Making Special Holiday Traditions

 MAKING SPECIAL HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

🎄

Let me start by saying there is no such thing as having a perfect Christmas holiday. If you worry about making everything perfect, then expect to be burned out really fast. It is all about what works for you and your family at the time. Traditions are nice yet I find it interesting to change things up some every year or so.

Some of the holiday traditions my family chooses work for us most of the time. And sometimes, we make them up as we go. In other words, no one gets bent out of shape if some things change. Change is good.

The ideas that we work with are some that you and your family may have for your own... 

It is fun for some of us to make our own Christmas cards, bake Christmas cookies and make Gingerbread houses. And it can be fun to load up the car to see the Christmas lights or go to a Christmas Eve service.

 

On Christmas Eve, before we all gather for a Christmas movie to watch together (we all agree on one but many times it is The Polar Express) we enjoy a take out dinner from our favorite Chinese restaurant.

We can write a note to Santa and leave out him some cookies and of course, some reindeer food.

Then it is time to end the exciting fun-filled evening with a book to help us try to get some sleep on this special night.

We all wake up to the chatter of the children and find out what Santa surprised all of us with. Quite a long and fun drawn out affair. We actually take a little break to get our matching shirts on and have our special French Toast casserole that was made the night before and popped into the oven to cook, along with fresh croissants and fruit. YUM!

It always is a special day and no matter what is going on or NOT going on that is the usual tradition...it is just a wonderful family time.

This year we were breaking tradition a bit in that after this main event, four family members were headed to another set of grandparents for Christmas there. I was invited, however, I was also invited out with friends who have been celebrating Christmas at a movie and then out to dinner. I thought that this was a perfect time to try a new tradition. It worked for all. Even when the love of my life was celebrating Christmas with me, the two of us mixed things up at times. At times we had none of our children with us on the actual day, we changed things up and made reservations for a late afternoon lunch and thoroughly enjoyed the change. Attitudes...they matter. Go with the flow...

So my advice is to never discount the opportunities to make special holiday traditions of your own. It is a good thing!

THERE IS ALWAYS TIME FOR NEW BEGINNINGS

 THERE IS ALWAYS TIME FOR NEW BEGINNINGS

With Thanksgiving behind us now and Christmas and Hanukkah approaching quickly, not to mention the New Year, it is appropriate to think of new beginnings.

Every day should be a new beginning for us to 'forget yesterday, think about tomorrow but live in the present.' That is based on a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift That's why we call it The Present." I absolutely love that. 

Each day is a chance for a new beginning, and we should all be thankful for each day. Yet we also need to learn from our yesterdays and set goals for our tomorrows. We are all a part of our past. Some are good, some are great, and others are not. The important question is whether or not we learned from it. In my humble opinion, there is always time for gratitude and new beginnings.

This past Thanksgiving was a totally new beginning for me. And it was simply lovely. There have been Thanksgivings in the past that I have been the hostess for 15 or more people. And there have been times when it was just Steve and me. Sometimes we cooked and other times we tried making reservations at nice restaurants and loved it. It is all about making the best of each celebration. Find all the things to be grateful for - there are so many! This year my sweet daughter came up with the idea that we should host Thanksgiving. Her mother-in-law usually has all family celebrations at her home. They have a large fenced yard to accommodate 6 dogs. They can run and be free. We really don't have that outside space but we do have a perfect set-up inside to seat everyone. 

We also do not have a room with a big screen tv. Well, we do but it is where Craig sleeps and clothes are spread everywhere. Not a room to have the family in to watch tv. It is no longer "the Media Room." 

However, we did stay around the table and talk. Imagine? It was lovely to do that. Imagine this as a great new beginning. NO tv. In the summer, many go outside under umbrellas and swim when we go to Barbara and Jerry's home. Just not an option for Thanksgiving. And, I am not into sitting out in the heat unless I am in a pool on a float. 

So I was so very grateful that we could host Thanksgiving this year. It just worked out beautifully; even without a tv room. I am up for getting a tv. We even have talked about it. But until we can find someone who can hook up the wiring so no cords show, it is a big NO for me. And no one seems to have the get up and go to find someone. Until that happens, we will have our Reading Room. I so much enjoy it now with the fire going. 

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

~ Marcel Proust ~