A journey from here to there ... and how I'm getting there

"You see, Mrs. Walker, this is quite an opportunity  for me. For the past 50 years or so I've been getting  more and more worried about Christmas. Seems we're  all so busy trying to beat the other fellow in making things go faster and look shinier and cost less that Christmas  and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle." ~Kris Kringle (Miracle on 34th Street) Part 9 is dedicated to making new traditions.  When I was a kid, I use to think Christmas would remain the same, see  Part 2  of this series to read about what Christmas was like when I was young.  Then, all of a sudden, it wasn't. Something changed.  I don't think I can really pinpoint the year it changed, but there came a point in time when Gram stopped making dinner, the family stopped coming over and spending the day and it was just ... different.  Everything changed ... but didn't.  Then we grew up, grew apart, and now, if we see each other on the holiday...

"Deck the harrs with boughs of horry,  fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra" ~Waiters at the Chinese Restaurant in A Christmas Story Part 5 is dedicated to the songs of the season.  I LOVE Christmas music!!!!!!  My absolute all-time favorite Christmas song is " Baby, It's Cold Outside " followed closely by " All I Want For Christmas Is You ". "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is a lovely account of a winter romance and has been my favorite since I heard it many years ago!  And I can't even tell you how many times I've lost my copy of Mariah Carey's Christmas songs, but I'm pretty sure I'm up to 3 or 4 times.  I finally bought a digital copy of it in 2011, because I, yet again, lost my hard copy.  Ever since I heard "All I Want For Christmas Is You," I have LOVED that song!!! They both make me fall in love with being in love every time I hear them!  Every year I have my radio station tuned to the one that ...

"Oooh fuuudge!" "Only I didn't say "Fudge." I said THE word,  the big one, the queen-mother of dirty  words, the 'F-dash-dash-dash' word!"   ~ Ralphie My oldest making Christmas Cookies in 2003 It's no secret that I am a Christmas fanatic!!!  I love everything about the Christmas season, snow included.  Christmas in our house is so much more than just Santa Claus and gifts.  I encourage my children to believe in the spirit of a man who gave to those in need and instills what the real meaning of Christmas is.   A real tree fills our home with the scents of the season and since 2007 I have hosted Christmas dinner at my house, each year making a new traditional Scottish cuisine dish. We have ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries, the whole kit, and caboodle.  It may seem like a lavish meal fit for a king, but it's just one meal shared at my table among family.  Since my divorce, my oldest daughter, Caitlin, and I have shared...