Holiday Traditions by J. S. Marlo

 

 

Red in the Snow

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Deep Beneath the Surface

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When I googled "Holiday Traditions", this is what popped up: 

Decorating Christmas tree - I used to do it with my children, now I have to wait until my granddaughter has a free weekend to put it out because decorating grand-maman's tree is an integral part of her Christmas tradition.

Exchange gifts - We do that, but it can happen anywhere between Dec 24 - Jan 1, and nowadays, it's rarely on Dec 25.

Sending cards - I still send a few, but we mostly exchange text messages and emails.

Cookie decorating - We tried a few times, but the cookies weren't great, so... Santa gets a 'store' cookie with his glass of milk.

Make reindeer food - I never made food for Santa's reindeer, but I made tracks in the snow.

Music & Carols - I play Christmas music all day long. That counts, right?

Tracking Santa - The grandchildren love that one. To access the Norad tracking site, click here

Ice Skating - We have two grandchildren who are learning to skate this year, so we may end up on the ice, but we're more likely to sit on a cold bench and watch fun hockey games.

Elf on the Shelf - No Elf moving around the house, but I have two Gnomes who sit in the windows, unless my grandson is playing with them LOL 

Go for a Christmas lightwalk - We started that before we even had children, let alone grandchildren, though we sometimes drive around instead of walking when the temperatures are too frigid.

Mail letters to Santa - My children did and my grandchildren are doing it. To get Santa's answer by Christmas, the letter should be mailed by Dec 8. That's today! So get your pen and paper out! For more info, click here

Shop at Christmas Markets - I love Christmas Markets. The ambiance is fantastic, you can find very unique and original gifts, and you get to shop local.

Late Game nights - Playing games and making puzzles (while listening to Christmas music) is a big hit.

Advent calendars - Chocolate calendar, Escape room calendar, Puzzle calendar, Little teddy bear calendar, Yarn calendar... We love them all!!!

Attend Christmas Parade - We've done it in polar temperatures. Brrrrr....

Watch Christmas movies - I love them but hubby isn't a fan.

Bring kids to meet Santa - That resulted in tears more often than none.

Cook Christmas feast - I do every year, but it's less and less often on Dec 25.

The list goes on, but the one that fascinates me the most is called Jolabokaflod. (Please, do not ask me to pronounce it.)

Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic tradition. On Christmas Eve, family and friends get together and exchange the gift of a book. They then spend the night reading while eating chocolate and drinking hot cocoa.

I've been in Iceland, but I dream of spending a Christmas there just so I can fully immerse myself in that tradition.

Whatever you do this holiday season, give someone a book and send her/him on a wonderful adventure.

If you're looking for a warm and cozy mystery, full of twist and turns, all wrapped in the magic of  Christmas, The Red Quilt will take you through an unforgettable adventure. You'll even learn how to make reindeer tracks. The Red Quilt is available here.

It's snowy and cold in my corner of the world. It sure looks like Christmas!

Stay safe and warm! Hugs!

JS

 

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

Happy Holidays

See below to get this holiday story for free! 

Ah, December is here and even with all the craziness in the world, I hope you have the chance to enjoy the season. Several years ago, I wrote a “short-short story” about the season and thought I would share a few parts with you. I’m sure some of you can relate to what I have experienced over the years. 

DECORATING: We found the box of lights at the bottom of everything because we had moved last summer and when we got them out, they were all tangled up and half of them didn’t even work. After buying new lights and a new ladder because ours was run over by the moving truck, we strung the lights along the house, around the shrubs, in the trees and down the driveway. Only to realize we needed five extension cords just to reach the closest outlet. 

SHOPPING: I drove around for over fifteen minutes trying to find a parking place at the mall and when I finally spied one, a little red Beetle whipped into it before I could round the corner. After taking a whole day off to go Christmas shopping, things that were on the sale flyer weren’t in the store and what I had put on layaway three months ago was now on sale for half price. And I couldn’t find the right size or the right color or something that matched the rest of what I had bought and if I couldn’t buy five of the same thing then I might as well not buy any because everyone had to have one or there would be crying. 

COOKIE MAKING: It was time to bake and my daughter made the frosting and decided that army green was an appropriate Christmas color, so Santa, the reindeer and all the snowmen joined the service that year. I wanted to make trays for work and my husband’s office and for our friends so I had to bake for several days, hiding everything on the shelf in the office closet because no one ever goes in there. But they did. 

SNOW: All the family was here to celebrate and just in time because it started to snow and the roads were closed. The kids all wanted to go sledding and build snowmen. We finally got everyone bundled up in snowsuits and boots and mittens and caps and then the littlest one said he had to go potty and so we had to undo the caps and mittens and boots and snowsuits. Much later, the cold, red noses were wiped and the hands warmed and cocoa drank and cookies eaten. All the cousins played downstairs and nobody worried when they argued because all we had to say was, “If you’re not good, Santa won’t come and leave you any presents.” 

CHRISTMAS EVE: The carolers are singing and we go out and join them before going to midnight service to hear the wonderful story about the birth of Christ. And when we come home, all the presents are wrapped and under the tree and the stockings are hung and the kids are too excited to go to sleep, but all we have to say is, “If you don’t go to sleep, Santa won’t come and leave you any presents.” Quiet descends and we sit and watch the lights wink on the tree and hope that on Christmas Day all the toys make noise and all the baby dolls bawl; that the bike and trike bells ring and the train whistle blows and the race cars speed around the track just like the instructions said they would. And on Christmas day when everything has been opened and played with and tried on, we sigh in relief that it all works and all fits and is in all the favorite colors. And now we only have three hundred sixty-four shopping days until we get to do it all over again. 

If you enjoy Christmas stories, Books We Love is giving away a free Christmas novel every week until December 25. One of my favorites, “Always Believe” is available FREE right now so visit their website at https://bookswelove.net and scroll down to the Christmas Gift to our Readers.

Another of my holiday stories, “If Wishes were Magic” is a contemporary romance about making wishes come true and is available in print or ebook format at Books We Love. 

Wishing you Happy Holidays,

Barb Baldwin 

http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin 

https://bookswelove.net/baldwin-barbara/