New Years Eve

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  May everyone have a FUN and SAFE evening of celebration tonight!

As one year ends and another begins most of us can't help but to reflect back on the year and remember all the fun times, sad times, changes, and accomplishments... then we find ourselves looking forward to the new year and all the things we would like to change, improve on, and/or begin.

New Year's resolutions are a common subject in conversations this time of the year.  The top of the list are always things like.... I'm going to lose weight/get in shape... I'm going to quit smoking.... I'm going to be a better Mom/Dad/Daughter/Son/Sister/Brother/Friend.... I'm going to make more efforts to stay in touch with friends/family... I'm going to........  yada yada yada.  Now I don't know the actual statistics of what the odds are of 'sticking to' all these plans to improve ourselves.... but I LOVE the fact that many of us want to improve ourselves and have the hope that on this one day we really have the power to do it.

New Year's Day is a fresh start.... you can smell the freshness of it... like fresh smelling laundry.... take a big whiff...... uuummmmm..... The key word is FRESH!!!  Anyone can set a new goal for themselves, and have the hope of believing improvements can and will be made.  It's a clean slate with fresh chalk.  Some of us take only a day to go back to our 'old ways'.... some of us keep to it for a couple of weeks before returning to the norm.... but some of us actually try all year long to continue on our quest of reaching our goals.  Whatever your resolutions are for this year... you should always make them... just so you can start off a new year with a new plan, a new smile, a new hope, and a new sense of accomplishment when you reach your goal... even if it is just one day.

I have a few goals I hope to accomplish this year and while I may not finish them all.... I love the challenges they will give me this year and something good to look forward to.

1) I would like to learn to speak french.... I have the Rosetta Stone program and have begun working with it already... this year I would like to really learn it.

2) I would like to begin taking flying lessons and working on getting my pilots license... in fact Joe and I both would like to do this together.

3) I have met several ladies in our new community who like to play and putz around with golf... some quite serious golfers, some just hit and giggle like me... I would like to get involved in a hit and giggle group of lady golfers and just maybe actually improve my golf game... but if not... I would just like to enjoy golfing with these ladies on a regular basis.

4) I currently exercise regularly and eat fairly healthy on a daily basis.... this year I would like to continue with my fitness and good health practices... I exercise regularly 3 days a week now... I would like to up it to a consistent 5 times a week.

5) I would like to continue exploring in my cookbooks and finding new recipes to make... making a resolution to cook at least one new recipe a week... but.... our schedules get really crazy so while I would like to make this a firm New Year's resolution... this is one that has to be tweaked to fit our schedules.

So as you can see, I have several new resolutions and/or  current resolutions to continue working on for 2011... not a bad start!  These are a few of the things I would like to work on to improve myself and to make life better for those around me... but... I also know (especially after the last 6 months) that life changes on a whim, and you can be set on a firm path plodding along doing your thing when it all suddenly changes and you need to find a new path and begin again.  Don't let life discourage you from reaching your goals... reaching goals is about keeping your eye on it, but also keeping your peripheral vision in focus too.  If a life event prevents you from moving forward with a particular goal, think about how you can change the focus on your goal and keep moving toward it, while dealing with the wild cards life throws us all.

Always striding for a goal is what keeps us improving ourselves... some goals can't be reached in one short year and may take several years to finally accomplish... some goals are a lifetime of work in progress... and some goals require the help of others... but no matter what kind of goal or how high the goal needing to be reached... have one in mind to focus and work on... then when reached... begin a new goal to reach for.  Having goals makes us stronger, always gives us hope, and the best sense of self empowerment when we reach them.

Wishing you all much success in 2011 as you aim for, focus on, and attempt to reach your New Year's resolutions.  Don't give up.... start over when necessary.... tweak the goal when needed.... but keep striving!  GOOD LUCK to all!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The Reason For The Season

As we decorate the tree, have fond memories over the ornaments placed on the tree, bake cookies, hang our twinkle lights, go Christmas shopping, wrap our gifts, and gather with our family and friends... let us not forget the real reason for the season, which is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

I have enjoyed every single Sunday attending services in my new church this advent season... and today was especially poignant as the pastor spoke about Mary and Joseph's shame as they awaited the birth of Christ Jesus... and the shame that Jesus carried with him all through his life and even to the event of his death.  It wasn't until after Jesus's death that christians really understood the whole story... Mary DID NOT commit adultry, she WAS visited by the Holy Ghost... Joseph did love Mary and honored GOD by marrying her even though the town felt they had 'lain together' prior to their wedding vows....  and GOD did send his only begotten son to earth to forgive us for our sins.

