of whatever adaptation of the novel you choose to read or watch as a family (You are going to do that, aren’t you?). The Tiny Tims of your family can be as involved as you allow them to be.
1 14.5 ounce can pitted cherries (bing, preferably), drained and coarsely chopped
½ cup dried cherries plumped in ½ cup warm water (allow to cool)
¼ cup apple juice or apple cider
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup molasses
2 eggs
½ cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
1 package quick bread (I used gingerbread.)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl combine eggs, vanilla, molasses , spices and cider. Add in the water and plumped dried cherries and the chopped canned cherries. Stir well to combine.
Stir in the gingerbread mix and nuts.
Pour batter into a 9-inch round (or similar) cake pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Cook for 30 - 35 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched.
Cool. Serve as is or topped with whipped cream or tart lemon jelly.
By Dining With Debbie
Adapted from Teacher Created Materials
Adapted from Teacher Created Materials
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Combine sugar with cornstarch and mix with beaten eggs.
Add lemon juice and peel. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick. (I cook mine in the microwave. Watch it carefully and stir frequently.)
Add the butter and cool. (Or you can just buy a jar of lemon curd!)
Notes
From Calico Cupboards, published by the Benton Junior Auxiliary, 1980
By Dining With Debbie
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
Other suggested holiday reading: The New Testament Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg Seven Candles for Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis Pinkney Inside-Out Grandma by Joan Rothenberg The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell The Way of the Wolf by Martin Bell (Barrington Bunny) How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss The Hat by Jan Brett A Newberry Christmas by Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh A Christmas Treasury selected by Stephanie Nettell Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Siebold and Vivian Walsh The Mouse Before Christmas by Michael Garland
Arkansas Women Blogger member and co-administrator Debbie Arnold pontificates and eats at Dining With Debbie. She and her Hubby split their time between Central and Northwest Arkansas. She loves to cook, develop recipes and have play dates with her two perfect grands. Mostly, she has play dates with the Perfect Ones. Twitter: @diningwithdeb Intagrams : @diningwithdebbie
Lately, I’ve written so much about Christmas trees, you’d think I’d be tired of it by now. But I don’t think I could ever tire of the Christmas tree. Every year I’m chompin’ at the bit, so excited to get it up; and I put off taking it down for as long as humanly possible. We’ve been known to still have our tree up come Valentine’s Day.
This week I thought I’d take you on a little tour of our Christmas tree. The kids insisted on a real tree this year; I can’t imagine going back to artificial. This Fraser Fir smells so good and brings back so many memories. With the amount of needles that are already falling, I am hoping that it lasts ‘til Christmas, though. I’m not gonna lie; it’s a little concerning.
Back to our tour, though… Normally, we have silver tinsel, icicles, and every ornament possible on the tree. This year we took a more laidback approach to decorating the tree. We added the lights and a little burlap. Funny story about the lights… We had good intentions when we purchased LED lights. We put them on the tree and couldn’t stand the way they looked or the way they blinded us if we turned our head a certain way when we were looking at the tree. So, we unwrapped the LED’s and added regular lights instead. While our tree may be a bit bad for the environment, it sure is easy on the eyes. When asked if white lights or colored lights are better, we add both. I love the white lights; my kids and Dan love the multi-colored lights.
Now for the special, sentimental portion of this post…the ornaments. I’ve often told Dan that if we had another house fire, if I had the choice to save something and everyone was safe, our Christmas ornaments are one thing I’d try to get. A good portion of our ornaments belonged to my grandma; in fact, I remember helping her decorate her tree with quite a few of the ornaments we hang on our tree now. The kids ask about the ornaments, and it’s fun to be able to talk about why certain ornaments are so special.
A few of the ornaments my grandpa made; he was a needlework pro and loved tatting, up until he had his stroke. Anything he created was so, so special. We have ornaments with dated years on them; I think my grandma must have gotten some of them from magazines she was subscribed to. Santa in a roadster… Need I say more? Anything with pictures of our boys, like one of the first times Jacob met Santa… the Empire State Building from a trip with my mom to NYC…
A glass snowflake ornament I bought for my grandma when I worked at the BonTon Department Store in New York… These red silk ball ornaments that Grandma had on her tree every single year (I know they seem so simple, but I just love them)… Ornaments from some of our family adventures… Ornaments we’ve made together or the boys have made, like smell good, cinnamon, holiday shapes or painted ceramic/wooden ornaments… The little fabric stuffed Christmas tree my school van driver gave me when I was just a little girl… Anything vintage.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. Of course, I can’t forget the star on top of the tree. Our Christmas tree brings a touch of cozy, a bit of merry, so many memories, and a whole lotta sentimental holiday spirit.
Do you have your tree up? What’s special to you about your tree?
When it comes to Christmas trees, it seems everyone has an opinion…as with so many things in life. Some people prefer an artificial tree, and others prefer real all the way. Over the years, we’ve kinda gone both ways. Some years we’ve preferred to put up our artificial tree; other years we’ve put up a real tree.
After going and picking up a real tree this year and starting to decorate it, I’m leaning more and more toward not going back to artificial. The memories this beautiful real tree has evoked are just so amazing. Sometimes in the busyness of life, it’s easy to forget what used to be…
May the Scent be with You
This is a given, but real trees smell so good. I can’t even tell you how many memories this scent brings back. Every time we walk in the living room, I feel like I’m back at Grandma’s house again. A real tree truly does provide such an amazing scent that fills a heart up with all sorts of holiday spirit.
