December 12 – Guadalupe and tin
This is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe and was the day we always made tin ornaments
for the Christmas tree, using the sort of fanciful bright painted designs of Mexican tin work.
In the early days this was easy, because you could use TV dinner trays and Pot pie plates, but
now they’re all made of cardboard or a tougher metal that you can’t incise designs into, but
you can still get good effects with use craft foil or heavy duty aluminum foil, cut out the designs, incise with a ball point pen.
pen and then color with marking pens and then, of course, tacos for dinner.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
December 11 - Family celebration
December 11 – Family Celebrations
Try having the family make a wish list with everything they want on it. The wilder the better, and no lectures about being too greedy. This is just for fun. Sit down together and have fun talking the list over, and “what iffing.” This is very nearly as much fun as receiving the gifts themselves. Think about what you can give to others and how you will share with your community. Then have everyone choose the one (reasonable) thing they would love to have – if you are going to exchange gifts with everyone. And your shopping list is complete and simplified.
Choose one day a week to be a designated special day for one family member. Sunday is a good one. Start with Dad and work right through the family. (Or start with the littlest one and work up.) The person whose “day” it is is responsible for choosing a family activity, and for choosing a story or reading to share with the whole family.
Family parties – Tradition! Choose a family tradition initiate at this party. We spent one day learning to make the traditional fried Italian cookies that, up until now, only my Mom could make. And to tell the truth, ours weren’t as good, but at least we tried. We assigned jobs. Everyone took a turn with the dough, the frying, etc. Then, the finished product was available for eating or admiring.
Someone needs to take the role of narrator, and give blow by blow instructions into a tape cassette or ipod or whatever you have so that everyone has a record of how to accomplish this feat. Be sure to give the little extra tricks and the amusing things that happen.
Have your own family Festival of Trees. Put a small tree in each room and let the
“resident” decorate it to their own taste.
Family Party – Make memory ornaments. Give everyone a large, plain glass ball (plastic for the kids) and paints or permanent markers. They decorate them with some memory of the past year, talk about it before they put it on the tree. Everyone can take their own ornaments to their own tree. (Yes, we used to have a tree for each person to decorate.) That eliminates arguments about ruining color schemes. There just IS no color scheme. The little kids will
enjoy decorating their tree with small toys, trucks or dolls and the like. Cookie cutters are
great to decorate the Christmas tree. Now I can just see you all turning in outraged disbelief to say “With all I have to do, how can you suggest this, but the fact is, If a small tree (real or
artificial) is set in a sturdy base, this is really an unsupervised activity. In fact, make it a
surprise. Everyone decorates their tree and then there is a parade through the house to
view the trees.
Try having the family make a wish list with everything they want on it. The wilder the better, and no lectures about being too greedy. This is just for fun. Sit down together and have fun talking the list over, and “what iffing.” This is very nearly as much fun as receiving the gifts themselves. Think about what you can give to others and how you will share with your community. Then have everyone choose the one (reasonable) thing they would love to have – if you are going to exchange gifts with everyone. And your shopping list is complete and simplified.
Choose one day a week to be a designated special day for one family member. Sunday is a good one. Start with Dad and work right through the family. (Or start with the littlest one and work up.) The person whose “day” it is is responsible for choosing a family activity, and for choosing a story or reading to share with the whole family.
Family parties – Tradition! Choose a family tradition initiate at this party. We spent one day learning to make the traditional fried Italian cookies that, up until now, only my Mom could make. And to tell the truth, ours weren’t as good, but at least we tried. We assigned jobs. Everyone took a turn with the dough, the frying, etc. Then, the finished product was available for eating or admiring.
Someone needs to take the role of narrator, and give blow by blow instructions into a tape cassette or ipod or whatever you have so that everyone has a record of how to accomplish this feat. Be sure to give the little extra tricks and the amusing things that happen.