I love singing all the Christmas hymns and carols each Christmas season... making it hard to find a favorite.  Is it O Come O Come Emmanuel... Ave Maria... Hark The Herald Angels Sing... Away In The Manger... It Came Upon A Midnight Clear... O Come All Ye Faithful... The First Noel... We Three Kings???  Each time I hear and/or sing any of these carols I think..... OOOOHHH That's my favorite.... that is... until I hear and/or sing the next carol.  Even though I can't carry a tune with a bucket AND a lid.... I sing my heart out ever so joyously anyway!!!  Today in church we sang Joy To The World.... and if this is, or is not my favorite, it's hard to say.... but I feel that this song hit a true chord today with it's lyrics... this carols lyrics kind of say it all in one song!  Just in case you don't know the lyrics to this song.... here they are.... enjoy... sing proud and loud and remember as you sing... Tis the season to rejoice and celebrate the birth of our LORD Jesus Christ!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Classic Christmas Traditions

I'm sure everyone has their own version of "Classic Christmas Traditions"... I know I do... and whether I want to or not... I just can't help myself... these precious traditions MUST be kept up each and every year. Here are a few of what my family and I consider to be our "Classic Christmas Traditions".

Wrapping gifts while watching old classic christmas movies... but adding new classics when new movies are deemed worthy.  The movies my girls and I HAVE to watch every year are.... "It's a Wonderful Life"  (DUH on that one!... in both black and white and color)... "A Christmas Story"... "White Christmas"... "Miracle on 34th Street" (both the old and new version)... "Home Alone" (usually 2 and 3 as well)...  and last but not least ..."Christmas Vacation".  The movies recently added to the MUST watch list over the past few years are... "Love Actually"... "The Holiday", and "The Family Man".  Have you not watched any or all of these movies... try putting one on and watching as you wrap.  Somehow wrapping gifts while the classics are on just gives the task a more Christmasy feel.  Since I have watched these movies so many times... now I basically wrap while I listen, but I can see each scene clearly in my head.... but... sometimes I must admit I do get distracted and get caught up in the movie while one gift sits in front of me for... umm... up to an hour or so!  :  )  But... that's just part of the tradition too.

Christmas cookie baking...  I make the same sugar cookie dough recipe each year... after the dough has rested in the refrigerator for a bit... I divide up the dough amongst the girls and we each cut out our own shapes and decorate "our batch" anyway we choose.  We don't icing our cookies, we just use colored sugar to decorate our tasty treats with.  And of course making sugar cookies is always a messy affair... but sooooo worth it!  Since my husband and I recently moved several states away, and have to travel to be with our girls for our Christmas gathering, I will be making my sugar cookies solo and taking them to our family gathering.  I will miss the comradery of us girls doing them together... but in the end... they will still taste the same and we will all remember the years of when we did  them together.  And of course we always made the standard famous chocolate chip cookies... Christmas just isn't Christmas without several batches of chocolate chip cookies!  I just use the basic/standard tollhouse recipe on the package of chocolate chip morsels... it's just one of those 'classic' recipes that can be tweaked if you want... but it is so good as is, and can stand alone on it's own without a single tweak.  Over the years the girls and I did experiment with, and bake various other cookie recipes... but these two are the 'traditional' ones!

Chex mix... again... Christmas isn't Christmas without several batches of homemade chex mix.  A very simple munchy crunchy treat to make... yet again... it can be a bit messy.  I start off by using the standard/classic recipe I found on a chex cereal box years ago.... but I have tweaked it into my own version.  I use crispex cereal that is a mix of corn and rice cereal, wheat chex, cheerio's, pretzel sticks (broken into bits), gold fish and pecans... then I add a tad more butter and worchestire sauce and top it off with a good dash or two of tabasco sauce.  The tabasco sauce adds just a hint of a back note to the palate, the cereals I use make it easier to nibble and get a good mix of the different flavors, I use gold fish instead of cheez-it's because they are easier to eat mixed in with the other ingredients, and I use pecans instead of peanuts because I like the buttery soft texture of pecans over the stronger peanut flavor.  My husband HATES, HATES, HATES chex mix because of how crunchy it sounds when people eat it and the smell of their breath afterwards... but us girls never cared... we make it, we eat it, and enjoy it all the same.  It's one of those times when he was outnumbered and had no control over the issue... and we took full advantage of that power!  Sorry honey.... it's not personal... we just LOVE chex mix!  My favorite part is when you get to the bottom of the bowl, and all the salty seasoned crumbs await to be scooped up and eaten!  YUM!!!

