"The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear"

I've seen this around and loved reading about other's traditions. I hope you enjoy.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate and egg nog. My cousin always sends my family a package each year and he includes the best hot chocolate from his store. We try to make it last all year. Yum. I like it with whipped cream.
I like egg nog too, but I usually have to add some milk to it because it's pretty thick to drink by itself.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa usually wraps presents but it's different wrapping paper obviously than the rest of the presents. The rest of the presents are from your parents. Santa also fills the stockings with unwrapped presents.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Growing up we sometimes had colored but usually they were white. White lights are so beautiful on the tree when all the other lights are off. This year Jesse and I have blue and white lights on our tree (Go UK!) and colored lights around our windows.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? We've talked about it, but don't have any yet. (Mistletoe fact I never knew from my horticulturist husband: it's a parasitic plant that is spread by bird poop and grows on the top of trees and has to be shot down with a gun! Did you know that?!)

5. When do you put your decorations up? Growing up we would get our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving and usually decorate then, too. This year Jesse and I had to wait because we were out of town and got our (very first together!) Christmas tree on December 3rd.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Hmm, does pumpkie pie count?

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I loved it when my sister and I would wake up before my parents and go downstairs (and see the tree all lit in the dark room) to open our stockings. We were allowed to open our stockings- we would usually take a few things out and then put them back till our parents woke up, but had to wait for our parents to open presents. Also, Ohio Village- see #16.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't really remember, but I still believe in Santa 100%.
Santa may not be a "fact," but he is "true."
He may not be a person, but he is millions of people who all work together to bring children beautiful Christmases.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We wait until Christmas morning to open presents.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? This year we bought blue and white bulbs and tinsel string to decorate. I was just saying to Jesse the other day that we should have bought an ornament when we were on our honeymoon in Rome to have a tradition of ornaments from where we travel. We are going to start the tradition of buying each other an ornament each year to hang on our tree.
My great aunt also made my sister and I an ornament every year when we were growing up from the song the 12 days of Christmas. I'll have to see what happened to those since they're probably still at my parent's house.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? LOVE! I wish there was snow NOW! I want and need a white Christmas. Jesse doesn't like snow so much because he has to be out working in it, so I try to scale back my love of it, cause I don't want him to be too cold. But, good thing we aren't staying in Kentucky because it's supposed to be raining and in the 40s! Christmas isn't Christmas without snow!

12. Can you ice skate? I've been a few times, but I can't really skate so well.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? The best memories don't really have anything to do with gifts, just the love that my family had for each other and the time that we spent together.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family. I love spending time with them.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Spritz cookies with maraschino cherries in the center, of course pumpkin pie, and caramel (or cinnamon) pecan rolls.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Growing up we would almost always pick a family in our ward that was less fortunate and buy things for them and then doorbell ditch on their porch or do the same thing with cookies.
We also went to Ohio Village which was a reconstructed 1800s village. We would decorate cookies, sing with the carolers, go around to the different shops, and feed the animals. It was magical since they only used candles and stayed true to the time period. I'm so glad I have those memories since the village is now gone. (Well, the actual village is still there but they've changed everything and it's not the same so we don't go anymore).
In the past few years we went to Slate Run which is similar to Ohio Village and participate in some old time Christmas traditions. (Their gingerbread men were the best!)

17. What tops your tree? Right now it's star that blinks white and blue to go with our UK themed tree. We might keep it or make/have a different one next year.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Giving, especially watching the faces of people when they open their gift and knowing it will be something they will love. I don't do homemade gifts very often, but I think next year I might start.

19. Candy canes: yuck or yum? Yum. You can crunch them or munch them or suck on them or chew them up. I've only eaten one so far this year, but it was delicious. I should eat more because mint helps my stomach. I like sucking on the end to make it sharp and turning it into a little sword. We have them on our tree, but I kind of forget about eating them.

20. Favorite Christmas show? Home Alone, A Child's Christmas in Wales, The Santa Clause, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Elf, White Christmas, While You Were Sleeping (which I always watch every Christmas with my sister).

