Christmas Reflections
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday so far.
With Christmas behind us, we here at Junkies love to give away free books. Our first contest will be an easy one. How was your Christmas? Did you get or give any interesting gifts? What was the best gift you received? Do you have any traditions that you follow every year? Leave us a comment on your Christmas this year and you could win a book listed.
For A Few Good Demons More by Kim Harrison, EOS
Moon’s Fury by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp, TOR
Untouched by Anna Campbell,
-1 Shadow On the Soul by Jenna Black, TOR
Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway, Onyx
well it is nearing for us to buy some christmas ornaments for the coming christmas,’~
Country somehow, I doubt that’s true. I need to paint in more detail.
Thanks to the author for the answers to all questions. In fact, learned from the article many new and useful. That’s only until the end and did not understand some nuances.
Fully agree with you, about a week ago wrote about the same in his blog!
Люблю тексты в таком духе! Спасибочки 🙂
Занятно написано, но мне кажется, что автор что-то не договаривает 🙂
Совсем недавно попал на Ваш блог, теперь каждый день захожу посмотреть, не написали ли чего новенького. 🙂 К сожалению только Вы не каждый день Ваш сайт обновляете 🙁
Все-таки на самом деле нравится мне Ваш блог. Всегда очень интересно читать, включая эту тему. 🙂
Хм… В некоторые моменты жизни волосы могут шевелиться не только на голове 🙂
Вот это да! Большое спасибо! Теперь на неделю есть работа! 🙂
Я практически случайно зашел на этот сайт, но вот обосновался тут надолго. Задержался, потому что все очень интересно. Обязательно скажу о вас всем своим приятелям.
and amplifier car audio amplifier car channel audio
I had a great and blessed Christmas. It was just my 2 kids and my parents, but the day was one to be remembered.
My best Christmas gift that I received, would be hard to pick out as each one was given in love and a reason. My 12 year-old daughter made a necklace for me out of seed beads, and she had 2 angels and a cross in the middle. My 13 year-old son bought me a necklace and earring set with green and white crystals and they sparkle in the sunlight. I have a very good friend who surprised me with a water fountain for my table top. He said that he knew all the pressure I’ve been under with the health of my parents and he thought that might give me a little relaxation. It has changing lights and it does help relax me.
My kids got Playstation 2 games and Game Cube games. They set it up in the livingroom as it has a bigger TV screen and played them all day. I even joined in although I always get killed off very early in the game and my kids have to help revive my character and keep him/her alive.
Because Santa left some of the presants at my parents house, (he said it was because out dog woke up and scared him away) we spent that morning with them. This is when we found our new computer. My dad was having a good day, although in the evening he forgot his pain medication and was hurting because of it, but we got to spend the time together. Usually he sleeps a lot and has so much pain, but to be able to spend part of the day with him like that, was a true blessing and one to be remembered.
Our usual dinner is ham, but me being me and it was Christmas (and of course we were eating candy all day,) , put off getting the ham in the oven until 3:00 and it was around 8:00 when it finally got done. My parents and kids didn’t mind as everyone was full of cookies, candy and other goodies.
I did the same thing with my ham in 2005. When the ham got done, I took it over to my parent’s house to share. I remember that, because right when I took it over, their phone rang. It was news that my grandmother had passed away. I often think that of all the days she could have picked, she could have picked a normal-non holiday, for the ones she leaves behind. Instead, she picked the most celebrated time, and one that comes every year with remembering.
In reality, I can see why she chose that time to go. What a celebration, I’m sure she took part in.
And last, but not least, I also received a Life’s Journey pendant and some books from a very dear friend. So you see, each gift this year was done and given with meaning. Nothing was the kind of, “I don’t know what to give you so here is something.”
And I liked Lis’s comment #18, of getting her dad the CAT. My dad also worked with heavy machinery. He hauled lots of gravel and used his CAT to load his truck and others full of sand, gravel, rocks, whatever they were hauling at that time. Thank you for the memory.
Had a great Christmas. My family all gathered at my parents for Christmas and had dinner. It was great visiting with everyone. The best present I got was a Journey pendant.
