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)

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.

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.




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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.

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Keeping Creativity Alive

Today I finished shooting my first season of Never Too Late. We talked about keeping creativity

alive with Western artist Fred Oldfield who, at 92, has painted thousands of pictures of the old

west. He still paints every day, and just today finished four paintings for a big wildlife show.

Fred says the important thing in life is that you must see that you have at least one "I gotta"

in your life every single day - that's the thing you "gotta" do. Not because it's work but because

it keeps you going. For Fred, it's painting, and fishing.

You can see Never Too Late in Western Washington on Comcast on Demand and online at

www.itsnevertoolate.com

Dorothy blogs her tip of the day every day at this time. Join me tomorrow, same time, same station.

Proud To Be An American Chia Pet Set

If anyone needs a lift of spirit, run out right now, and buy the Proud to be an American Set.

It contains Chia George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, and - wait for it - The Statue of Liberty. George Washington has sort of pyramidal hair like the Gilbert Stuart portrait

but the rest of them all have sort of modified Afros. They're a little pricey - $19.95 at Target

or Walgreens. So rejoice, the spirit of entrepreneurs everywhere endures and The Republic is

safe!!

Keeping Family Traditions Alive

At this time of the year, I hear from a lot of folks who are planning family reunions and are looking for good, creative ideas for making it a special time and the good effects long lasting. At the same time, an incident in my own family made me aware of how important it is to keep family traditions alive. The family reunion is a great time to make a start, but it's something we can work on any time. Here are some ideas for keeping family tradition alive.

Eliot Wiggington in the first Foxfire book writes, "Daily our grandparents are moving out of our lives, taking with them, irreparably this kind of

information. Not because they want to, but because they think we don't care." And sometimes we think we don't care.

1. An easy place to start is with a family recipe collection. Nearly every family has a special recipe that absolutely everyone loves. My Mom makes the best Italian rolls in the whole world. Really. I adn't realized we were in danger of losing them until she started insisting that everyone who visits make a batch of rolls before they go home. This applies to me and my 22 year old son equally. She passes judgement on the quality of the dough.

This is something that just one person can get started easily. Look around for that one special recipe and see that everyone learns to make it.

More tomorrow. Dorothy's tip of the day in this spot every day. Tune in, same time, same station

Saving money on those expensive make up tubes

If your spontaneous beauty requires the use of expensive lotions, moisturizers, and makeups,

your probably spending a fortune. I know I am. And I discovered that I was leaving another fortune in the bottoms of tubes that wouldn't squeeze out. There's a way to get the last bit of

makeup off though. Just take your scissors and clip off the tube about an inch from the nozzle.

You'll then be able to reach every last dab of the contents of the tube, and you can just slide the

cut off portion back into the tube end. The tube will be shorter but it works fine.

You can see a demonstration of this tip by going to my website, www.itsnevertoolate.com and clicking on Never Too Late - Living on a Shoestring. Or, go directly to YouTube and search for

NTL002.

Dorothy blogs tip of the day every day, same time same station.