I love Christmas. LOVE it! It’s sort of ironic, really: the Christmas season takes place just when the weather is getting colder and the nights have grown oppressively long—two of my least favorite things. But the merriment, twinkling lights, evergreen boughs, and joyous carols more than make up for December’s shortcomings. It’s a stressful season, and… Continue Reading
Christmas is just three weeks from today; let the countdown begin! (<– For those of us celebrating Advent, the official countdown began a few days ago!) Anybody out there still have Christmas shopping to do? If so, I have one final gift guide for you! I’m a little ahead of my usual schedule this year… Continue Reading
Happy Black Friday! Are you ready to dive into the “official” Holiday season?! I know that many people have been in full-on celebration mode for weeks now, but I have a hard time feeling Christmassy until after Thanksgiving. Now that I’ve spent the appropriate amount of time giving thanks, I’m ready to break out the… Continue Reading
{{Taking a break today from my Gift Guide Extravaganza for some seasonal reflection. Gift Guide posting will resume on Black Friday!}} It’s that wonderful time of year when gratitude is in the air. Saying “thank you” is promoted from Casual Nicety to the Main Event, and we work to cultivate an “attitude of gratitude” like… Continue Reading
Happy Monday, my friends! As promised, I am back today with Part Two of this year’s family gift inspiration. On Friday I shared my gift ideas for the ladies, and today I’ve got gift ideas for the men you are shopping for this Christmas. I don’t know about you, but I find guys incredibly hard… Continue Reading
I always think it’s fun to hear how other families handle holiday gift giving. Some go all out, buying and giving as many gifts as possible; some give just one gift per individual, or do a name exchange with each family member buying for one other person; lately it seems like more and more families… Continue Reading
I blinked and somehow it’s already the middle of November, which—if all of the local stores, and radio stations, and even some of the homes in my neighborhood, are to be believed—means that Christmas will be here and gone before we know it. (Is it just me, or does this seem to be happening earlier… Continue Reading
Happy (early) Independence Day! If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know that I love recognizing holidays with fun “celebration posts.” In the past we’ve celebrated Independence Day with a Fourth of July trivia post and also a Seasonal Seven: Countdown to Independence Day. So today we’re celebrating the upcoming holiday a little differently with some… Continue Reading
Is it just me, or is Father’s Day in need of a little TLC? Maybe even a complete image overhaul! Nominally, it’s the Dad equivalent to Mother’s Day, but while we’re all fully on board with celebrating Mom, the dads out there seem to be getting the short end of the stick. Mom gets breakfast… Continue Reading
I’m always surprised by the understated nature of Easter: Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, and even St. Patrick’s Day get a lot of air time, but Easter—the single most important holiday within the Christian tradition—tends to stay under the radar. I suppose it’s because Easter has maintained its religious connections that it hasn’t become overly commercialized.… Continue Reading