I’m currently in holiday mode, which means All Christmas, All the Time. Everything else has become an ‘in-between’. Bill paying is in-between decorating the house. Chores are in-between gift-wrapping and last minute sewing, and writing is in-between baking thumb prints, cut-out cookies, and cranberry orange bread.
And all the while I have either Christmas music or holiday movies playing in the background. So, if you’re sick of hearing Andy Williams singing, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, or Bing Crosby’s version of Silver Bells, you might not want to hang out here , and if you don’t know who Andy Williams and BingCrosby are, come over for cookies, hot cocoa and some classic holiday sounds.
Our boys are grown and on their own, so we’re no longer cuddling up with warm cookies and a stack of Christmas books and reading them together. No Christmas story from my favorite Bible Storybook. No The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein. No Christmas in The Big Woods by Laura Ingles Wilder. It made me a little sad that I wouldn’t be sharing all of those special stories with my children.
As I fingered a tattered copy of Dr. Seuss’s, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I realized that just because I might not have a child on my lap (or three) that it didn’t mean that I couldn’t share these stories with other kids. So, I decided that this year when I donate toys to our local Sheriff’s Department, I’m also going to donate brand new copies of some of our favorite books. I hope that reading them will become a holiday tradition for someone else. Something that they can do together in-between all of the bill paying, chores and other things that have to be done.
What are your favorite holiday books, classic or new? Children’s books or adult? We all need something that brings back the wonder and the magic of this special season. So put on some Christmas music (here’s a link to Billboards Holiday 100 to get you started), put some cookies on a plate and curl up with a good holiday book. And don’t forget to tell us what you’re reading!
Oh, and the photo is Hunky Hubby in his holiday finery!
Happy Holidays everyone, see you next year!
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Hi Tari, Love that you’ll donate your favorite books to the Sheriff’s Dept. I bet they wind up reading them too. One of my favorite holiday reads is, The Bishop’s Wife by Robert Nathan. It’s the story they turned into the movie of the same name with Cary Grant and David Niven; modern version is The Preacher’s Wife with Whitney Houston. But the original story is unique and lovely. And a favorite song is Guardian Angel, sung by Mario Lanza. Trivia: the song was written by none other than Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers comedy team. He also accompanies Lanza on the harp. Ok. Back to my own good book, carols and cookies!