Have your own family Festival of Trees. Put a small tree in each room and let the
“resident” decorate it to their own taste.
Family Party – Make memory ornaments. Give everyone a large, plain glass ball (plastic for the kids) and paints or permanent markers. They decorate them with some memory of the past year, talk about it before they put it on the tree. Everyone can take their own ornaments to their own tree. (Yes, we used to have a tree for each person to decorate.) That eliminates arguments about ruining color schemes. There just IS no color scheme. The little kids will
enjoy decorating their tree with small toys, trucks or dolls and the like. Cookie cutters are
great to decorate the Christmas tree. Now I can just see you all turning in outraged disbelief to say “With all I have to do, how can you suggest this, but the fact is, If a small tree (real or
artificial) is set in a sturdy base, this is really an unsupervised activity. In fact, make it a
surprise. Everyone decorates their tree and then there is a parade through the house to
view the trees.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
December 10 - Bad time to be alone
December 10 – No Time to Be Alone
But what if you are alone? During a radio broadcast a listener called to say, “Those ideas are very nice, but what if you don’t have a family to move the nativity set around with?” In that event, try this. First, get out and take a walk, look at the decorations in the neighborhood or go to the Y. When you exercise, you start endorphins moving and you’re bound to feel better. Laughing helps a lot, too.
Make yourself a gift of love. You do it this way: Find a pretty box. Wrap it in Christmas paper. Make it pretty. Cut a slit in the top just like a Valentine box. Beside it, place a pencil and some slips of paper. Everytime you see evidence of Christmas around you – you read something or hear something that speaks to your heart. Or a friend does something special. Even a TV program that makes you laugh. Write it down and put it in the box. Whenever you feel down, or sorry for yourself, reach in and pull out just a slip or two and read it. We do all receive many gifts every day, but often we allow them to pass unnoticed. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, settle down and give yourself plenty of time to enjoy everything in the box. See how rich you really are.
Especially if you are alone, pick up the calendar right now and circle a date – one or better two or three that will be for you alone. Call a friend and arrange a luncheon or a shopping trip. Dress up, go to a nice restaurant, and spend some time choosing or buying a gift for yourself that you ordinarily would consider just a bit extravagant. My first Christmas alone when I realized that there would not be the special gifts that my husband had usually chosen, I went through the catalog just like the kids, circled a few things I really wanted, and gave them permission to use my credit card to buy a surprise for me. Then they wrapped the gifts and I had my usual mysterious packages to poke and feel and rattle. I don’t have to do that now, but it helped then. If you are living through transition, look at the things that are really important to you, and begin now planning strategies to help adjust. No matter how silly they might seem to someone else, if they help you, do it!
But what if you are alone? During a radio broadcast a listener called to say, “Those ideas are very nice, but what if you don’t have a family to move the nativity set around with?” In that event, try this. First, get out and take a walk, look at the decorations in the neighborhood or go to the Y. When you exercise, you start endorphins moving and you’re bound to feel better. Laughing helps a lot, too.
Make yourself a gift of love. You do it this way: Find a pretty box. Wrap it in Christmas paper. Make it pretty. Cut a slit in the top just like a Valentine box. Beside it, place a pencil and some slips of paper. Everytime you see evidence of Christmas around you – you read something or hear something that speaks to your heart. Or a friend does something special. Even a TV program that makes you laugh. Write it down and put it in the box. Whenever you feel down, or sorry for yourself, reach in and pull out just a slip or two and read it. We do all receive many gifts every day, but often we allow them to pass unnoticed. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, settle down and give yourself plenty of time to enjoy everything in the box. See how rich you really are.
