Month: December 2011

Weeks, perhaps even months, of planning is past.

Hours of shopping, wrapping and baking are history.

The candles have dripped. The baby has burped. The dog has rolled in the middle of it all.

What are the most dreaded words at your house?  “Batteries not included?”  “Some assembly required?”

What have you lost? I learned very quick to check and shake and check again the torn mound of gift wrap and ribbons that filled the living room. Tiny things – small cars, action figure accessories, decals waiting for application – they find a way to cling and hide and want to go out in the trash.

Enjoy the moment. Only once did we wonder if we were assembing a “toy box” or a “boy box”.  Only once did the dog allow a ribbon “hat”. And only once will this exact moment be yours.

Enjoy!    Give Thanks! 

Has the dust settled?

Have enough of the dedicated December shoppers tired to free up a space for me in the parking lot?

Off I go with a list in my purse and ideas in my head on an annual search for gifts that suit the receipent and my budget. So many things to consider:

Size matters if you’re going to ship it across country. Weight also, but not so much since the debut of flat-rate shipping boxes.

Color and taste – will it be a duplicate? Does she already have a red scarf? What if they went on a serious diet?

Don’t forget the accessories – paper, bows, tape, gift tags (I’ve lost more of these than I’ve used in my lifetime – where do they skip off to at the end of December?)

With my hands on the cart, my purse on my shoulder and eyes alert for traffic I move through the store. One by one items go from shelf and rack into my mobil platform. Wait at check-out. Complete transaction. Load into car. Drive to next store and repeat until finished.

Then I’m off to home, wrapping and a quick – or at least focused – trip to the post office before sitting back to relax and imagine the gifts under other trees while looking at the collection under my own.

Succesful shopping to all!!!

She’s making a list and checking it thrice.

No – this isn’t Santa checking to see how large a lump of coal a wayward child has earned.

This is Mrs. America completing her Christmas baking shopping list.

It helps to know which cookies you’ll be baking this year. And check the spice cabinet – in the middle of Gingerbread dough is a poor time to be out of ginger. Eggs, butter, sugar – brown and white and powdered – flour, soda, nutmeats….the list grows as recipes are consulted and cupboards opened.

Are we going to make fruit cake? Is it too late? What do you mean it’s a expensive doorstop. It’s delicious. My favorite was my mother’s, but I’ve managed a few that could compete. Find a good recipe with a balance of fruits and nuts with dough. Bake until done but not hard. Now comes the special part. When it it cool soak a clean cloth in sweet, dark wine and wrap it secure. Then pull out the aluminum foil and wrap it again.  Store in a cool place – an enclosed but not heated porch works well in temperate climates. Let age several weeks then slice, serve, and enjoy.

Do the children want to help with the cookies? They can stir, drop, roll, and decorate. How wild do you want them? Did a pan burn? When all is done the kitchen will need to be put to rights and the children into the bathtub. Give thanks they are washable!

Then settle back with several of your favorite kind – or one each of all of them – pour a beverage and enjoy to your selection of Christmas music

Joy!      Love!       Peace!      Fun!

Christmas is coming!

I’m so happy I could sing.

Should I try to compete with the bells? We have silver bells, jingle bells, caroling bells and deep toned church bells on Christmas Day.

Or a really quick elderly man in a red suit? We have Saint Nick on a housetop, dancing around a tree, checking the habits of children and flying through the air behind a small herd of reindeer – some plain, one red-nosed.

Is the weather a safe topic? We can walk in a winter wonderland, watch it snow, and slid across the field in a horse drawn sleigh.

While all of the above are fun and pleasant. Why, you can even learn to count to twelve if you’re not careful – I think I’ll sing another theme.

I’ll sing about a baby boy in a manager. A holy night. A silent night. And add a prayer for peace – within my heart and spilling over into the world.

Sing out!!!!

Christmas is coming!

Advent is here!

Advent, a time of preparation and anticipation, occupies the four weeks prior to Christmas on the calendar. It can be a time of reflection. A time of joy. A time to wait.

In ancient times, before Christianity reached Northern Europe, they had a custom of putting candles on a wreath or a wheel. Some say this symbolized the anticipation of sunlight to return and days to grow longer again.

The modern Advent Wreath really is only a century old. You find them in homes and churches with purple or blue candles – often with one pink or rose – and increasingly with a central white candle.

During each of the four Sundays of the Advent season an additional candle is lit – demonstrating the approach of Christmas.  Themes or names may be attached to them as aspects of the season to emphasize that week. Two of the most common series are:

Hope     Love        Joy       Peace

Prophecy     Bethlehem    Shepherds    Angels

So take a moment to light a candle, read a devotion, and ponder the Greatest Gift.