When I think back to the Christmas’s of my childhood, I can’t help but be flooded with memories of Christmas Eve at my grandparents.

In our family Christmas Eve was the big night. We would drive an hour to get to the grandparents house.

We would hurry in from the cold, dressed in our finest. My grandmother would have the pirogues ready. When walking into the house you could hear the beautiful sound of Nat King Coles voice.

My grandfather always played his Christmas record. To me Christmas was not Christmas without Nat King Cole. To this day it doesn’t even start to feel like the Christmas season until I’ve listened to his, and my, favorite Christmas song, The Christmas Song. “Chestnuts roasting on and open fire/Jack Frost Nipping at your nose”. Read More »

Oh to receive such a wonderful gift would mean to be truly loved and blessed, If I had to ever even make a guess at who would or could give such a gracious gift , I would only assume it to be someone from outside my own family as I highly doubt it would be in anyone’s budget in my own family, but if I had to make a guess who would if possible give such a thing I would say it would be my mother.

And if there was ever a house that I have dreamed of it would be a something simple a Ranch style or Townhouse design of some sort.

I have always loved the look and feel of the Ranch style, its so practical being only 2 levels and typically the basement being an area that can be refinished into a great room(s) to host gatherings of the family or perfect for kids to play or whatever. Read More »

I am a 25 year old female. My favorite gift I got last year was a Nintendo Wii from my husband. It is what I had been asking for since the Wii hit the market and we had such a hard time finding one for the last year or so I never expected to get one on Christmas morning.

I know my husband worked hard to be able to find one. It was a great surprise. It always nice to get something you have been wanting and especially when it is a surprise. I love the Nintendo Wii.

For one thing it is something our whole family can use together and we have had a lot of fun with it. We have 3 children ages 2, 5 and 6 and even the youngest one can swing the remote around and pretend like she is playing and in some of the easier games she can actually get an idea of how to play. Read More »

You’ll need: those two buckets, two Christmas stockings and a selection of stuff for the kids to transfer from the buckets to their stockings – oranges, candy canes, favors, whatever suits your fancy. Read More »

My favorite Christmas song is about Santa being stuck in the chimney. It’s called “There’s Something in the Chimney”. It just seems like that is something that would happen in our family.

My kids came in when they heard this and started laughing saying that’s just something that would happen since I’m a very accident prone person. We first heard it in New Hampshire and now we play it all the time.

The funniest part is they keep saying that the thing in the chimney has been there all week long and no one bothers to check until it starts smelling and Santa doesn’t show up at their house.

I feel sorry that my favorite song isn’t about the joys of the Christ Child being born but most of the songs are about it and I realize what the holiday is all about. We play “Little Drummer Boy” and all the religious songs too but once in a while you have to add a little laughter and happiness throughout the year. Read More »

My favorite Christmas recipe is called fruit salad. I got the recipe from my mother and it is very easy to make. All you need is several cans of fruit cocktail and a container of cool whip.

You drain the juice from the fruit cocktail and put it in a bowl and then you mix in the cool whip. For an extra special touch, you can put maraschino cherries on top or maybe some cut up bananas.

You could even put in a few drops of food coloring to make it different colors, like red or green for Christmas. Read More »

While shaping the cookies, keep the rest of the dough covered with plastic wrap so it won’t dry out. Preparation: 25 min. Cooking: About 8 min. per batch.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon red food coloring paste
Read More »