Christmas Eve Candle Light Service/Christmas Light Tour... this has been a tradition in our family that started before the girls were born... but it has recently had to be put aside due to the fact that the girls have grown up and have responsible jobs that require them to work Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day and/or have families to visit from their significant others side.  For the past couple of years our family has had to have our gathering on Christmas Eve because of someone or several having to be up and out early on Christmas morning to work or to be at the in-laws.  I must admit I have missed this tradition dearly... but I understand that for us all to be together, and juggle all the schedules, some things must be sacrificed... and that in time it will come back again.  I have found the most amazing church in our new community and am quite bummed I will miss their candle light service... but Joe and I will be the ones who will be traveling this year and won't be able to attend... so I just enjoy the advent season all the sundays before candle light service.  For me, the candle light service truly is what gives me the Christmas spirit the most... although during these years of change and compromise, I have many, many, many years of candle light services from my past to keep the Christmas spirit alive in my heart.  And I still look forward to when this tradition can be resumed again.

Christmas day jammies!... Each year I buy all of us girls a set of matching jammies (the ONLY time EVER that we are allowed to dress alike!)... we wear them to bed Christmas eve and then spend the entire day on Christmas lounging in them.  First rule is.... they have to be COMFY!... second rule is... they have to be somewhat stylish so that they can be worn and enjoyed for years to come during the winter months.  I don't know about the girls... but I have quite a collection in my drawer and I DO wear them all winter long.  Any one is invited to join us on Christmas Day... but we stay home all day long... hunkered in as we watch movies, play games, enjoy wine, and nibble on food the whole day and night.  Since Joe and I recently moved, this will be the first time our family will all be together since September... I'm really looking forward to our Christmas Day lounge fest!

As Joe and I become Grandparents this coming year... I'm sure we will add many more new traditions to the long standing ones we have now... and we will be passing on all the old traditions to the new members of the family for years to come.  There is nothing like traditions, and the memories of them to keep you warm at heart through this holiday season!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

The other night I was watching a program on Christmas traditions and how they began.  I especially enjoyed the story behind how the Christmas Tree became a tradition, and thought I would share it with you.

It all began before Christianity, when Ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians brought evergreens into their homes during the winter... observing some kind of celebration in the darkness of winter.  In 1605 a traveler in Germany brought home for his family a small evergreen to sit on the table... and for the next 200 years these small table top Christmas Trees were seldom seen outside of Germany.

In the 1840's a Prince brought his tradition of his German homeland to the Royal Family.  Prince Albert was a German who married Queen Victoria.  In England in 1847, Prince Albert gave his wife a small Christmas Tree, and invited the London Illustrated News to sketch his family enjoying this new custom.  The picture was published in 1848 and by the next Christmas, trees were popping up all over English parlors.

Two years later in America, a magazine editor, named Sarah Josepha Hale published the same picture... but first she removed the Royal couple's jewels and medals, and presented the picture as a 'typical American family' enjoying their Christmas Tree.  After the magazines publication in 1850, nearly everyone in the country wanted one.  Each December after saw Americans visiting Christmas Tree lots, or jogging out to the forests to chop down their own.  It wasn't until forty years later a new option became available with the first artificial trees.  Advertisements for artificial Christmas Trees cropped up in magazines in the 1890's.

The first "Family Christmas Tree" to appear in the White House (which were real evergreens... not artificial) was during Franklin Pierce's presidency in the 1850's.  This new tradition was interrupted in 1901 during Teddy Roosevelt's administration, due to an outcry against waste of pine trees for consumption at Christmas time.  Roosevelt decided that was the end of Christmas Trees, and he would have no Christmas Tree at the White House... but... he didn't expect the reaction from his own children.  His own young son managed to sneak 10 cents out of the White House and buy himself a little bitty Christmas Tree and set it up in a closet.  Roosevelt had a change of heart when he found out about his son's tree, and he learned about a conservation option... "Tree Farming".  Tree Farming meant not cutting down virgin forests to create domestic size Christmas Trees.  Throughout the 20th century, Christmas Tree farming grew into a major industry... today it employees over 100,000 people.  Today Christmas Trees have become bigger... some even going floor to ceiling... than the small table top version from the 1800's.