Especially if you are alone, pick up the calendar right now and circle a date – one or better two or three that will be for you alone. Call a friend and arrange a luncheon or a shopping trip. Dress up, go to a nice restaurant, and spend some time choosing or buying a gift for yourself that you ordinarily would consider just a bit extravagant. My first Christmas alone when I realized that there would not be the special gifts that my husband had usually chosen, I went through the catalog just like the kids, circled a few things I really wanted, and gave them permission to use my credit card to buy a surprise for me. Then they wrapped the gifts and I had my usual mysterious packages to poke and feel and rattle. I don’t have to do that now, but it helped then. If you are living through transition, look at the things that are really important to you, and begin now planning strategies to help adjust. No matter how silly they might seem to someone else, if they help you, do it!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
December 9 - Day by Day by Day
Make the season last by celebrating the special days. We’ve gotten past December 6th, St Nicholas Day, a great day for making specially decorated Santa Claus cookies to share with the neighborhood kids. December 8 for Mary candles. St. Lucy’s Day is December 10. The festival of lights. You might do something as simple a decorating the table with extra candles. For years our eldest daughter woke us on St. Lucy’s day with a song and fresh coffee cake, because we had convinced her that this was how the day was properly celebrated. Then she found out that none of the other kids had to do it, and she quit. December 13 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Have a dinner of Mexican Food. Make a pinata. There are many reasons to celebrate. Why not create your own. Nothing is more fun than unique family holidays.
Let me know about some of your special holidays.
Let me know about some of your special holidays.
Monday, December 7, 2009
December 8 - Decorate a candle
December 8 is the day we reserved for candle decorating Since this day is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we always decorated our candles with pictures of the Madonna and child. But you can use any pictures. An ideal source are all of those old Christmas cards you’ve been saving because they were too pretty to throw away.It’s very simple for even small kids. Just choose and apply your picture (Use Eileen’s craft glue, or cool glue gun to affix.) Add sparkle, and sequins and presto, you’ve got a gift for Grandma. I just love Christmas!!
December 7 - A time for Story telling
December 7 – A time for storytelling
I was a little surprised when I woke up this morning to find that it was December 7. I had completely forgotten – the one thing we all said we’d never do was forget. And that reminds me that a wonderful thing to do is get the stories of those family members who carry the history. Oral history is becoming more and more important and my children have been begging me to get our family history down in writing “while you still can”. I am what passes for Elder Wisdom in my family. Well, I never quite seem to have time to do a whole book, so I promised to try doing a series of story books for holidays, with stories about Christmases growing up,for instance. I’ll let you know how it works out.
One of my dearest treasures is a tape my Dad made for my 60th birthday. On the tape,he tells how he met my Mom, about their life on the road in the Depression, and how finally my Mom said to him, “We have to go home now. There’s a baby coming.” The baby was me. So they made a home in Montana, and I was born in a boarding house in Kalispell. As my Dad said that as nearly as he could tell, neither he nor my mother, the doctor or the nurse, had ever seen a baby before. The Doctor’s name was Dr. Carnes. ( Years later, at a seminar in Bozeman, I met someone else the good doctor had delivered. I couldn’t tell if he’d gotten better with experience.) At the end of the tape, my Mom – then in the last six months of her life – sang Santa Lucia. It’s an incredible treasure and I want to promise you, the kids won’t critique your technique. They’ll just be glad to have it!!
—————————————
I was a little surprised when I woke up this morning to find that it was December 7. I had completely forgotten – the one thing we all said we’d never do was forget. And that reminds me that a wonderful thing to do is get the stories of those family members who carry the history. Oral history is becoming more and more important and my children have been begging me to get our family history down in writing “while you still can”. I am what passes for Elder Wisdom in my family. Well, I never quite seem to have time to do a whole book, so I promised to try doing a series of story books for holidays, with stories about Christmases growing up,for instance. I’ll let you know how it works out.
