Holidays In Hand

Hello again!

I thought I would share what I am doing online. I am taking a free class at www.jessicasprague.com. We are doing a special holiday scrapbook album, either digital or hybrid. We are asked to look at our values for Christmas - What makes the Christmas holidays special? What traditions do we have or would like to start? What values do you hope to instil in your family?

She started us out by asking us to list some words that we could use to describe the holiday. Here are my words: family, being together, laughter, joy, lights on the tree, lights on houses, sharing, giving, receiving, celebrating, and friendship.

My number one goal for the holiday time: spend time together with my family. This will be hard as I still have a son and daughter-in-law who are living in Hawai'i. They have been married for almost nine years and are expecting their first child, which is supposed to be a boy (so the ultrasound says). I guess the phone will have to keep us close.

I love the tree decorated with ornaments, lights, and tinsel. I love driving around looking at all the beautiful decorations on other people's houses. We have already begun stringing lights outside on our porch. I love the music playing, setting the stage.

My family has celebrated Christmas by opening the presents under the tree on Christmas day and then waiting around for the Christmas dinner in the late afternoon/early evening. Sometimes we go to a movie before dinner.

When my mother died and my father remarried a lovely lady of the Jewish faith, we had Chanukah, or Hanukkah, in the family room and Christmas in the living room. It was fun to light the menorah and then open a present, knowing we also had to wait for Christmas day to open all the other presents. I wish we had continued both traditions, to give more than one view of the celebrations of this time of year.

Well, I think I will have to post this and get on with the real world.