The Twelfth Joy of Christmas
and I think the most important to me. The celebration of the birth of the Christ. Whatever beliefs you hold and whatever it is that you celebrate it is my fervent wish that you would find peace, joy and love in this season.
Holly

The Eleventh Joy of Christmas
Christmas Cards
They are not only a great way to decorate during the season, but I always save them for fun, crafty projects and gift tags.
May you have joy in this season

Holly

The Tenth Joy of Christmas
Happy Surprises and Polish dinner.
So here is the story: I was waiting for my daughter to get out of school last Monday when my Brother-in-Law walks up to me (this is not an unusual occurace as his son and my daughter are in the same class) and says "Are you planning on doing the Polish Christmas Eve?" Utterly confused, as I have never done the Polish Christmas Eve dinner I reply "I wasn't planning on it, why?" "Well" he says "I bought all the stuff to do the Polish Christmas Eve dinner." "Oh in that case" I say excitedly, "sure we'll have the Polish Christmas Eve dinner."

When I was first married, we used to go to my husband's father's side of the family for Christmas eve. They are Catholic and go to Midnight Mass, so there is the whole evening for Christmas festivities. They always had a traditonal Polish Dinner called a Wigilia (although, ours was not meatless). There was kielbasa, pierogi, saurkraut, boiled potatoes, sledzia (creamed herring) with cream puffs for dessert. Before dinner you had Oplatek, which is a really thin wafer, you went and broke off peices of other people's wafer and wished them peace. It was so good and totally different from my traditions, as my heritage is not Polish, but rather German and generationally a lot further from the old country than my husband's family. After my husband's paternal grandmother died the dinners didn't happen any more. So you can understand my excitement when my Brother-in-Law (who, by the way, is Dutch in heritage) proposed having Wilgilia (and cooking to boot). This truly is an exepected Christmas Joy!
Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia! (Merry Christmas)
Holly

Post Script: If you would like to hear a really funny song about Polish food at Christmas get (or borrow from your local library) Veggietunes: A Very Veggie Christmas
Technorati tags: Christmas

The Ninth Joy of Christmas

Lights

Our family likes to drive around after service on Christmas eve and view all of the lights.

There are places that we could go and spend money to see lights

But I prefer to see how people are creative with their houses in the neighborhood.

Peace to you in this season.

Holly

Technorati tags: Christmas

The eighth joy of Christmas

Parties.

The food

The gift exchange

the fiber

Ok, ok, the only party that I really go to every year is my spinning guild, so there is holiday fiber shopping to be done. Oh joy!!
Holly

Technorati tags: Christmas

The Seventh Joy of Christmas
snow.

I like snow, especially if I don't have to drive anywhere. It is so much fun to go out with the daughter and make a snowman or snow angels or just tramp around the yard in our boots. The photo of the snowman with incredibly cute kid was from last winter. Unfortunately this year, with temps in the high forties, we haven't had much snow. Never fear, the Internet is here. At the website by Popular Front you can make your own snowflake and watch it fall from the sky. Really fun, really addictive and apparently charitable.
May you find joy in this season.
Holly

The sixth Joy of Christmas

Lebkuchen. Now, I know that this looks like more cookies, and I suppose that would be an accurate observation. For me, however, lebkuchen is so much more than just a cookie. My family lived in Germany for 3 of my formative years (aged 4-7). I have hazy memories of this time, as I suppose most people do. The taste of the lebkuchen, beyond being one of the best cookies on the planet, taste -wise, also brings back to me memories of Kristkindle markt in Nurnburg, trips to the local market in Karlsruhe with my dad, proper bratwurst, brotchen and orange Fanta like you cannot get in the United States and a whole host of other childhood memories. And that is why I buy lebkuchen every year at Christmas, because that is the only time of the year that you can find it. As for the cookie itself, often time in attempt to tell English speakers what is in the package manufacturers will put on the bag or box gingerbread. Let me put the record straight: lebkuchen is not gingerbread. It is a moist, warm tasting, cake or cookie, with just the slightest hint of citrus, often covered in chocolate. I will put in a tiny plug here: I buy my lebkuchen at Cost Plus World Market. It can be very hard to find and I am very, very lucky to have a place that is close that has a decent selection.

My you find joy in this season.

Holly

The fifth Joy of Christmas

Cookies.

I love cookies. I love making cookies. I love eating cookies. I love exchanging cookies (then getting to eat other people's cookies), I love giving cookies as gifts (especially to hungry teenagers who absolutely rave over home baked cookes). There is just something really, really good about cookies.

Here are two differnt kinds that I baked this weekend.

The macaroon Kisses cookies and the snickerdoodle

May the joy of christmas be with you.

Holly

The fourth Joy of Christmas
is stockings. I made all three.

This is also my eye candy. Just imagine sitting in front of the fireplace, so relaxing.

Holly

The Third Joy Of Christmas
is the holiday plants such Christmas cactus, poinsetta and, of course, holly. I love the botanical red and greens of the season.

My husband is amazing with plants. These Christmas Cati bloom every year. We got the little one with dark pink blossoms 2 years ago. It was just 3 leaves.
Joy to you in this season,
Holly

Technorati tags: Christmas

The Second Joy of Christmas

is angels. I've always loved angels, I'm don't really dwell on them, except maybe at Christmas. They are such a part of the Christmas story. First to Zarchariah, then to Mary, Joseph in the dream and finally the shepards. I have collected angel ornaments since I was a little girl. My mom gave me an ornament every year, saying that one day when I left home I would have some nice ornaments to hang on my own tree. What do you know, she was right. Here are three of my favorite ornaments.

Angels are also a part of new tradition that we have started in our family. We participate (through our church) in angel tree. We always get a girl about my daughter's age. This is to remind her (and us) how blessed we are, especially at this time of the year. This also gives me a great excuse to go shopping with my daughter, and spend time with her.

Joy to you in this season.

Holly
Technorati tags: Christmas

The first joy of Christmas
is the advent calendar. I've had one every year for as long as I can remember. Now the calendar is technically my daughter's but I still opening the little doors with her full of anticipation about what will be behind each one. Some years we buy them from the store, some years I make something. I saw some really neat sketches for advent calendars that Tasha Tudor did at an exhibit at the Henry Ford. Here is a picture of the one that we got this year. It is store bought with little chocolates in every door.
Joy to you in this Christmas season.
Holly

Technorati tags: Christmas

12 Joys of Christmas
Ok, I am trying to put up my Christmas Tree, I have been cleaning for what feels like a month on top of my already way too busy life. I am definitely feeling the song "the 12 pains of christmas", annoyed with everything from the tree to the cards to shopping and everything else associated with this holiday all the while snapping at my family and friends. Finally, I just dropped everything (litereally) in exasperation and sat down at the computer to take a mental break. While listening to some calming Christmas music I was reminded that this holiday is not about shopping and trees and cards but rather about peace, love and joy. So I am going to start the 12 joys of Christmas to remind me of those things that are really important at this time of year. I would invite you to do the same (take a button from the side bar). Do it once or twice or 12 days in a row, it doesn't matter, just find 12 things that makes Christmas special to you and share the joy.





Holly

Technorati tags: Christmas