One of my dearest treasures is a tape my Dad made for my 60th birthday. On the tape,he tells how he met my Mom, about their life on the road in the Depression, and how finally my Mom said to him, “We have to go home now. There’s a baby coming.” The baby was me. So they made a home in Montana, and I was born in a boarding house in Kalispell. As my Dad said that as nearly as he could tell, neither he nor my mother, the doctor or the nurse, had ever seen a baby before. The Doctor’s name was Dr. Carnes. ( Years later, at a seminar in Bozeman, I met someone else the good doctor had delivered. I couldn’t tell if he’d gotten better with experience.) At the end of the tape, my Mom – then in the last six months of her life – sang Santa Lucia. It’s an incredible treasure and I want to promise you, the kids won’t critique your technique. They’ll just be glad to have it!!
—————————————
Sunday, December 6, 2009
December 7 - Celebrate the Season Day by Day
December 7 – Celebrate the whole season
In my own home, for nearly thirty years it was my turn to preside over one perfect Christmas after another. Anyone and anything that couldn’t move, or couldn’t move fast enough, was involved. We didn’t have celebrations so much as theatrical productions “Don’t stage manage, Mom” the boys cautioned but I never listened. I was the Queen of Christmas, wearing red and green earrings made from glass Christmas balls so big that if they had broken they would have slashed my jugular vein. This was my time of year, and I loved it. The tree had to be big enough to scrape paint off the living room ceiling when we put it in place.
One year in an excess of Yuletide spirit, I actually spray painted everything gold. This included a dozen artichokes (for a centerpiece) the kids’ Legos, (Christmas castle) and the dog. I don’t recommend that though. It turned out the dog really didn’t appreciate it.
Now it’s time to start new traditions again. The children are grown and don’t get home often at Christmas. I sometimes hardly know these successful adults but the little boy who once waited breathlessly for Santa to leave him a jet airplane has a rime of frost on his dark hair and is close to retirement from a career of flying real planes. Teen aged grandchildren would rather have a gift card from a record store than a wrapped gift.
The trick is to create small new traditions that bring the same delight as those long ago trees and bubbling lights. I am experimenting with cutting back. I haven’t decided whether to have a tree this year, because if you put up a tree, you have to take it down again right away, at least by February. My outdoor decorations are certainly less elaborate this year. I have three strings of lights and a tulip tree in the front yard. When the lights are on the tree, which is – say - from December 19 to – oh, May 23, we are decorated for Christmas. When the lights are not on the tree, we aren’t.
So far, my best new tradition is to warm two bathrobes in the dryer, put them on, one over the other, and curl up with a mug of hot chocolate with – and this is important – two marshmallows. I have a 2 foot tall figure of the Grinch which dances on his hands and sings. It’s in the poorest possible taste but it makes me giggle – so that’s a new tradition – at least til the batteries die.
Friends and family have become most important; the ones who are here, and the ones who can never be again.A reader wrote that her new tradition is to decorate her small tree with just family pictures, instead of Christmas balls. Giving unexpected gifts is a good new tradition. The World Vision Catalog (www.worldvisiongifts.org) says that for only $15.00 I could give two rabbits to an impoverished family and in a year they’d have 50 rabbits. Imagine. You can give a whole sheep for $150.00. I like that kind of optimism.
It’s really important to think of at least one small celebration moment every day. Have you
got yours for today yet?
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
In my own home, for nearly thirty years it was my turn to preside over one perfect Christmas after another. Anyone and anything that couldn’t move, or couldn’t move fast enough, was involved. We didn’t have celebrations so much as theatrical productions “Don’t stage manage, Mom” the boys cautioned but I never listened. I was the Queen of Christmas, wearing red and green earrings made from glass Christmas balls so big that if they had broken they would have slashed my jugular vein. This was my time of year, and I loved it. The tree had to be big enough to scrape paint off the living room ceiling when we put it in place.
One year in an excess of Yuletide spirit, I actually spray painted everything gold. This included a dozen artichokes (for a centerpiece) the kids’ Legos, (Christmas castle) and the dog. I don’t recommend that though. It turned out the dog really didn’t appreciate it.
