Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
With Wondering Awe
With wondering awe the wise men sawThe star in heaven springing,
And with delight, in peaceful night,
They heard the angel singing:
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
By light of star they traveled far
To seek the lowly manger,
A humble bed wherein was laid
The wondrous little Stranger.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
And still is found, the world around,
The old and hallowed story,
And still is sung in every tongue
The angels' song of glory:
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
The heavenly star its rays afar
On every land is throwing,
And shall not cease till holy peace
In all the earth is growing.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
And with delight, in peaceful night,
They heard the angel singing:
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
By light of star they traveled far
To seek the lowly manger,
A humble bed wherein was laid
The wondrous little Stranger.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
And still is found, the world around,
The old and hallowed story,
And still is sung in every tongue
The angels' song of glory:
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
The heavenly star its rays afar
On every land is throwing,
And shall not cease till holy peace
In all the earth is growing.
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to His name!
~Laudis Corona, Boston, 1885
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
A Little Christmas Wrapping
One of our favorite family traditions is wrapping the presents together. We like to turn on a Christmas movie or music and get to it. This year we watched a family favorite, 'The Grinch who Stole Christmas.' 
It gets tricky when we trying to keep the receivers from seeing the gifts, but that makes for a lot of excitement, too. Or, at least, for those of us who are old enough...
Here is Stephie wrapping a special surprise.
Maddy adds a label.
Lilly holds a finished product, for Nicky-- what could it be? Lilly said it looks like a big Tootsie Roll!
And Nicky, waiting until his present is wrapped. You see, he couldn't be trusted not to look, so we had to go behind closed doors to wrap his. Yes, there were many tears.
It gets tricky when we trying to keep the receivers from seeing the gifts, but that makes for a lot of excitement, too. Or, at least, for those of us who are old enough...
Here is Stephie wrapping a special surprise.
Maddy adds a label.
Lilly holds a finished product, for Nicky-- what could it be? Lilly said it looks like a big Tootsie Roll!
And Nicky, waiting until his present is wrapped. You see, he couldn't be trusted not to look, so we had to go behind closed doors to wrap his. Yes, there were many tears.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Christmas Memories
As I shop, wrap, bake, clean and fret over the things of the holidays, I have been reflecting on Christmases past, and what made them so special. 
I think that my fondest memories were of running out on Christmas morning with my baby brother Greg to see the treasures left out by Santa. We were allowed to play with what was out and have the yummies from our stocking. We usually ran our stockings back to our mom's bed and dumped them out and oohhed and aahhed over it all.
I remember shopping for Christmas gifts with my little brother Greg. We went downtown on the bus together. I remember going from store to store to pick out something for my mom. We decided to pool our money and get a gift of a set of two little statues of a boy and a girl.
On one of our leanest Christmases, my brother A.J. was just a couple of months old. Mom and I and A.J. were cozy in our apartment, it was freezing cold outside. We went carolling with the missionaries, and had them over for Christmas Eve festivities. We only had a few gifts, but it was one of my most memorable Christmases.
I remember that even when we didn't have any money,we went downtown and each of us picked out a new ornament for our tree. It was such a fun memory; we went to so many stores. It was a lovely Christmas, even though the gifts were sparse, and to this day my mom still hangs up her cuckoo clock ornament on the tree (usually hidden because it no longer matches) and we remember that year.
I always remember Christmas Eve the most. My mom always made delicious scottish shortbread cookies. We had yummy egg nog. In later years we began having our Chrismtas Dinner on Christmas Eve. It was great because we would then stretch out that fun day, starting at about 3:00 in the afternoon, and ending with cookies and egg nog. (Another perk is that you can enjoy Christmas morning without having to cook, and you have delicious leftovers to nibble, or just have a yummy brunch and snug in and play all day long!)
My favorite gift that I remember receiving was the Dancerella Doll from my mom and dad. You would pump the knob on her tiara and she would kick her leg and spin.
I still remember the song from the commercial:
Dancerella, Dancerella, dancing ballet,
You can make her spin when violins begin to play,
Back kicks and front kicks, twirling on her toes,
Whirling away to a dance you compose,
Dancerella, Dancerella bows and then,
You can make her dance again!
What are your favorite Christmas Memories?
I think that my fondest memories were of running out on Christmas morning with my baby brother Greg to see the treasures left out by Santa. We were allowed to play with what was out and have the yummies from our stocking. We usually ran our stockings back to our mom's bed and dumped them out and oohhed and aahhed over it all.
I remember shopping for Christmas gifts with my little brother Greg. We went downtown on the bus together. I remember going from store to store to pick out something for my mom. We decided to pool our money and get a gift of a set of two little statues of a boy and a girl.
On one of our leanest Christmases, my brother A.J. was just a couple of months old. Mom and I and A.J. were cozy in our apartment, it was freezing cold outside. We went carolling with the missionaries, and had them over for Christmas Eve festivities. We only had a few gifts, but it was one of my most memorable Christmases.
I remember that even when we didn't have any money,we went downtown and each of us picked out a new ornament for our tree. It was such a fun memory; we went to so many stores. It was a lovely Christmas, even though the gifts were sparse, and to this day my mom still hangs up her cuckoo clock ornament on the tree (usually hidden because it no longer matches) and we remember that year.
I always remember Christmas Eve the most. My mom always made delicious scottish shortbread cookies. We had yummy egg nog. In later years we began having our Chrismtas Dinner on Christmas Eve. It was great because we would then stretch out that fun day, starting at about 3:00 in the afternoon, and ending with cookies and egg nog. (Another perk is that you can enjoy Christmas morning without having to cook, and you have delicious leftovers to nibble, or just have a yummy brunch and snug in and play all day long!)
