Taking the magic out of Christmas ... and bringing it back. Part 19.

"At Christmas, play and make good cheer, 

for Christmas comes but once a year."

~Thomas Tusser

Part 19 is dedicated to singing and dancing. I LOVE dancing, almost as much as I love singing! Neither of which I do very well. LOL BUT, it doesn't stop me from enjoying myself. 

Yesterday, while picking up all of the food for Christmas dinner, Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree came on in the grocery store and Laurana was singing it, so I started singing it with her and then I started dancing.  She was laughing so hard, then she kept trying to spin me.  So there we were, dancing in the dairy section of the grocery store.  It was a good time.  I didn't even care if people thought I was going absolutely insane.  It's a memory that we will have for many years, and who knows, maybe it even put a smile on someone's face. 

One of my bucket list items is to take ball room dancing lessons, one day, I'll do it.  I took singing lessons, a few years back, I'm not sure it really helped any, but I had fun and it made me appreciate singing even more. Next month, I hoping to take a few Scottish dance lessons before attending the highly regarded Burns Supper.

Singing and dancing fill the heart with joy, take time today to dance and sing, even if it's in the middle of the dairy section! ;) 

 Peace, Love and Light,

Christine
http://www.lifetimememorieswny.com

Taking the magic out of Christmas ... and bringing it back. Part 1.

"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 then just Santa Claus and gifts.  I encourage my children to believe in the spirit of a man who gave to those in need, and instill what the real meaning of Christmas is.  

A real tree fills our home with the scents of the season and for the past 5 years I have cooked Christmas dinner, each year making a new traditional Scottish cuisine dish. We have turkey, ham and duck, stuffing, mashed potatoes (usually lumpy - I try, what can I say LOL), 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 a tradition of buying a new ornament each year, we pick it out together and she hangs it on the tree each year.  I started this with my youngest, Laurana, last year.   Christmas has never been about the amount of gifts under the tree or the money spent on them.  I have always tried to instill that Christmas is about sharing a special day and celebrating with family.

I feel that I lost a lot of my Christmas spirit over the past few years, without boring you with the fine details, let's just say I feel it was due to a period of needing to re-create myself.  I lost my way because I was so wrapped up in someone else's pain that I barely enjoyed my favorite time of year.  I felt very alone and without much love in my situation which is what took the magic out Christmas for me.  This year, however, I feel soooo different!!!!  I have that giddy, little girl feeling back again and I am in love with the feeling!!!! 

This upcoming weekend, I am fulfilling two bucket list items, to see the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center all lit up and to see a Broadway show, so what better show to see then my all time favorite Christmas Classic, "A Christmas Story"!!!!!  I simply cannot explain how excited I am to go to NYC and enjoy and experience this magical place during the Christmas season!!!!

Next week, I will be preparing my home to put up a tree and decorate it and for the first time ever, I am going to decorate the outside of my home as well.  So, what brought the magic of Christmas back to me, you might be asking?  There are many things that have helped with this, keep an eye out for new posts as I unveil what re-sparked my Christmas fire.

Peace, Love and Light, 

Christine

http://www.lifetimememorieswny.com