Had a wonderful Christmas! One of my favorite traditions is to take the kids to see the light displays and then return home for hot cocoa or eggnog and Christmas cookies. There were some beautiful displays this year, really creative.
We went to my dh’s aunt’s house as has been the tradition for years, but it seemed really sad this year because we were missing so many from past years like my dh’s uncle, my dad, and several others in addition to my daughter and her hubby who couldn’t get leave to come in from OK. We ate some good food, talked a bit, and I washed a TON of dishes. My favorite gift this year was the huge smile of surprise on my 14 yr old’s face when she thought she was getting a box of art supplies and under them all was her PSP she wanted soooo bad that was not supposed to get here until Jan 8th. She also made me a Christmas ornament that said I luv u mom on it which I will treasure forever.
Christmas was good. Ate alot of food. 🙂 Though my family does not really celebrate Christmas, I received a MP3 player from my cousin which was one of my favorite gifts.
my favorite memory is a box of paper flowers my daughter gave me one year. my hubby was out of work, she made me a box of flowers and put kisses on each flower…
We had a good Christmas, the kids all happy with their Ipods, dancing and singing all day long. We all got really nice handmade gifts from my mother – bracelets and her crocheted bootie slippers that keep your feet toasty warm on cold winter days.
BJ, that mat is too funny.
That’s a great selection of books, I have all but that Harrison and Brockway (though most of their others), some still TBR. Untouched was one of my top reads of the year, a non-alpha hero you’ll love – recommended!
We had a great Christmas and the presents were fun, but what I really enjoyed was the cookie baking and making ornaments for the tree. The Danes make woven paper heart baskets and hang them on the tree…we usually have a small treat in each one.
My best gifts were gift cards so I can get the books I want. The best was seeing my grandson’s reaction to his gifts.
This year we shared the burden of the Christmas meal. We go together at my brother’s in-laws since they have the largest place. One member of the family didn’t show up and nearly caused a family squabble. So Mom didn’t quite get the day sh wanted and my brother was hurt because his sister kees missing famly gatherings and this was his son’s second Christmas. Despite that we manged to have a pleasat meal watching the antics of my nephew as he vroomed all over the floor with his new race cars, he got a tractor trailer truck that made noise like an actual big rig complete with lights. His day was good thereby making it good for us all.
My DH, daughter and son had a fantastic Christmas!! Kids both got what they wanted(not to hard, that, when they give me lists of exactly what it is they do want!! ;-)) My kids are so the greatest! My 17 yr old only had 8 things on her list, and my 13 yr old only had 5 things!! And not a one was a big expensive item! All were inexpensive, “normal” things! They’re cheap dates like their mother!! LOL
Although………..
Dh and I usually just get each other a gift certificate for books(me!!!) and cash for remote control boats(him!!), but this year we decided to treat each other to a larger cottage!! hahah We have a cottage on Lake Erie in Canada(we live in Michigan) and we’re going to sell ours and buy a friends six doors down. We’re really blessed to be able to do this!! This is the best gift ever! And this is truly the gift that keeps on giving!! 🙂
Our tradition is to have my Dad, sister and brother over Christmas morning for bacon and eggs! When I was little we would open our gifts and then my Dad would cook breakfast!! Not Mom, but Dad! It was their “exchange”. She would buy & wrap the gifts, being up all night, then he would cook breakfast to give her a break to relax. When she passed nine years ago, Dad didn’t want to stay in their house, and my kids were small, so he came here. My sister and brother are single, so they started coming here too! Now it’s our tradition, and my DH cooks the breakfast!!
Happy, Happy New Year to everyone!!
Kim
I had a great Christmas! Some of the best gifts I gave this year were… books (big surprise)! For my MIL I found “The Compleat I Hate To Cook Book” (she does) and for my SIL I got a bunch of books by Kathy Reichs (she loves Bones). Our son, Rhys, got some excellent gifts, too — washable crayons & watercolors (his favorite) a big squishy green ball, 2 toddler laptops, Moon Sand, an alphabet puzzle, a stacking block puzzle, scratch art, some board books, a couple of plug & play
TV games, and some other fun stuff.
