Greetings! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends!

We celebrated the day a week prior because my hubs had to go back out on the road and wouldn’t be home for Thanksgiving Day. He invited a buddy, one of his drivers, who was in town for that weekend. We had so much food. I sent a lot of it on with Hubs. We who remained home for the holiday had a quiet one. We ordered a small sandwich tray and a veggie tray from the grocery store and just chilled all day, watching Christmas movies. The tree was put up by Hubs before he left, and he put the lights on it. Last weekend, we added all the ornaments and some silver beads, making a lovely tree.

We stayed in for Black Friday. No need to be out among the madness and ugliness. We’re not really exchanging gifts this year. We’ve been traveling north to visit family for Christmas in the past, but last year I was so sick I had to remain in the hotel room the entire weekend. The year before that my youngest daughter was sick and also had to spend the weekend in the room. It’s a lot of money to spend for one of us to be unable to join in the festivities. We have to get multiple rooms for multiple nights, plus boarding the dogs, and this year, we have three to board. This year, my oldest daughter will have to work through most of the holiday season, except for Christmas Day, itself.

So, we’ll be staying home, having a quiet Christmas with just us. My step-son will be joining us for the New Year celebrations, so that will be nice.

There are some things I am thankful for that, even though the day has passed, I’d like to mention here. Of course, I’m thankful for my family, who is always there, even if far away. My Hubs and kids are around me and I know that some can’t say that. I’m thankful for the house that I live in, food on the table and clothes on my back. I’m thankful for my dogs and our health. I’m thankful for the love of God for me. All of these things are riches that make me a wealthy woman, and I’m thankful.

I look forward to Christmas. It really is my favorite holiday. Not for the presents, though. I look forward to the feeling of Christmas. It’s warm and cozy, full of love and good cheer, as it should be. Isn’t that what Charles Dickens taught us? By the way, I am re-reading A Christmas Carol. It’s my favorite Christmas story besides the original one: Christ’s birth.

I find myself growing more and more nostalgic as I get older. Recalling Christmases past, when I was young. I’ve even started following Vintage Christmases pages on Facebook. There was just something so innocent and simple about the holidays back in the late 50’s and through to the 80’s. I miss those times. I miss my mother and her sister, who made the holidays the most memorable. I miss the smells from Mom’s cooking. And when I was younger, Aunt Ro filled her house with the smell of pumpkin pie, apple pie, lemon bars, fudge, turkey, glazed ham and all the trimmings. Christmas Eves were spent there while Christmas Day they all came to our house. It was always too hot and stuffy because there were so many of us, but it was homey. We laughed a lot and ate a lot more than we should. Yes, there were mountains of presents, but I remember most the family. I can’t tell you a favorite Christmas present that I received but I could tell you conversations that were had, games that were played and jokes and memories that were shared.

I hope someday that my own kids can look back and recall some sweet memories from their youth. I hope they pass those memories along to their own kids. But for now, here’s to making new memories in the years to come.

What are your favorite memories from the holidays? Care to share in the comments?