Artificial trees don’t really smell…unless you hang some of those delightfully scented ornaments they have now…probably not the same, though.
Allergies
Scent brings me to my next point…Real trees can up the allergy factor, something I didn’t realize until a friend commented and told me so. Her family can’t enjoy real trees due to allergies. What a bummer but definitely something to think about when trying to make that decision between real vs. artificial.
Shaping
As I sat in our hotel room the other night, I had a random thought and realized that in getting a real tree, there would be no shaping required. Real tree for the win! Can I just say how much I despise shaping an artificial tree, garland, wreath, what have you? With real, there’s no shaping involved! It’s all naturally beautiful and already shaped the way it’s supposed to be. This is a game changer for me.
The Experience
Ok, so you could go and have an amazing experience picking up an artificial tree, especially if you find a great deal…or it may be fun just digging it out of the attic every year. However, the experience of going to pick out a real tree probably can’t be matched, whether you go to a tree farm, a nursery, or a tree lot. There’s just something magical about exploring the trees together, waiting to find that one tree that everyone loves and can’t wait to take home. It almost feels like you’re picking out another part of the family to share Christmas with…maybe that’s just in my crazy Christmas mind. But there really is something special about picking out a tree, loading it on top of the car, tying it down, and getting it home, setting it all up. And if it’s snowing? Well, that’s just an added bonus.
Affordability/Frugality
A good artificial tree will save you money in the long run because you don’t have to buy a tree every year. That’s one reason we stuck with artificial for quite a few years; we just didn’t want to spend precious funds on a tree that we’d have up for maybe a month. This is definitely something to think about when trying to decide. If you have land and can cut your own, though…that’s a definite option for having real.
So, what do you think? Does your family prefer real or fake? I’m a little biased in that I love real. In fact, I forgot how much I love a real tree until we picked up our tree this year. The scent alone makes me want to keep a tree in the house all year long…too bad Christmas only comes once a year.
Christmas has always been a really special time of year. There’s just something about this season. It’s cold outside, sometimes we get a little snow (or we hope for snow), there are all sorts of delicious things to eat that we usually only get to enjoy this time of year, holiday movies and music fill the air, houses light up in all their Christmas glory, and the suspense and thrill of the holiday season…it’s all so magical in its own way. As I write this, I’m sitting in front of the Hallmark Channel and yet another one of my favorite holiday movies.
There are certain traditions I can remember, growing up, that have stayed with me. And then there are a few traditions we’ve begun with our own boys, a few of which we’ve carried over.
I can remember the most from the time my family moved to the farm on, from around the age of 12 and up. My brother and sisters were all grown by then, so I was the only one left in the nest.
Every year, Mom and I would trudge out to the woods to cut down our Christmas tree. We’d drag the cedar tree back to the house, and Mom would dig in the attic for boxes of ornaments while I loaded up the record player with classic holiday records. As we’d lift the cover on the old box of ornaments (even the box was vintage) and lift bits of tissue paper away, I always loved the scent that wafted up. It was a mix of old, vintage, cinnamon, and Christmas. There were certain ornaments that had a story, and Mom would tell some of those stories as we decorated the tree. I had my favorites like the ice cream cone ornament my brother had made out of a sugar cone and a round ball ornament. It had a bite taken out of it. Then there was the little cloth stuffed Christmas tree my school van driver had given me at one time or another. I still have that ornament to this day.(Insert photo of ornament) Mom even had a bunch of old glass ornaments that, if I remember right, Dad had dug out of a dumpster back in their earlier years of marriage. They were so fragile; she’d hardly let me touch them.
The farmhouse kitchen held all sorts of delicious memories. One of our favorite Christmas recipes was the sugar cookie recipe passed down by my grandma. I’d pull the built-in, sliding, wooden cutting board out of the cabinet, roll out my dough, and cut out all sorts of holiday shapes. We’d make angels, snowmen, bells, stars, Christmas trees, Santa, and more. After the cookies were baked, on would go the sugary, homemade frosting and sometimes a few sprinkles, if we were lucky enough to have them on hand. Those cookies are still a family favorite.
Of course, I’ll also never forget Christmas caroling with my little country church family. I remember, one year, we caroled to an older gentleman who lived in our community. He was a quirky kind of guy, always had a lot of junk sitting around on his property, his cows were always out, fence broken, and sometimes we wondered if he even took a bath. He was always alone. I remember asking if we could go caroling at his house, and I’ll never forget it. As we sang, if you looked closely, you could see tears falling from his eyes. It was a magical time.
Now that Dan and I have our own boys, we’ve formed a few traditions of our own. One of my favorites is watching Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation every single year. It just never gets old. We have other fun traditions too, but last year, we also started the tradition of trying to find someone we can share the spirit of the holidays with. How we give just depends…but it was so much fun, that I’m looking forward to doing it again this year.
Traditions are an important part of the holidays. They create happy memories and stories galore. Not only that, but sometimes they can involve sharing the gift of holiday spirit with someone who needs a bit of cheer.
I love this time of year. How about you? Does your family have certain holiday traditions you look forward to every single year?
One hundred and sixty-nine years ago the author Charles Dickens, was facing increasing financial distress even though he was thought to be at the peak of his career. The sales of his most recently published work were doing poorly, and he had been told by his publisher that his royalties were likely to be reduced. The father of multitudes of children and the supporter of a large extended family, Dickens was desperately seeking a solution to his financial woes.