Now it’s time to start new traditions again. The children are grown and don’t get home often at Christmas. I sometimes hardly know these successful adults but the little boy who once waited breathlessly for Santa to leave him a jet airplane has a rime of frost on his dark hair and is close to retirement from a career of flying real planes. Teen aged grandchildren would rather have a gift card from a record store than a wrapped gift.
The trick is to create small new traditions that bring the same delight as those long ago trees and bubbling lights. I am experimenting with cutting back. I haven’t decided whether to have a tree this year, because if you put up a tree, you have to take it down again right away, at least by February. My outdoor decorations are certainly less elaborate this year. I have three strings of lights and a tulip tree in the front yard. When the lights are on the tree, which is – say - from December 19 to – oh, May 23, we are decorated for Christmas. When the lights are not on the tree, we aren’t.
So far, my best new tradition is to warm two bathrobes in the dryer, put them on, one over the other, and curl up with a mug of hot chocolate with – and this is important – two marshmallows. I have a 2 foot tall figure of the Grinch which dances on his hands and sings. It’s in the poorest possible taste but it makes me giggle – so that’s a new tradition – at least til the batteries die.
Friends and family have become most important; the ones who are here, and the ones who can never be again.A reader wrote that her new tradition is to decorate her small tree with just family pictures, instead of Christmas balls. Giving unexpected gifts is a good new tradition. The World Vision Catalog (www.worldvisiongifts.org) says that for only $15.00 I could give two rabbits to an impoverished family and in a year they’d have 50 rabbits. Imagine. You can give a whole sheep for $150.00. I like that kind of optimism.
It’s really important to think of at least one small celebration moment every day. Have you
got yours for today yet?
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
December 6 - St Nicholas Day
St Nicholas Day
December 6 – Today is St. Nicholas Day. Well,
actually, it’s 10:00 at night and this is the second time I’ve written this because it went away the first time, so with one thing and another, you’re not going to have much time to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. In our family,
we always made very intricately decorated cookies shaped liked St Nicholas, and gave them to the neighbor children. We stopped doing it when my children rebelled. They were tired of making all of those gorgeous cookies and not getting to eat any. Sometimes you have to think ahead to the logical consequences of your actions.
Many people celebrate December 6 as Little
Christmas with special gifts and trinkets for the family.
St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra. He is the patron saint of practically everybody, sailors, the navy, protection from storms, most especially small children. He is also the patron saint of brides. He got to be the
patron saint of brides when he would ride under the window of girls to poor to be married, and he would toss into their rooms bags of money big enough for their dowries.
Now, that’s what I call creative gifting.
December 6 – Today is St. Nicholas Day. Well,
actually, it’s 10:00 at night and this is the second time I’ve written this because it went away the first time, so with one thing and another, you’re not going to have much time to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. In our family,
we always made very intricately decorated cookies shaped liked St Nicholas, and gave them to the neighbor children. We stopped doing it when my children rebelled. They were tired of making all of those gorgeous cookies and not getting to eat any. Sometimes you have to think ahead to the logical consequences of your actions.
Many people celebrate December 6 as Little
Christmas with special gifts and trinkets for the family.
St. Nicholas was the Bishop of Myra. He is the patron saint of practically everybody, sailors, the navy, protection from storms, most especially small children. He is also the patron saint of brides. He got to be the
patron saint of brides when he would ride under the window of girls to poor to be married, and he would toss into their rooms bags of money big enough for their dowries.
Now, that’s what I call creative gifting.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Christmas Day by Day
Christmas Day by Day
December 6, 2009
In my new column in The Tacoma News Tribune, I wrote about how my husband and I saved our sanity during the holiday season by celebrating Christmas every day of December all the way to Twelfth Night – So in this space, for the next six weeks, I’ll be blogging tips, ideas and reflections for turning these days into a truly the happiest time of the year.
