All this week, I’ve had a special Christmas Giveaway going on. One reader will win a 2-disc DVD set of the TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Holiday Edition, which includes one of my favorite Christmas movies, The Shop Around the Corner. In addition to the four films, the giveaway winner will also receive a selection of hot chocolate in a variety of flavors. This little contest is just my way of sharing something I love about the holidays and showing my appreciation for all of you, my readers. 🙂 (Awwww)
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Holiday
A selection of Land O Lakes Hot Chocolate
Hopefully you entered as many ways as you could. If not, well, it’s too late now – sorry – because the winner has already been randomly selected (Thank you, Rafflecopter!). 🙂
Now before I announce the winner, I just knew that I had to include a clip from my #1 favorite Christmas movie, It’s A Wonderful Life. While my prize definitely isn’t as exciting as “a million dollars,” maybe it’ll at least brighten your day and make you say, like young George Bailey, “Hot Dog!”
Okay…drumroll, please.
The Christmas Giveaway Winner is Rachel S!
Congratulations! I’ll be contacting you shortly to make arrangements to get your prize headed your way.
Elijah was only six months old for his first Christmas, so it wasn’t until the following year, when he was a year-and-a-half, that he really began to “get” Christmas. That was the year Brad and I really started to experience the holiday in a new way. Seeing Christmas through my children’s eyes is a wonderful, joyous, and sometimes hilarious thing.
I thought it would be fun if I sat down with my boys and asked them some questions about Christmas. Here are some of my favorite parts of our conversations. I videoed them and typed their answers verbatim, so you can get a glimpse into how delightful and blessed my holidays are with them.
CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO ELIJAH (5 Years Old)
Tell me about Christmas:
Elijah: It’s one of my favorite days…it is a very good time, and I love it because it is Jesus’s birthday. That’s when people give, and that’s kind of like being God’s servant, sometimes. (Giving is like being God’s servant. Amen!) Why it’s my favorite is because it’s when Jesus was born, and it’s his birthday. And because I like birthdays, probably He likes birthdays.
What’s best part of Christmas?
E: Maybe… I don’t know. Probably… I think the best part of Christmas is…I don’t know…there’s lots of things to choose. There’s a lot of them that I’m thinking about…Snow, presents, stockings, AND when we get to eat breakfast because last Christmas Mommy made a really, yummy, yummy breakfast. (I did. Here’s the recipe for French Toast Casserole.)
To whom are you most excited to give their gift?
E: All I’m going to say is “cousins.” Because that’s easier to say than all the names.
What is one way you can give even when you don’t have money?
E: A hug. Maybe write them a letter. That’s all I can think of.
How can you help people have a good Christmas if you don’t know them?
E: Just say, “hello.” Be kind.
Why do we celebrate Christmas?
E: Because it’s Jesus’s birthday.
Can you tell me about Jesus’s birthday, and what happened?
E: Well, I don’t know what Mary was doing, but she was probably doing something, and then an angel just appeared. Like magic sometimes. Then she had to go to Joseph, and they were going to marry each other because she was going to have a baby. Then they traveled on a donkey, and they had a long journey. And probably on Christmas they had their baby…but, yeah, on Christmas they had the baby. And then the angel came to shepherds and said, “Good news. There is a baby in a stable that has been born.” And there was a star on top, and probably the angel was watching.
After the angel came and told the shepherds, the shepherds went to the stable. And then they saw the baby. And then a long time ago, probably past (he means a while later), like 2 years, like Mommy said, these guys on camels, these kings brought presents for the baby. Silver, is that one?
Me: Gold
E: Gold? *Pause…*
Me: Frankincense
E: (Smiling) Frankincense and myrrh.
What was so special about the baby?
E: That He was God’s Son, and He can create anything He wanted.
Why did God send His Son? Why did Jesus have to come?
E: To die for us.
CHRISTMAS ACCORDING TO JOSIAH (2-1/2 Years Old)
Josiah had watched me ask Elijah questions, so he was ready with his answers before I even had a chance to ask them.
Josiah: Mommy, I want to buy present for Grandpa and Grandma and Grandpa Rowland, and Daddy and Vinny. A bone – a character one, like has scrubby one. (I have no idea what “has scrubby one” means)
Tell me about Jesus:
J: Jesus loved to buy a present, too. (Hahaha. But, hey, Jesus is the best gift, so he’s close.)
Do you remember the story of Jesus?
J: Jesus died on the cross, like this (makes a cross with his fingers).
Why did Jesus die on the cross?
J: Because He keep us safe.
We talked about the story of baby Jesus, too.
J: Mary had the baby.
Who came to see the baby?
J: The camels. The angels and the horsey. And the cow.
What do we do at Christmas?
J: We give presents. And buy one for Jeremiah. (I LOVE that he said GIVE instead of GET) I like to buy a present for Grandpa. A toy present. A hippo. (For Grandpa) And a dinosaur.
Me: For who?
J: Jesus
Elijah jumped in here: Jesus already made the dinosaurs. He already has a dinosaur.