21. Saddest Christmas song? That Christmas Shoes song. Jesse and I heard it on the radio the other day and I cry every time I hear it so I plugged my ears so I wouldn't cry. He said it's one of his favorite songs even though it does make him cry. (I like the message behind the song, but it's just so sad!)

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? I love "I Wonder As I Wander", "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella", "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas", and "Good King Wenceslas" and silly, I know, but I love the Chipmunks too! I could listen to them for long periods, but I usually only listen for a little bit cause I know Jesse doesn't really like them and can only stand them in short bursts.
Some songs like "Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart" can just go away. The radio plays that song toooo often and it drives me nuts.
I like good Christmas music.

23. Do you use an Advent calendar? We had one that we used growing up, but we don't have one this year. I should try making one for next year.

24. Do you go to church on Christmas? Not unless it's Sunday, and there's regular church, but on my mission we went one year with a family to their Church on Christmas Eve and it was beautiful to sing carols and see the church lit up with candles.

25. What were your Christmas morning rules as a kid? We weren't supposed to wake our parents up early, but we could open our stocking. Brenna and I would usually go downstairs and look in our stocking and eat some candy and sort though the gifts and then wait for our parents to wake up. If we felt they were taking too long, we would sneak up to their room and quietly wake them up so they would get up and we could open presents.

5 days till Christmas!!

Christmas Wrap-up

The presents have all been unwrapped, the wrapping paper put in the recycling bin, and all the cookies given away (or eaten). All the anticipation of it - and just like that, Christmas is over. It came and went in the blink of an eye.

I had some help opening my stocking

Sleepy puppy from the day's activities

Smiling and happy- they love Christmas.

Yet, here I am five days later, still lingering over Christmas- hesitant to move on just now. I'm back at work, but long to still be with my family. It can't be over, but it is, and tomorrow is already New Year's Eve.

Despite being so short, I had a great Christmas. I hope you did too.

A new year is upon us! Do you have goals that you are working on for the new year?

Do It Yourself NYE party supplies

Party in a box

Christmas Memories

I remember going out the Saturday after Thanksgiving and cutting down our Christmas tree. I remember often stopping at Bob Evans to eat dinner afterward and sharing cups of hot chocolate with whipped cream with my sister. I remember ordering as many cups as we wanted- free refills!

I remember believing in Santa Claus and knowing that he must be real because my dad had a picture with him at the North Pole, surrounded by snow.

I remember, almost every year without fail, discussing about a family in need in our ward and deciding to help them. I remember gathering the supplies- food, toys, and a few items of clothing and putting it all in a basket. I remember driving past the house (so we wouldn't be seen), running up to the door, dropping the basket down, knocking on the door and then running back to the car. I remember waiting and watching to see if they opened the door. If they didn't open the door, I remember my dad calling them on the phone disguising his voice and telling them to look on their porch because there was something there for them. I remember smiling at the thought of their Christmas being a little bit brighter because we served.

I remember putting up our advent calendar on December 1st and every day opening the little window to see the scene behind it. I remember opening number 24 and seeing a picture of the nativity and remembering again the real reason for Christmas.

I remember my sister and I waking up early on Christmas morning, the smell of pine tree, cinnamon rolls, and oranges thick in my nostrils. I remember creeping down the stairs (so I wouldn't wake my parents) and making my way to the Christmas tree, turning on the lights and soaking in the beauty. I remember opening up my stocking and running back up-stairs to my sleeping parents and asking them to get up so we could open presents. I remember them asking for a few more minutes of sleep. I remember always wondering why they were so tired on Christmas morning.

I remember taking turns opening presents and being so happy. I remember the joy of giving to family members. I remember the big smiles on their faces.

I remember, despite not having a whole lot of money, always having presents for Christmas.

I remember snuggling on my parent's bed under the "cuddle quilt" and laughing with my mom and dad and sister until my sides hurt and then taking a nap.

I remember making snowmen in our front yard and sledding down the hill with my sister on a sled from my mother's childhood. I remember gathering with the neighborhood children and sledding down our some-what icy, hilly street. I remember going back inside with our wet, snowy clothes, standing just inside the closed door and taking off our snow gear. I remember standing over our heating vents and watching as my dress poofed up as I dried off and warmed up. I remember drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream and wrapping my hands around the cup to warm them.

