Life is what you make it.
Last Christmas, my family decided to have a "white elephant" gift exchange. It wasn't about saving money, although we did save money. My siblings and I have simply grown less particular over the years. We have reached a point in our lives where we no longer need or desire a bunch of new "stuff." We… Continue reading Enjoying A White Elephant Christmas
No, I'm not celebrating Boxing Day or Kwanza. I've been planning for and celebrating Christmas since Black Friday. My daughter cooked a delicious Christmas dinner and we had a family gift exchange. Christmas is a big deal in our family. Like most families. But December 26 still remains my favorite holiday. Or really, it's the… Continue reading December 26th: My Favorite Holiday
I love Christmas movies and I have a collection of the ones I consider to be the best. I watch them every holiday season without fail. I'm always surprised when someone tells me that they've never seen a movie that I consider to be one of the ultimate Christmas classics. Nothing will ever replace these old favorites.… Continue reading Favorite Christmas Movies
One of the best things about growing up in the 60s and 70s was watching the holiday episodes of our favorite weekly TV shows. In the 1990s many of these episodes were replayed each year on "Nick at Night's" annual "Merrython" which aired each December. I recorded a lot of those old shows onto VHS tapes… Continue reading In Search of Classic Christmas TV
The best oatmeal cookie recipe isn't hard to find. It is printed on the lid of the Quaker oatmeal box. And it makes sense doesn't it? Who would spend more time testing oatmeal cookie recipes to find the very best one than an oatmeal company? This is the same recipe that my mother used to… Continue reading Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
I like to Christmas shop early in the season. I wait for the Christmas decorations to go up but like to be finished with my shopping list before the post Thanksgiving frenzy begins. It’s not that I don’t shop in December. But I find shopping in December to be a lot more fun if I… Continue reading Weekend in Columbus: Let the Holidays Begin!
Who doesn't get a little bit excited when they open the mailbox to find a handful of stiff, hand addressed envelopes in white, red, or holiday green? With mail from January to November being almost exclusively made up of machine generated bills and junk advertisements, finding a hand addressed envelope is rare. When December mail… Continue reading Bringing Back Tradition: the Christmas Card
Christmas commercialism getting you down? Once again, stores are filled with all manner of things that I don't need or have any interest in buying. There comes a point in life where acquiring "more stuff" just isn't important anymore.