Which brings us to the decorations of the Christmas Tree.  The first ornaments were cookies and candies that were hung on the tree during 16th century Germany.  For 200 years a decorated tree was a child's delight, because most of the ornaments were edible... these evergreens were known as "Sugar Trees"... and were joyfully shaken down for their so called fruit.  In the 19th century, when industrialization catches on... the tree began to have small toys and gifts (such as small musical instruments for boys and needle books for girls) added to it's branches... making the gifts themselves the ornaments.  By the 2nd half of the 19th century, gifts became too large to hang on the tree, and instead were laid under the tree.  New ornaments needed to be created to decorate the tree... this is when the first glass ornaments were made and used for decorations.  Woolworth's was the first American company to import, and sell the glass ornaments... these ornaments actually were responsible for making Woolworth stores the most profit.

And what about the twinkle lights on the Christmas Tree (which I've already said in a previous blog, are my FAVORITE!)... how did they get started?  Before electric lights, small wax candles were lit and placed on the Christmas tree... but... because the risk of fire was so great... buckets of water were concealed behind the tree, or behind the drapes to be ready in a moments notice to douse the tree in case of a fire.  In 1879, Thomas Edison produced the invention that would light up, and change the world... the electric light bulb.  One of the first uses of his new electric light bulbs were to be used on Christmas Trees.  The electric light bulb was only 3 years old in 1882, when the Vice President of Edison's Electric Company (Edward Johnson) had 80 red, white, and blue lights wired to a revolving Christmas Tree in his parlor... but it wasn't until the 1920's that Christmas Tree lights became popular, when electricity in homes became common place in America... which was a much safer way to illuminate the Christmas Tree than wax candles.

Now you too know the story and history of the Christmas Tree we enjoy today!  I found the history quite fascinating, especially how a simple small evergreen tree became the huge decorated Christmas Trees we now have in our homes all through the Christmas Season present day.

O Christmas Tree... O Christmas Tree... how lovely are thy branches!

Twinkle Lights

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas twinkle lights!!  I especially appreciate those neighbors who put their lights up Thanksgiving weekend... since we ourselves are never quite that ambiguous... in fact... while my husband also enjoys twinkle lights... he just isn't too keen on putting them up... but I eventually am able to sweet talk him in to the task... but... only if it isn't miserably cold outside.  This year tho... I'm cheating and having our lights put up by professionals, because bless his heart... he doesn't have the time, even if he was keen on putting them up.

I love all twinkle lights... whether they are clear, multi-colored, or all one color... they make me smile whenever I see them.  The good thing about the days getting shorter and shorter up until Dec. 21st is that the twinkle lights come on sooner and are visible earlier in the day/evening.  Whenever our family is out and about after dark during the Christmas season... we just have to drive around the neighborhood admiring all the twinkle lights.

Since I'm quite short, it is my husband's job to string the lights and garland around our Christmas tree.  Then when it comes to placing all the ornaments on the tree he is the ornament passer outer... which he would rather do than actually hang the ornaments on the tree.  He first switches the tv to a sports channel (aka... a football game), then he sits with his box of wire hangers and the boxes of ornaments all around him and inspects each ornament, checking to be sure they each have a hanger before handing them off to the girls and I to hang on the tree.  Big ones go on first... little ones go on last... and ALL of the handmade and childhood ornaments get hung.... room MUST be made for every single one!

The best part about hanging the ornaments on the tree is how each ornament has it's own history and story, and these stories are told and retold every single year as each one gets hung on the tree.  We have ornaments that my husband and I have had since childhood, ornaments that our children have had since their birth, ornaments that our children have made in school, ornaments that family have made for us, ornaments from places we have traveled to, and ornaments we have inherited from those who have passed on.  As you can imagine... over the years of gathering ornaments, our Christmas tree isn't able to hold them all... so it was a good thing when our children grew up and took their ornaments with them to their new homes to continue the memories and stories each year.  And of course... the ornaments look much better out of their packing boxes and hung on the tree with the twinkle lights shining behind them to add to their sparkle.

Another of our many family Christmas traditions is the "Tour of Lights" we would take the girls on each Christmas Eve after the candlelight service at church.  We would drive around several neighborhoods oohhhing and ahhing at all the twinkle lights before it was time to finally drive home, put out the cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer, and then shooing the girls off to bed, so that Santa could come and do his work uninterrupted.

As soon as the Christmas tree goes up with all it's twinkle lights aglow... the tree stays lit all day and all night so that whenever you go to bed, and whenever you get up... the first thing you see is the Christmas twinkle lights!

These little lights of mine... I'm gonna let them shine... let them shine, let them shine, let them shine!  So string up those twinkle lights, plug them in and let them shine, let them shine, let them shine!

Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells have a very special meaning and many wonderful memories for our family.  It all started the year my oldest daughter Amber turned 7 and wasn't sure if there really was a Santa Clause... that is the year that my Uncle (my VERY FAVORITE Uncle) started the jingle bell Santa calls.  It wasn't until Amber turned 17, that she finally figured out who was making those calls... and then it was only because we had moved to Michigan... she had gotten used to the northern Michigan accent... and it was my Uncle's southern accent that finally gave him away.

Because I just didn't want the magical fun of believing in Santa to end for her yet... and she was soooo upset to not be sure if he did, or if he did not exist, that the plan for the Santa calls began.  She was told by a friend that Santa Clause wasn't real... that it was her parents who were actually Santa Claus... she was devastated and not wanting to believe her friend's tale.

Our family has many Christmas traditions that we hold dear... and Santa Clause tales are among our favorites.  As a parent you always fear the time when your child arrives at these kind of questions... where do babies come from... is Santa Clause real... is the Easter Bunny real... etc... and that they will share their new found knowledge to their younger siblings.  So..... what is a parent to do???  Well of course the first thing I did was to call my own Mother with this dilemma and asked her... "What do I do??"  She then repeated my conversation with my Aunt... who in turn told my Uncle... who in turn came up with the Santa call plan.

My Uncle has this set of large jingle bells on a leather strap... and he decided to call my girls on Christmas Eve... he would talk in his Santa voice, and as soon as they would answer he would begin with a big HO HO HO chuckle... jingle his jingle bells... ask for each daughter by name, and tell them things he knew about them and what they had done good and bad during the year... he would tell them to improve on the bad things and praise them for the good things... always ending by telling them to mind their parents and do good in school.  What a great plan this was... and they actually believed it, and looked forward to this call for many years... even when they old enough to know the truth about Christmas tales, they still went along with the tradition of these calls... and enjoyed them every single year.

Here is how the plan worked...

I would call my Mom a week or two before Christmas Eve and give her a list of things about them that know one else could possibly know, so that my Uncle was always well prepared in advance on how to make his calls very specific and personal to each of my daughters.  The funny thing is... by the time Christmas Eve came around we were usually preparing to head out to the church candlelight service and were typically in a rush so that we would arrive in time to get a good seat in church... so the Santa phone call would always catch them by complete surprise.  Knowing that when the phone rang it would be Santa... I always made an excuse of why one of the girls would need to answer the phone.  I have the sweetest memory photo of their faces when they answered the phone and believed it to be Santa!  Their faces would truly light up, and each of them would wiggle and squirm wanting whichever sister was on the phone to HURRY UP... so they could get their chance to talk to Santa before we had to leave for church.  Hilarious!!!!

Of course my girls would share these stories with their friends... who would be totally envious that they didn't receive such a call to talk to Santa before he loaded his sleigh up and begin his trek around the world.  The reason this plan worked so well for so long is because of the personal information my Uncle would relate back to them... they were always amazed that he would know these special things about them.  Those calls are such precious and priceless memories that I and my girls will cherish forever.

My Uncle saved Christmas for Amber that year and kept her believing in the magic of Christmas for a couple years more... and then, when she was too old to believe in such childish things, she still looked forward to the tradition of his calls... always playing along so that her sisters would continue to believe as long as possible.  THANK YOU Uncle Hobert... I'll always be grateful for the extra years of believing you gave my girls!

And.... you really and truly are, and always have been my FAVORITE Uncle!!!  HUGS!!!! Vickie Lynn

Elves Home Ornaments

This one is for you Daddy!

From the earliest memory I have as a little girl, my Dad told me and my brother the 'Elves Home' story as our family would decorate our Christmas tree.  Each day after that... all the way up until Christmas day... I would sit in a rocking chair listening to Gene Autry's Children's Christmas album over and over and over, and chat to the elves that lived in their special ornaments.  When I grew up and discovered the trueness of all Christmas legends and tales... I actually thought the 'Elves Home' story was as well known as Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, The Night Before Christmas, etc.  It wasn't until I was 18, with an apartment of my very own, and went to purchase my own 'Elves Home' ornaments for my first tree that I discovered that my Dad had actually made that story up!  No one can tell a story quite like my Dad... we would listen to him with our jaws hung open... absolutely mesmerized!

Here is his story...