I remember on Sundays after church, gathering together all our extra bread, apples, and carrots and going to the Ohio Village and feeding the geese, ducks, and horses. I remember sitting inside the town hall and listening to the carolers by the glow of candle light and looking at the huge Christmas tree and soaking in the feeling of it. I remember feeling that it should last forever.

I remember feeling loved and I remember loving Christmas.

And you know what? I still do!

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!

Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas Giving

At the beginning of December I set a goal to post every day this month and it hasn't quite worked out...

My internet connection at my apartment stopped connecting to my computer which explains the reason I haven't blogged in, oh, two days. There go the excuses again.

Did you miss me? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Anyway, Christmas is exactly one week away! Are you ready?!

In the spirit of giving for Christmas, the white elephant gift exchange went fabulously well! After the gift exchange part was over, it ended up turning into a balloon fight (pictures coming shortly). The balloons were left over from my engaged roommate's birthday (she turned 30 on Thursday!). I blew up 30 of them and put them all on her bed. For the WE party she decided to push them all out into the living room. And you know how guys are with balloons...lots of popping.

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Here's a haiku poem I just wrote:

Snowflakes fall to earth
Christmas day is coming soon
Christ is the reason




Have a great weekend and enjoy some of these other wonderful Christmas videos on Youtube.

Merry Christmas!

$40 for a Christmas tree and they don't deliver?!

Lately I've been so good at making excuses for myself. In fact, I have so many I'm giving them away for Christmas wrapped in beautiful paper and topped with a big red bow.

Do you want a few?

I need to get rid of them all because they aren't cutting it for me anymore.

Send me your address and I'll get them to you right away.

I need to do better.

Ok, I'm glad that's off my chest.

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My engaged roommate has set a date for her wedding: March 25th.

After Christmas I'm going dress shopping with her. I'm excited because I've never been wedding dress shopping with anyone before.

Her wedding is on a Friday and she is having the reception that very night, which makes sense to me because the next day is Saturday which means they can sleep in and cuddle if they want, which is a very good thing for newly-married people to do, in my opinion- both the sleeping and the cuddling. (Sorry for the very bad run on sentence).

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One of my friends started a Christmas blog with crafts and other nice present ideas including food. Have a look-see!

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Another one of my friends is moving back to this town from Manhattan, NY this very day. We met in July and he's been going through a pretty rough time in his life, so he wants a fresh start. I'm looking forward to him not being so far away.

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Last Christmas my sister and I got a coupon for a week of free tanning at a tanning salon. We went almost every day and even though I know tanning is so bad (microwaving our insides and all that) the heat felt so good when it was time to go back out in the frigid air of winter.

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I'm really super excited to go home for Christmas!! Really excited!

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Now for some counting:

10 days until Christmas
7 days till I go home for Christmas
3 days till my sister comes home from BYU-I for Christmas (that is unless she moved her flight up and is coming home today...)

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We are having a white elephant gift exchange at our apartment on Friday night! What is the best white elephant gift you've ever received? Let's discuss this...

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By the way, Christmas is for families. I'm so excited to see mine, but I've already discussed that. Just wanted to make sure you knew.

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P.S. 10 bonus points if you can name the movie where this post title comes from...

P.P.S. At least you didn't pay $40 for this blog post, otherwise you'd be dissapointed I didn't deliver for you.

Well worth your 5 minutes and 36 seconds.

Welcome Christmas

For as long as I can remember, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the day we venture out to get our Christmas tree.

Some people might like fake trees and that's okay, but I love real Christmas trees. They just smell so good and are different every year which adds to their loveliness.

The beautiful sunny sky was deceiving. It was pretty cold that day.

The saw holding can only be done by those who are experienced for sure.

Greens being collected for the mantle

I think the tree we want might be over here...

"This one looks good. What do you think?"

What about this cute Charlie Brown-ish tree?

The sun was bright that day!

Ohh, that's a little better...

The Christmas Bush!

Lovely seed pods, aren't they?