With six children in our family, things were different. We were pretty much on the verge of going certifiably insane each year at Christmas. Finally, we established some lasting holiday traditions that made the joyous season – well, joyous. The big secret is to celebrate the whole season. Instead of one big day which begins with packages being ripped to shreds, and ends with migraines and upset tummies for all, plan for a whole month of small, fun, memorable days.December 1 -
Here’s how to start. Sit down with the family – or with friends – or a mirror
or your dog, and think of all the things you can celebrate during this holiday season. Try to think of something for every day. They don’t have to be big things but you should wake up every morning with the absolute conviction that you have something to celebrate.When you’re past fifty you may have to start all over again to create a holiday that fits. Easier said than done. I found advice that made sense to me in Janet Luhers book, The Guide to Simple Living : Her suggestion: “Make a plan with the people with whom you will celebrate Christmas. Remove what no longer works; but for everything you remove you must put something back that does fit. “
Begin by taking out the things that no longer work. That would be the too big tree, the parties that no longer matter. “Add new things that fit.” I’m auditioning a whole list of possible new traditions. I tried Contra dancing. Fast, fun, it has nothing to do with South America. On the turns, partners are supposed to look into each other’s eyes. My batteries have been charging ever since the dance Saturday night. I’m singing in a Latin Chant Choir. It’s quite satisfying. Somehow in Latin, it’s harder to tell that a person can’t sing. I have a friend who treated herself to a facelift. It cost $6500. I’m not quite that depressed. I did color my hair a nice Christmas red. It’s a wonderful shade which never occurred spontaneously anywhere in nature. I don’t even have to wonder if people believe it’s my real color. By the way, red heads do.
December 2 -
For years our eldest daughter woke us on St. Lucy’s day, December 10, with a song and fresh coffee cake, because we had convinced her that this was how the day was properly celebrated. When she found out that none of her friends had to do this, she quit. Don’t be shy about Inaugurating your own holidays like “Mommy’s Nap Day” midway through the season when Mommy is Queen for a Day and the kids make SHHHH Door Hangers.
December 3 -Decorate a little each day. Instead of killing yourself decorating the whole house all at once, put out just one Christmas decoration each day.Let the kids take turns choosing the day’s ornament. No coaching from adults permitted. As one memorable item after another appears, you find that you are developing a new appreciation for these special baubles that you might not have felt if they all appeared at once. The Christmas Creche stays empty for most of the month. We spend a few minutes each day talking about where the “Christmas People” Mary and Joseph and the shepherds are on their journey. What would they be doing today? What would they be thinking? The children are allowed to put straw in the manger if they do a good deed. Some days you’re tempted to make them take straw out.
December 4 – DECORATE A DOOR DAY
This is the time to drag out all of the left over gift wrap, odds and ends, and everyone decorates the door to their room. The house will look festive in no time, and with any luck they’ll keep busy long enough for you to take a nap. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect. This is the chance for the artist in everyone to shine and remember, the decorations are biodegradable.
December 5 – Build Traditions
Christmases change. Over the years our family built a holiday tradition that felt right. We made cookies and burned them, frosted them anyway, got frosting on noses, fingers and earlobes. We did crafts, read stories, lit candles, sang songs. I can personally show you 93 things to do with an empty roll of toilet paper and a full roll of scotch tape. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Christmas, decoration, tips | Leave a Comment »
[edit]
Y-MCA – Sing along now
October 16, 2009
i registered at the Y today, so that I can keep up my Tai Chi classes. You can learn lots of
good things at the Y and I just remembered that it was the Y in Spokane many,many, many
years ago that I received my first kiss. From a pudgy boy named Donald. I was 12.
It wasn’t bad. I wonder what ever became of Donald.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
[edit]
December 6, 2009
In my new column in The Tacoma News Tribune, I wrote about how my husband and I saved our sanity during the holiday season by celebrating Christmas every day of December all the way to Twelfth Night – So in this space, for the next six weeks, I’ll be blogging tips, ideas and reflections for turning these days into a truly the happiest time of the year.
