Liz Flaherty's Blog, page 20

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree by Tanya Agler

Have you everwatched A Charlie Brown Christmas? Do you remember the scene whereCharlie Brown and Linus arrive at the Christmas tree lot and are greeted withthe sight of many types of trees from aluminum to real? Charlie Brown isperplexed until he finds the one: the tree that needs him.

Over fifty years later and Christmas trees still come in all shapes and sizes. My grandparents had an artificial tree, which I remember decorating with garland and lots of tinsel. My parents also favored an ...

Changing Traditions Bonnie Edwards

While we think that Christmas is full of traditions that never change, over the course of a lifetime, change is inevitable. Life is like that…the only constant in life is change.

When I was a child, Christmas meant a large family dinner that my mother slaved over. My older sisters helped with setting the table and clean up. My Dad and brothers were exempt from kitchen duty. (big surprise, right?)

Eventually, my much older siblings had other places to be on Christmas Day because they’d married and...

Memory with a Scent by Darlene Fredette

Christmas is my favourite holiday. I love the decorations, the Christmas music, the holiday spirit of love and kindness. During the holidays we tend to reflect on happy memories, the ones that bring a smile to your face or a tear to your eye. 
Some of my fondest Christmas memories are of my father. I remember dancing to Christmas music with him and he’d hold onto my hands while my feet were on top of his. My father played guitar and I can see him playing and singing Christmas songs. He wasn’t a f...

From the Land of Fire and Ice Margie Senechal

The Wilkinson Sisters, 1970Last year, on Window Over the Sink, I wrote about Iceland’s Jolabokaflod, more commonly known as Iceland’s book flood on Christmas Eve. Somewhere in there I mentioned the Yule Lads and readers wanted to know more about them. So, that’s what I’m giving you this time.

My dad was stationed on the Icelandic Naval Base when I was seven and we lived there for two and half years. I celebrated two Christmases there—probably my most memorable. While we lived on the base, we were...

Those Greens Won’t Hang Themselves by Donna Cronk

 

There are not four but five seasonsin my year. Nestled between the crisp Hoosier October and the icy winter chillof January is the holiday season.

    We’ve entered that annual period that is distinct from the other four. FromThanksgiving preparations on, there’s much to be done from parties to Christmasluncheons and gift exchanges with friends, relatives, and organizations we’reinvolved with.

    There are menus to plan, treats to make, Christmas plays andperformances to watch live ...

Snow - Magic or Havoc? by Darlene DeLuca

Snow. Snow is a four-letter word. And I’m not a fan. Tome, snow means cold and gray days. It means the hassle of wearing hats andgloves and coats and scarves. It means difficult driving conditions, caraccidents and shoveling injuries that can wreak havoc in lives.

But snow is often considered a magical part of Christmas—awhite Christmas conjures images of old-fashioned sleigh rides, frosty snowmen,and beautifully dusted pine trees.

Okay, I grant you that snow can be pretty. A snow-covered...

New Christmas Traditions by Suzanne Winslow

Like many people, I grew up with a lot of Christmas traditions that I passed on to my children when they were growing up. Traditions like baking cookies, cutting the Christmas tree, visiting Santa, and celebrating with family and friends on Christmas Eve. My husband and I were in our early twenties when we started our family of six, so we sort of transitioned from being kids to having kids, with little time in-between.
Now, our four kids range in age from twenty-seven to thirty-four. Two are sing...

Christmas is Hope by CurtissAnn Matlock

I still remember the telephone call from my editor. It was the late 1980s and a personal call from an editor from a New York City publishing house (landline phone, no cell phones yet) was an exciting event. For anyone, much less a newly published and insecure writer living far out in rural Oklahoma.
“Would you be interested in writing a Christmas novella for a new anthology?” she asked.
I said I would, and at the end of our brief conversation, I said, “Oh, thank you for this opportunity. I just ...

Christmas Surprises by Carol James

Christmas is a time of joyous surprises. In The Hope of Christmas, Kristin stumbles upon a surprise she never anticipated. Somethingthat might change her world forever.

And I can relate…

Surrounded by those I hoped would be part of my family one day, I saton the floor of my boyfriend’s parents’ house as he offered me a stack of fourwrapped Christmas gifts. “Open the red one last,” he said, “because it’ssomething you’ve already seen. We bought it together.”

It’s hard to surprise me. I’m generall...

Grandma's Slippers by Cathy Shouse

During the holidays when I think about gift-giving, I remember Grandma’s slippers. Grandma lived past 101. Until her last few years, she gave all the women and girls in the family hand knitted or crocheted slippers at Christmas every year.

Having such a long life, I was in awe of her anyway. But as I grew up, I continued to be inspired by how productive she was. One of my aunts has been posting Grandma’s diary entries on Facebook for our family. We are all amazed at what Grandma accomplished in h...