There you go. Christmas as explained by my two precious boys: Giving is like being God’s servant, baby Jesus was visited by “these guys on camels” and all the animals in the barn, Jesus came to die for us, Jesus died for us to keep us safe, and you can’t give Jesus a dinosaur. He already has one.
What fun, sweet, or profound things have your children said about Christmas?
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Of all the holidays on our calendar, no other day has as many songs about it as Christmas does. From Christmas carols to holiday classics to brand new songs released every year (who HASN’T done a Christmas album?), you can fill December entirely with songs all about Jesus, winter, Santa, and general “Christmasness.”
As I began thinking about all things Christmas earlier this month, I realized that I have a lot of truly wonderful and precious memories tied to specific Christmas songs. Stop and think about it. I bet you do, too.
Just for fun, and for a few sentimental smiles, I’ve compiled a list, in no particular order, of memory-rich Christmas songs and why they mean so much to me.
#1. O Holy Night: When I was younger, my mom was given a musical Christmas decoration of an angel kneeling at the manger, a little baby Jesus resting on the hay. When you wind it up, it plays “O Holy Night.”
Not only was it one of “Mom’s special decorations” in my mind, the song itself is beautiful. Several years later, I would sing it with our high school choir, kneeling for the entire song – all the verses – holding a lit Christmas candle. In a darkened sanctuary, it was pretty powerful.
But perhaps one of the sweetest links to the song has come in the last couple of years, when Elijah started asking me to sing it to him at bedtime (only one verse). I’m not sure why he latched onto that song in particular, but I’ve sung “O Holy Night” to him countless times, from January through December. It was only just this past month that he even realized that it was supposed to be a “Christmas song.” Since it isn’t the easiest song to sing, there have been nights I’ve felt somewhat self-conscious about my singing, but Elijah’s smile still beams sweetly, happily, no matter how imperfect my voice.
#2. Christmas All Over Again: This song was the very first song on my mom’s “A Very Special Christmas 2” CD. This meant that every year, the day after Thanksgiving, this was usually the first song blaring as we started decorating our house for Christmas, singing, dancing, and laughing all the while. The song is VERY danceable! It’s kind of my “let the Christmas season begin” anthem now.
#3. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late): Growing up, my brothers and I probably would have picked this as one of our favorite Christmas songs. It’s classic. However, it earned its place on my list when it became part of my annual Christmas-light-viewing tradition with a few of my closest friends.
Every year around the holidays, anytime we were out and about at night (which, since I was generally driving them home from a youth meeting, was at least once a week), I would drive us around to see Christmas lights in the neighborhood. Our soundtrack for the ride was my Billboard’s Family Christmas Classics, which included “The Chipmunk Song.” As part of the festive fun, we always sang along, but one night one friend decided to be stubborn. She wouldn’t sing a word. So, I kept replaying the song until we finally got her to sing at least “Me, I want a hula-hoop!” and my night was made, along with a memory that is still silly and precious to me. I can’t hear that song without thinking of them.
Here’s an official lyric video, so you can follow the bouncing ball and sing along! (This is for you, Amanda!)
#4. Hark! The Herald Angel Sing: Believe it or not, this was the first Christmas song that Elijah learned at least a verse of. Sure he knew parts of “Frosty the Snowman” after multiple out-of-season viewings of that Christmas cartoon, but it was repeatedly watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at two-years-old that taught him “Hark! The Herald Angel Sings.” Not only did he like the cartoon, he also had a Charlie Brown book with the story, and at the end, they all sing the carol. We all had to each time as well. Elijah even sang it for his Grandma Lape as part of her Christmas gift that year.
#5. The Little Drummer Boy: Okay, this one’s kind of mean, but I can’t help it that that’s how the memory was made. Haha.
When I was a young teenager, we were up at my paternal grandma’s for Christmas and went to her church’s Christmas service. As part of the program, an older lady with rather unnaturally bright red hair and a red dress (yes, she reminded me of a much older “Annie”) sang this very song. She stood still and stiff for the most part and was sooo serious as she sang her “pa-rrrrrrum-pum-pum-pums,” rolling her “R’s” excessively and shaking her head along with her vibrato that I couldn’t help but giggle. (And giggling in church is dangerous because when you aren’t supposed to laugh or giggle, it’s even harder to stop.) I wasn’t the only one who got tickled, though, so I didn’t feel as badly. That lady forever changed that song for me. 🙂
#6. The Twelve Days of Christmas: In the middle of December 1999, my entire immediate family moved from Georgia back up to Ohio. My sister’s family and my dad had already headed north a week or so earlier, with my oldest brother returning back to Georgia after an issue with one of the vehicles. My mom and I had waited for my youngest brother to finish his semester at school, so when we finally pulled out of the driveway, we each were driving one of the four cars in our little caravan making the 13-hour drive.
Since this was back before everyone had cell phones, we couldn’t communicate much with each other while we were driving, but when we had a rest stop, I remember my mom telling us what radio station she was listening to because she’d found one that was playing Christmas songs.