With six children in our family, things were different. We were pretty much on the verge of going certifiably insane each year at Christmas. Finally, we established some lasting holiday traditions that made the joyous season – well, joyous. The big secret is to celebrate the whole season. Instead of one big day which begins with packages being ripped to shreds, and ends with migraines and upset tummies for all, plan for a whole month of small, fun, memorable days.December 1 -
Here’s how to start. Sit down with the family – or with friends – or a mirror
or your dog, and think of all the things you can celebrate during this holiday season. Try to think of something for every day. They don’t have to be big things but you should wake up every morning with the absolute conviction that you have something to celebrate.When you’re past fifty you may have to start all over again to create a holiday that fits. Easier said than done. I found advice that made sense to me in Janet Luhers book, The Guide to Simple Living : Her suggestion: “Make a plan with the people with whom you will celebrate Christmas. Remove what no longer works; but for everything you remove you must put something back that does fit. “
Begin by taking out the things that no longer work. That would be the too big tree, the parties that no longer matter. “Add new things that fit.” I’m auditioning a whole list of possible new traditions. I tried Contra dancing. Fast, fun, it has nothing to do with South America. On the turns, partners are supposed to look into each other’s eyes. My batteries have been charging ever since the dance Saturday night. I’m singing in a Latin Chant Choir. It’s quite satisfying. Somehow in Latin, it’s harder to tell that a person can’t sing. I have a friend who treated herself to a facelift. It cost $6500. I’m not quite that depressed. I did color my hair a nice Christmas red. It’s a wonderful shade which never occurred spontaneously anywhere in nature. I don’t even have to wonder if people believe it’s my real color. By the way, red heads do.
December 2 -
For years our eldest daughter woke us on St. Lucy’s day, December 10, with a song and fresh coffee cake, because we had convinced her that this was how the day was properly celebrated. When she found out that none of her friends had to do this, she quit. Don’t be shy about Inaugurating your own holidays like “Mommy’s Nap Day” midway through the season when Mommy is Queen for a Day and the kids make SHHHH Door Hangers.
December 3 -Decorate a little each day. Instead of killing yourself decorating the whole house all at once, put out just one Christmas decoration each day.Let the kids take turns choosing the day’s ornament. No coaching from adults permitted. As one memorable item after another appears, you find that you are developing a new appreciation for these special baubles that you might not have felt if they all appeared at once. The Christmas Creche stays empty for most of the month. We spend a few minutes each day talking about where the “Christmas People” Mary and Joseph and the shepherds are on their journey. What would they be doing today? What would they be thinking? The children are allowed to put straw in the manger if they do a good deed. Some days you’re tempted to make them take straw out.
December 4 – DECORATE A DOOR DAY
This is the time to drag out all of the left over gift wrap, odds and ends, and everyone decorates the door to their room. The house will look festive in no time, and with any luck they’ll keep busy long enough for you to take a nap. Don’t worry if they’re not perfect. This is the chance for the artist in everyone to shine and remember, the decorations are biodegradable.
December 5 – Build Traditions
Christmases change. Over the years our family built a holiday tradition that felt right. We made cookies and burned them, frosted them anyway, got frosting on noses, fingers and earlobes. We did crafts, read stories, lit candles, sang songs. I can personally show you 93 things to do with an empty roll of toilet paper and a full roll of scotch tape. Martha Stewart, eat your heart out.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Christmas, decoration, tips | Leave a Comment »
[edit]
Y-MCA – Sing along now
October 16, 2009
i registered at the Y today, so that I can keep up my Tai Chi classes. You can learn lots of
good things at the Y and I just remembered that it was the Y in Spokane many,many, many
years ago that I received my first kiss. From a pudgy boy named Donald. I was 12.
It wasn’t bad. I wonder what ever became of Donald.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
[edit]
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