It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

I love this time of year! I love the music, the decorations, the smells, and, of course, the food! I really love that everyone has their own traditions. So, I thought you may want to hear what Christmas looks like for us...


Thanksgiving weekend the lights are hung outside and decorations adorn the interior. This includes my beloved Willow Tree Nativity Set and the homemade stockings that I sewed for the 3 of us two years ago.

Nativity

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David's Stocking (yes, that is skull & crossbones fabric)

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Mommy's and Daddy's stockings

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The first or second weekend of December we get our tree. The fun part about this is not just the tree, but we go with my in-laws and we all get our trees together. It usually takes a day or two for the tree to get "dressed". The decorating of the tree includes a tablecloth turned tree skirt that was made by a great-great aunt on my father's side. I remember as a child the tablecloth on our dining room table during the holidays. It's made from wool felt and has hand stitched appliques and sequins all over it. I am also lucky enough to have ornaments from my late paternal grandmother that she used to hang on her Christmas tree.

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Once or twice before Christmas we drive around to look at lights. We, of course, go to Candy Cane Lane, but we also drive by the water tower, Klein's Electric, and we have a few streets near our house we cruise through. This long-standing tradition began with just Andrew and I when we were first married.

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My stepmom is an amazing cook and baker! Growing up I always loved her delicious Christmas creations. Every year she would bake butter spritz cookies and pizzelles (an Italian cookie that's similar to a waffle cone). While I am not talented nor patient enough to make pizzelles, I like to bake butter spritz cookies each Christmas. I make one batch in green shaped as Christmas trees and one as wreaths with little red sprinkles. They are delicious with a cup of hot tea!

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I own several Christmas movies on DVD and I love to torture my husband with viewings of the old school classics like Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and A Charlie Brown Christmas. My son prefers Elmo's Christmas Countdown and Barney's A Night Before Christmas.

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Well, there you have it. A Gross Family Christmas. It ain't Norman Rockwell, but it's also not the Griswolds. So, as I sit and type, I'm enjoying the tranquility of a warm fire crackling on my TV (thank you OnDemand!) and wishing you a Merry Christmas!