The Christmas Season

[TreasureDigger]

The holiday season is upon us and I want to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas! I haven't been around very much on the forum for the past few months for various reasons but I AM still here. I was once accused of making "drive by posts" during the times that I wasn't posting on a regular basis - so I guess this is a drive by post.

I would be interested in reading about the traditions your family shares during this season. As well as any plans you might have to help the needy or volunteer in any way, Do you have a special gift you are looking forward to blessing someone with? Or, are you hoping to be blessed with a particularly special gift yourself? Maybe you and your family do not "do Christmas" at all and do not exchange gifts or get together for a meal or anything. Do you have pictures of your tree you'd like to share? Whatever it might be, I would enjoy reading your Christmas plans, stories, traditions, etc., and seeing any pictures you would like to share. We all know the "Reason for the Season" is the birth of Jesus and that should be our main focus during this time, but is there something about this time of year that makes it even more special to you? Maybe your own child was born... you got married during this time... something very special happened to you or your family during the Christmas season?

I hope all of you will contribute to the thread. I believe we would all be blessed, entertained and/or amused.

Lisa

 

[Mike from MI "Iron Brigade"]

First let me say a very blessed CHRISTmas to you too Lisa, and you can drive by anytime and make a post here!
One tradition that I found many years ago when my wife. We would all get together at her aunt and uncles house for a family Christmas get together. Uncle "Jerry Mather " ( Not the Beaver ) He would always read the Christmas story from the Bible before we would open gifts. That stuck with me, and every years since I read the same story to my family even though 3 of the 4 kids are now adults.
As for the giving spirit, my niece shared with us a family that was in need this year so we bought some new clothes for the two young children, We do Angel Tree every year, donate to the food pantry, and I am working on getting a new detector and digging stuff for a not so healthy lad who really wants one.
I am blessed as all the kids will be here Christmas day.
But on a sad note, this will be my first Christmas without my mom. :sad:
Great post Lisa, I hope everyone else shares too. Here are some of this years Christmas decorations.
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[TreasureDigger]

OK, Mike! You first! Glad you got ahead of the rush we're having here with people fighting to get their posts up for us to read! lol

Nice tree & decorations! Looks like Grace has her own little tree. I believe that reading the Christmas story is an awesome thing to do. We have done that many times. It's really nice that you and your family are helping those in need. I think you know that helping & volunteering in order to bless and serve those in need (even animals at the animal shelters) is something I truly believe in and try to stay involved with. I know how you feel about this being the first Christmas without your mom. You may remember that my daddy passed away last year a few days before Thanksgiving and I went through my fist holiday season without him. I will be praying for you and your family during this time.

I hope you have the best Christmas - EVER, Mike!

Lisa

 

[SeniorSeeker]

[size=large]Merry Christmas To You, Lisa[/size]

And may our loving heavenly Father bless you and yours this holiday season and throughout the coming year.

Martin

 

[Sandtick]

Our Christmas this year will be very low-key.
Usually we drive out to Detroit and spend a few days with mine and my wife's family. It can get very stressful, so this year we had my parents up for Thanksgiving and my wife's mom and stepdad will visit for Christmas. Then in January we will meet up with my wife's dad and his family for the Detroit Auto Show.

For the first time ever we are sending out care packages to a military group up in Greenland. It was fun filling up an empty box with a bunch of product for these men and women.

We will also attend our Church's Christmas Eve service. They offer four services, two with acoustical worship music and two with a heavier full band style worship. We decided to go to the louder, heavier service.

I pray that everyone here will have a fantastic Christmas!

 

[warthog]

...When I was a little boy growing up in Troy,here in Michigan; we had a cat that took great pleasure in climbing up our Christmas tree....Get a little over 1/2 way up,CRASH!!,down came the tree,the cat riding it all the way to the floor-he would come running into the living room(the tree was always set up in the dining room),ears flat back,eyes as big as dinner plates-and my Dad would threaten loudly to "get rid of that #$%^ cat"...In recent past years,when I was married;we had at least 3 dogs that would line up and take turns drinking out of the tree stand-I guess they thought it was their own personal drinking fountain....

 

[4EverHis102399]

Love your drive-by posts, Lisa! I am much the same, but it's not that I don't care, I just stay really, really busy I love Christmas and for me, it's all about being surrounded by family and friends. I love decorations that bring back sweet memories....I am a total sap. This year, we got rid of our 12 year old Christmas tree that we've always used in the great room. It was a beautiful Martha Stewart tree we got on clearance after our first Christmas. It was getting old and I knew we needed to replace it, but I had such a hard time parting with it. Finally located one that was okay, but it's just not the same. Like everyone else, we have many traditions. I always have a candy making day (or two), we shop for Angel tree kiddos (this year we had seven!). On Christmas Eve, we go to my parents house. Unfortunately, the focus is mainly on gifts, but the next morning, we have a big country breakfast with Travis's dad and step-mom...we eat til we are stuffed. The menu is always the same: country ham, bacon, sausage, cream biscuits and gravy, hashbrowns and coffee and orange juice. We then open presents together and have a great time. Christmas afternoon is spent at my 93 yr old granny's house. There, the Christmas story is always read. One particular uncle has always read the story (he is a very wonderful, godly man), but last year, the duty was passed onto Travis by my grandmother. In my family, this is a huge, huge thing. There were many others that could have read the story and when granny asked Travis to read, I cried. There was a hushed silence over the room of 30 or so people. Traditions continue to be passed down. It's just such a special time of year. I will include a few pics of our decorations at home for y'all. Let's keep this thread going! Lisa, you had better post some pics, too!

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I love my miniature Christmas village! The village sets atop my deceased mammaw's china cabinet that hold Travis's moms china. Above the cabinet hangs my papaw's old cane that he used for years and years until he passed away. Family heirlooms are so fun to decorate.

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I took a pic of these ornaments because they are two of my favs. The icicle is very old and used to hang on Travis's moms tree for many years. We received a lot of her decorations after she passed away. The incredible Hulk is cute....Travis used to pretend he was the Hulk all the time when he was little!

 

[4EverHis102399]

Love the pics, Mike! Glad you were the first to post and set the tone for the rest of us!

 

[4EverHis102399]

Sandtick, when I was growing up, we always went to a Christmas Eve service at church. It would start at 11 and end at midnight. The children would wear pajamas and it was magical for me. Hope you are blessed by the service and have a wonderful, low-key Christmas!

 

[TreasureDigger]

Thanks, and the same to you, Martin.

Lisa

 

[TreasureDigger]

LOL Steve, that's funny! There's just something about cats and Christmas trees! My cat, Sadie, will not leave our tree alone. Every year she gets in it, bites and pulls at it, and drags the Christmas tree skirt all over the house. She gets under the skirt and walks it around and will often get a running go and jump on it so that it slides around on our wood floors. It is very entertaining to watch her do this every year. My daughter has two cats that live inside at her house and one of her cats doesn't bother her tree too much but the other one climbs up in it, turns it over, and pulls ornaments off of her tree all the time!

Lisa

 

[TreasureDigger]

Liz, I love your tree and your pics! As for me, I'm not even home to take pics right now. I am in Gatlinburg, TN. with my aunt. We are going home tomorrow, I will work 2 days and then come back up here for a few more days with Tim. I have vacation time that I am taking. Your family sounds much like mine. Imagine the two of us having something in common! ;-) Sometimes I think we were raised by the same parents and just didn't know it! BTW, where did you find your tree? I LIKE IT!

Lisa

 

[Mike Chgo area]

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