My favorite gift that I remember receiving was the Dancerella Doll from my mom and dad. You would pump the knob on her tiara and she would kick her leg and spin.
I still remember the song from the commercial:
Dancerella, Dancerella, dancing ballet,
You can make her spin when violins begin to play,
Back kicks and front kicks, twirling on her toes,
Whirling away to a dance you compose,
Dancerella, Dancerella bows and then,
You can make her dance again!
What are your favorite Christmas Memories?
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Reindeer Cookies
Here is one of our favorite family baking traditions. The reindeer cookie.
They are lots of fun to make, they look adorable and even the little ones can do it- with some slight variations to the theme, of course.
First you start with your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe.
Gather a few simple decorative toppings: tiny twist pretzels, chocolate chips and holiday M&Ms.
Roll dough into balls and then press flat as a usual PB cookie.
Then pinch slightly to create the 'reindeer' head shape.
Add a tiny twist pretzel for his antlers,
and chocolate chips for the eyes,
and finally an M&M for the nose!
Piece of cake! Well, cookie, actually.
Bake as called for in your PB recipe, but watch for the cracking of M&Ms-- may be a couple of minutes less.
Enjoy!
**special thanks to my hand-model, Maddy
They are lots of fun to make, they look adorable and even the little ones can do it- with some slight variations to the theme, of course.
First you start with your favorite peanut butter cookie recipe.
Gather a few simple decorative toppings: tiny twist pretzels, chocolate chips and holiday M&Ms.
Roll dough into balls and then press flat as a usual PB cookie.
Then pinch slightly to create the 'reindeer' head shape.
Add a tiny twist pretzel for his antlers,
and chocolate chips for the eyes,
and finally an M&M for the nose!
Piece of cake! Well, cookie, actually.
Bake as called for in your PB recipe, but watch for the cracking of M&Ms-- may be a couple of minutes less.
Enjoy!
**special thanks to my hand-model, Maddy
Monday, December 10, 2007
Come Ye to Bethlehem Towne
Our Ward Christmas party was truly one to remember. It was probably the best one that I have been to. It was such a neat experience and totally brought the Spirit of Christmas to our family.
We did and Evening in Bethlehem. All were required to be dressed in period costume. It was really fun seeing everyone's interpretations.
and we had to 'be counted and taxed,' which meant that we brought canned goods for a food drive, and we also had to sign in at the census table.
After which we were given 'shekels' to spend in the Bethlehem Marketplace.
We could buy delicious foods: Chicken on pita, fruits, nuts, olives, vegetables, and baklava.
or we could spend it at the well (for our water) -- Maddy was one of the 'water girls.' Other young women ran the game booths or performed.
We could also spend our shekels to play games. There was a 'render unto Caesar' coin toss, and 'Pin the Tail on the Camel.'
The evening ended with a dramatization of the Christmas Story from the scriptures. John and I were asked to play Joseph and Mary. It was a neat experience for us, even though I was extraordinarily nervous!
The Bishopric were the Three Wise Men, some of the young women were angels, some of the young men were shepherds, and our Young Men's President was the best centurion ever! Rochelle has some great pictures of this activity.
All in all, a fun and special time was had by all.
Merry Christmas!
We did and Evening in Bethlehem. All were required to be dressed in period costume. It was really fun seeing everyone's interpretations.
and we had to 'be counted and taxed,' which meant that we brought canned goods for a food drive, and we also had to sign in at the census table.
After which we were given 'shekels' to spend in the Bethlehem Marketplace.
We could buy delicious foods: Chicken on pita, fruits, nuts, olives, vegetables, and baklava.
or we could spend it at the well (for our water) -- Maddy was one of the 'water girls.' Other young women ran the game booths or performed.
We could also spend our shekels to play games. There was a 'render unto Caesar' coin toss, and 'Pin the Tail on the Camel.'
The evening ended with a dramatization of the Christmas Story from the scriptures. John and I were asked to play Joseph and Mary. It was a neat experience for us, even though I was extraordinarily nervous!
The Bishopric were the Three Wise Men, some of the young women were angels, some of the young men were shepherds, and our Young Men's President was the best centurion ever! Rochelle has some great pictures of this activity.
All in all, a fun and special time was had by all.
Merry Christmas!
Monday, November 5, 2007
Who Stole Thanksgiving??
For many years I have seen Christmas decorations popping up in stores in August. There they would be, decking it out at the back of the store, and if you had a hankering for holly you could wander back there and get a jump on your holiday decor list.
Has anyone noticed that things have changed in the past couple of years?
I drove out of my neighborhood the morning after Hallowe'en and there were wreaths and garlands on the main entryways to the entire neighborhood! November 1st! That's 55 days before Christmas! Last year I remember that the garland looked haggard and the lights were hanging off of the trees by Christmastime. Not exactly a pretty picture.
Now, you may think that I am being Bah-Humbug!, but you would be wrong. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! It is my favorite holiday. I look forward to it each and every year. I just feel that if we rush into it and Christmas ourselves to death for 2 months, that it cheapens it.
The other thing that bothers me is that Thanksgiving has been hijacked!
In Canada, Thanksgiving is in October. It is in no way related to Christmas. But, when I was in college in Idaho (Go Ricks!) I went home for Thanksgiving with my friends. I had a totally amazing experience. We turkeyed ourselves into oblivion (I discovered sweet potatoes with marshmallows-- YUM!! --but I digress). We had that old-fashioned Thanksgiving that I always used to see on the coffee commercials. Then, the most marvellous thing happened...
The next morning, the Chrismas Season was officially opened with Christmas Decorating, Christmas Shopping, and Christmas Music. It was Glorious. I fell in love. Ever since then, I have loved having the Opening of the Christmas Season linked to the Thankfulness of Thanksgiving.
Here's to Thanksgiving!
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