We’ll be doing the “final round” of gifts this Sunday with my family.
Hope everyone had a great holiday!
~Lindy
I had a great Christmas personally. My favorite presents were these gorgeous Dragon paperweights. I stuffed myself on junk : ( But it is Christmas vacation after all; what else could I do? Sorry my comment is so short but I have to get off now so I can go with my mom to my cousins’ house to help her watch them since shes babysitting for my aunt because of Christmas vacation. Happy Holidays!
I love Christmas but I’m glad it’s over.
this year I finally got my mother in law the perfect give. she is so hard to shop for. but a digital picture frame hit the spot and I actually got her one before she went and bought her self one.
and I got some wii games for my wii yeah I’m a kid at heart.
We had a great Christmas. Niece got a Wii and they played for hours on it. She got the High School Musical game with it. She loves it. lol.
Christmas here was okay. Now that my darling hubby isn’t with us anymore it was hard but we got through. I had a house full of kids and grandkids and that really helped. We all just missed him so much but we all decided to make it a happy day and celebrate it the way he would have wanted us to. The kids spoiled me though. I got a psp to read my ebooks on. Really nice, a blanket with Jack Sparrow on it, and the complete set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD. Now I can watch Spike anytime I want.
I live in NC and my children live in MI so our time together takes lots of planning. We tend to plan our celebration around the work/travel schedules of my children. I’m retired, so my time is free. My daughter & her husband have the time off between Christmas/New Years so they like to travel and my son has really goofy working hours. So this year we got together on the 19th/20th and had a really wonderful time this year.
Well I hope everyone had as wonderful a Chritsmas as I did. Lots of laughter, fun and smiles at my house that were the best gifts I could ask for.
I got a lot of nice gifts though. The best wrapped one was the hand-made blanket my aunt made me. The best unwrapped one was my brother calling home from Iraq since he’s out there fighting in the war.
Our Christmas traditions here are fairly normal. We cook and bake for family, friends, neighbors and those without family at X-mas. And then the day before Christmas Eve we leave food for the animals at the forest preserves near the house (The meaning in that, is that we dont forget God’s creatures). On Christmas Eve we visit friends and family before the big party that night. On Christmas Day I celebrate with my folks around a big home-cooked meal and candles.
I know Christmas has past now but a New Year is on the way so here’s wishing everyone a Happy New Year!
I had a wonderful Christmas. My daughter and her fiance came in from out of town and spent 3 days visiting with friends and family. One of our traditions is getting together and watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – it gets funnier every year.
We had a wonderful Christmas this year, despite being buried underneath 13 inches of snow! We were all snowed in together at least 🙂
I got just what I wanted, some new books! Books are the best gifts!! I recieved “Dark Celebration” by Christine Feehan, and “The Price of Pleasure” by Connie Mason.
My Grandma made us all hand made gifts this year (like quilts and things) and those are the gifts I will treasure forever!!
Had a good Christmas this year. My youngest two made me handmade gifts which I know I’ll treasure. the oldest two pulled their money and got me a gift certificate for Borders. My mom and dad got all of us a nice family gift- movie passes for us to go at least three times as a family to the movies.
Didn’t get any interesting gifts this year, but I did give my dad a CAT (caterpillar heavy equipment) long sleeved shirt that had a scene of machinery working since that was the first job he had in his teens. Think he really liked it :o)
My favorite gift was actually the look on my sons face when he saw the presents under the tree for the first time and when he opened a present he asked for. He was too cute. He’s three and this is the first year he got really excited!
Happy Holidays! Christmas was very fun this year. My boyfriend’s been in school & so hasn’t been able to work. We’ve both been pretty broke so we decided not to exchange presents this year. Imagine my surprise when I came home from a family get-together on Christmas Eve to find several presents from him sitting under my tree. I don’t know how he managed it, but it brought tears to my eyes.
We had a wonderful family gettogether with a delectable feast. Relaxing and enjoyable. I received wonderful gifts and my favorite one ever was beautiful note cards which I use and cherished.