After more looking...and going back to one we found earlier
we decided on it...and gave it one last look over before cutting.

Cutting!

Our tree! It's a little bare in spots, but it's ours!

Just like people, some of the trees were immature, some were short, some tall, some bare in spots, but they were all lovely in their own way. And all taken care of by the owner, just as we are.

What Christmas is All About.

And there you have it.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours.
May you all have peace in your hearts and hope in your lives.

Copyright © 2009 by Natasha M.

Longfellow's Christmas

Copyright © 2009 by Natasha M.

Christmas Traditions/Memories

I wanted to post about my favorite Christmas traditions.

This year, for some reason, I've been having a little trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. I don't know if it's because I'm away from family or I'm not giving enough service, but I don't like it and so I decided to post about past Christmases in hopes that I would have more of that Christmas spirit.

Growing up, every year the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we would venture out to cut our Christmas tree. We had a place that we went- Taylor Tree Farm. It usually took a while to find one, because we wanted the "perfect" tree. I have many good memories of those times. One year the tree we got had bug eggs in it and once the tree was in the house all those little buggies hatched! We were more careful the next year about which tree we got.


We also had a family tradition of going to Ohio Village (sadly it is now closed). I looked forward to going every year at Christmas. (We would also go on Sundays during the year, but Christmas time was especially nice there). They had a group of carolers (a choir) that would always sing Christmas songs. Since the village was a recreation of a mid-19th century village they didn't have electricity, so candles were used. I remember sitting in the cultural hall listening to the carolers surrounded by candlelight, a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, and my family and feeling secure and peaceful. It was enchanting.

Doorbell ditching. Most years growing up, we would pick a family in our ward that was struggling or were newly married or had young children and buy them food or bake cookies. We would leave the items on their porch, ring the doorbell and run. This was such fun and really brought the spirit of Christ into our home.

Another Christmas memory is of Christmas morning. We didn't open any gifts on Christmas eve. My sister and I would usually wake up before our parents and we were allowed to open our stockings. Once our parents were awake we would pass out presents so everybody had one, open them one at a time and then start again until there were no more presents.

And cookie baking. How could I forget that? We would bake cookies every year and give them away. We still do this, but somehow it's not quite the same as when we were living at home. Sampling was always a part of the process!

OK, these are all the Christmas memories I can think of right now.

What Christmas memories do you have?

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I leave for home tomorrow after work! My sister is flying in at night so I will get there and we will all go to the airport together to pick her up. Honestly, I think this week has been the slowest in the history of my life. On Tuesday I thought it was Friday...

I found this blog and she has many nice Christmas craft ideas. I think I will try some when I get home. Hint...hint...

Here is a wonderful video to get you in the Christmas spirit. Enjoy!



Copyright © 2009 by Natasha M.

Two Months!

Guess what?! Christmas is exactly two months from today! Whoo-hoo!



And I posted this picture because it's a great Christmas movie. If you haven't seen it, you definitely should. I try to watch it every year. Plus the little boy gets a nose warmer as a gift! (-:

Christmas

Christmas this year was different than in past years. My dad had to work the night before (from Christmas eve to Christmas morning), so we didn't open presents until about 4 pm. I came home the Saturday before Christmas and my sister came home on Dec 13th. Even though we had about 6 days, it felt like we didn't have enough time to get everything done. My mom waited until my sister and I were both home to put up decorations and make cookies, which I am really grateful for, but it was strange to have so little time in which to do everything. But, it was good to be together as a family, even though things have changed. Here are a few pictures from our Christmas this year.

Hannah is waiting for Christmas. She's ready!



Dressed up in reindeer antlers.



We made Christmas cookies to give away. We made at least three kinds, but sadly these are the only pictures I took of them.

We have a really good recipe for sugar cookies. They have just the right amount of sweetness without being too sweet. They're really good! My sister has a good glaze recipe that we used on top. And of course, we didn't forget the sprinkles.





This is the tree on Christmas morning. I love it with the lights, I think it's so beautiful.



Save the best for last...my beautiful sister just after opening her presents! (A little blurry, but still fun).

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with joy!!