The ornaments that my Dad called the Elves homes are those ornaments that are round or oblong and have indentions in the middle of them.  He would tell us that the elves lived in these ornaments all year long, and when they were packed away after Christmas, the elves would come out and play at night and keep watch over us as we slept... but in the day time they would watch over us and report to Santa all our good deeds and bad deeds throughout the year... so that when Christmas season came, and it was time to decorate the Christmas tree, Santa already knew if we had been naughty or nice during the year.  But... during the time those ornaments hung on the tree we had a chance to redeem ourselves for any of our naughtiness during the year by being extra good as they kept watch over us until Christmas Eve when Santa arrived... then... when Santa arrived the elves helped him stuff our stockings and unload his sack of goodies that were placed under the tree.

I would sit in that rocker and sing along with Gene Autry as I chatted to the elves hoping they would see just how good I was... and also to see if I could ever catch one coming out of the ornaments.  I truly thought if I sat there long enough I would really get to see a real life elf... which of course I never did... but I never gave up believing I would see one.

I remember the day I went in search of my own Elves Home ornaments.  I was in the local Woolworth five and dime store browsing along the Christmas decorations aisle... when I couldn't find any of those ornaments I went in search of a sales clerk to assist me in my search.  I actually asked her if they carried 'Elves Home' ornaments... I will never forget the puzzled look the sales lady gave me... and then the "WHAT ornaments" reply!  I then not only described what the ornaments looked like in great detail... but also said... "you know... the ornaments that the elves live in"!!!  I was a bit perplexed that this woman had no clue what I was talking about... so when I got home, I called my Mom and Dad to tell them how dumb this sales lady was that she didn't know what Elves Home ornaments were.  It was then that my Dad confessed he had made that story up years ago.  Since he had told that story to my cousins as well... I really thought it was a well known Christmas story!

Thanks Dad for the many years of memories of waiting and watching for those elves... those are priceless memories indeed!  I made sure I told this same story to my own children every year, and I will be passing this story on to my Grandchildren as well.  And Dad... I wish you would turn this story into a book with your own illustrations included...  how cool would that be???  I love you bunches!!  You made Christmas soooo special!

HUGS!!!  Victoria

Christmas Countdown Advent Calendars

One of my very favorite activities to prepare for the coming of Christmas Day is my advent calendar countdowns.  When my girls were small my Grandmother gave them each a cardboard advent calendar, and each day the girls opened a door to reveal a piece of chocolate behind it.  These advent calendar countdowns begin on Dec. 1st and end either on Dec. 24th or Dec. 25th... depending on the individual calendar.  Ever since that first year I made sure the girls each had an advent calendar to countdown the days until Christmas Day.

Over the years I have collected several advent calendars... some that are wooden structures to which ornaments get removed from the structure each day... some are puzzles and each day after retrieving the treat it becomes a puzzle piece that slowly becomes a picture after all the drawers have been turned around...  my Mother-in-law made one that is a quilted wall hanging in which a little bear is looking for Christmas, and each day the bear looks in a different place on the quilt until he discovers Christmas under the Christmas Tree... each place on the quilt has a little piece of velcro attached and the bear has a piece of velcro so that he can move around the quilt each day... this particular advent calendar my girls had to take turns moving him around the quilt, and it is still their favorite.  I have a couple advent calendars that are wire trees with a hidden drawers underneath and each day an ornament gets added to the tree... one year I even made my own by taking a card making stamping class in which we stamped and embossed a tree onto a magnet, then stamped and embossed ornaments, after which we laminated the ornaments and attached magnets to the back so that each day an magnet ornament was attached to the tree.

I feel like such a kid myself each Christmas as I unpack my many advent calendars and look forward to each morning that I get to add an ornament or retrieve a treat.  My daughters have since grown up and moved out on their own... taking their advent calendars with them... but... we all remember the many memories of the joys we each had each morning with our advent calendars... and well.... we still enjoy.

My family has diagnosed me as being a bit obsessive and compulsive (OK... I do tend to get carried away when I find things I really like or enjoy)... but... these calendars are such fun I look for new and different ones each year.  I have them in every room and can not start my day until I have placed an ornament on, or opened and turned all the drawers around each morning.  I'm as giddy as any child counting down the days until Christmas.  If you have not had the pleasure of the joys of participating with an advent calendar... the next time you see a cheap cardboard advent calendar... pick it up and begin a new tradition yourself.

Today the advent season has officially begun and I have one piece of the puzzle in place and one ornament on the trees... it will be all too soon when they are completed and Christmas Day has come and gone, and it's once again time to pack these precious memories away for the next year.