Our usual tradition is to open one present on Christmas Eve, then the stockings and other presents on Christmas morning. That said, because my son is now in the military, we have started a new tradition, and won’t open any of our presents until he comes home on the 28th. To me, Christmas is all about family, so what’s a couple of days, here and there. It’s going to be so much fun, and I can’t wait…
I had a very good Christmas. All my children and grandchildren were here, as well as my husband of 42 years. We had our dinner and exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, which we do every year. I got a 30th Anniversary Elvis purse from my daughter. She knows how much I love Elvis!! And the purse will definitely get used!!! Also, got some nice soft pj’s from my younger son and some money from my older son! The grandkids hardly ever get gifts for anyone. But, that is fine with me as long as I can give them gifts. That is what Christmas is about, the joy of giving.
Oooh Billie Jo… Did you get misty eyed… That is the best kind of present. I usually get a calendar of all my kids throughout the year from my hubby and it is the best gift. This year I didn’t get it but after I sift through all the pictures we got out of the house hubby promised he would make me one.
This is from Billie Jo but the blog seems to think her halo is crooked and won’t let her put it up 🙂 So I will
Billie Jo says…..
I definitely received a most unusual gift. Hubby thought it would be funny to get the outdoor mat for me because of my hillbilly heritage. Here is what it says, “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, look who is here”. Yep.
Best gift I received was the beautiful throw that my hubby and kids made for me. It was a Christmas Collage of Christmas’s pasts.
Billie Jo
Who is really glad the season is over.
Had a fun and weight gaining Christmas with the entire family. Best gift this year is from my boss because he let me take a whole 3 weeks off from work to celebrate!!
Our Christmas was very nice including going to church on Christmas Eve and having a lovely day with the family on Christmas Day. My best gift is an MP3 player. Now I can listen to all the songs I like while I walk on the treadmill to get rid of all those holiday treats.
[…] mammakim wrote an interesting post today on Christmas ReflectionsHere’s a quick excerpt-1 Shadow On the Soul by Jenna Black, TOR. https://www.amazon.com/Shadows-Soul-Guardians-Night-Book/dp/0765357178/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197416332&sr=1-5. Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway, Onyx … […]
I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we did. I got a new computer for Christmas 🙂 What a great hubby!! Today our plans are to hopefully RELAX!!
I had a wonderful Christmas! Spent Christmas day with my family. Lots of laughs, delicious food and presents. My best gift was one whole day alone with my husband…just to hang around and relax.
Ours was crazy as usual, we both have large families so we have to hit a bunch of houses Christmas day. Next year when the new house is up I think everyone is coming to us
I had a really great Christmas! We all spent Christmas Eve at my son’s house. They have an open house every year. Then we all spent Christmas Day at my daughter’s house. It was wonderful being with my grandchildren and watching how excited they get when they open their gifts!
Christmas was lovely, and it’s nice to have a couple days to relax a bit after now. We got our kids some things they really enjoyed, and we had a great time with my family yesterday. We’ll head over to my husband’s family’s house today, and enjoy some time with them.
Our favorite gift we received this year is a board book that our four-year-old wrote and illustrated for us at school. It’s brilliant, if we do say so ourselves 😉
Glad to hear about everyone else’s fun and giving!
Whew! What a relief to have the Christmas rush over for another year. While I adore cooking for my family, this year I am a little under the weather so I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as I usually do.
Hm, this best gift I gave? Personally autographed books by her favorite author to my best friend. Best gift I received? I beautiful heartfelt card from my own personal hero, my husband. [sigh]
My husband and I choose a tag from the Angel Tree at our church to help a child whose parent is incarcerated during Christmas. We also choose to buy gifts for a child who is living in the local Women’s Shelter. This has been something we do for many years and will continue to do for as long as we can. It is such a joy to provide a wished-for gift to a child in need.
Had a very nice Christmas. My hubby took all my very broad and heavy handed hints and got me exactly what I asked for – a cartouche pendant with my name done in hieroglyphics. It’s lovely.
And our traditional Christmas morning cinnamon rolls were yummy too!
Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!