Once we were back on our way, one car following the other, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” came on. To show that we were hearing the same thing, Mom and I counted off the number for each of the twelve days’ items, using one hand, holding it up so that we could each see the other person’s through the back window or rearview mirror. (Eleven and twelve were a bit trickier.) It was how we sang along together while we were all in different cars.
#7. Emmanuel: Written by my father, who is a published singer/songwriter, this is a very special Christmas song. I wish I had a recording uploaded to share with you because telling you about won’t really do it justice.
However, from the time he wrote the song (back when I was much younger), I always looked forward to him ministering with it at Christmas time at church. No matter how many times I’ve heard it, it’s still powerful. Below are the lyrics, at least. (Copyright Jerry Holman)
Long ago and far away
In a place that far from here
A Babe was born into the night
He knew creation, He hung the stars
But the love He had for man
Compelled Him to leave His paradise.
He became Emmanuel, God with Us.
Emmanuel, God Most High
Unashamed He left His throne
Taking on the form of man
And He became, and He is, Emmanuel.
Then came the time as it was told
By the prophets of old
For Him to bleed and die upon the tree
He was spotless, without sin
Neither was guile found in His mouth
But He gave His life so we might go Free.
He became Emmanuel, God with Us.
Emmanuel, God Most High
Unashamed He left His throne
Taking on the form of man
And He became, and He is, Emmanuel.
As always, there are more I could add. “Sleigh Ride” is my mother’s favorite, and “Wonderful Christmastime” is my mother-in-law’s most hated, so we tease her with it. “The Christmas Song” was my paternal grandpa’s favorite, and I can’t help but think of him when I hear it.
So many songs throughout this month bring back thoughts of Christmases past, and as we’re listening to and singing them with our boys, I know we’re making new memories that we’ll cherish for many Christmases to come.
Do you have a special Christmas memory linked to a Christmas song?
This year, Brad and I really felt strongly that we needed to set some guidelines for our family’s Christmas and limit the number of presents we give our children and each other. While limiting our list will help us stay within a better budget for the holidays, the main motivation behind scaling back is that we don’t want our children to think that Christmas is all about presents and/or all about them.
We’ve never gone crazy with the gift buying, and we generally request non-toy items for our boys (clothes, books, art & craft supplies), and yet we still have a home with more than enough toys, trinkets, and random stuff. The boys’ rooms are overflowing with under-used and under-appreciated toys, and the boys themselves get easily overwhelmed when it’s time to clean up the disasters they create just by digging through the toy box.
We have slowly begun a process of weeding out the items they no longer play with or don’t need in an effort to eliminate clutter and excess. We have made some progress… just in time to look square in the eyes of the biggest gift-giving day of the year.
When other parents have talked to us about Christmas plans, we have received mixed reactions to our “minimalist” Christmas ideas. I know we aren’t the only parents who limit the number of gifts. In fact, I’ve seen the idea on Pinterest several times over the past few years (“Something they want, something they need, something to wear, & something to read”), and I know other families following the same or similar guidelines.
But sadly, in the culture we live in, NOT striving for a “get as much as you can” Christmas is baffling to many people, even Christians.
That’s why I was so excited to be selected to be on the launch team for Kristen Welch’s newest book, Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World. Just having read a summary of the book and from following her blog, We are THAT Family, I knew that here was someone who would back us up in our fight to keep Christmas (and life) focused on Jesus and others.
Before I was even through the introduction, I was encouraged and more determined than ever to stick with our simplified Christmas plan.
In her book, Kristen shares her experiences and advice in parenting upstream against a culture of entitlement, not giving our kids everything they want, and making sure they understand the true difference between “want” and “need,” so that we can raise children who are hardworking, content, and grateful.
Having been raised by parents who often reminded me that they were “not here to make you happy, but to grow you up,” I had a good foundation laid to help me raise my boys to be appreciative, but even with that, the farther I’ve read into her book, the more I see areas where entitlement has sneaked into our home.
Or maybe we’ve left the door cracked open, as Kristen is quick to point out with this nice heart-checking challenge,
“Entitlement didn’t start with my kids. It began with me. I entitled them because I was entitled.”
Hmmm. And ouch.
So, Brad and I are having a fun time of examining ourselves and re-evaluating how we reflect gratitude in our own lives. (Oh, yes, hubby is getting this message right along with me, as I share ideas and stories from Kristen’s book.) Are we complaining about what we don’t have, or are we content and thankful for all our blessings? Shining a light on the issue is revealing some behaviors and attitudes in us that are kind of surprising and challenging. Recognizing it for what it is, though, allows us to deal with it and change.
Our kids learn from us, our attitudes, and what we allow. Something I’ve told my husband from Elijah’s very first Christmas is that our children will expect whatever we teach them to expect. If we make Christmas all about presents, they’ll expect it to be all about presents.
It’s up to us as the parents to set the limits.
In Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, Kristen reminds us,
“Kids will be kids, and if we give them too much, too soon, they will likely take it.”
This works in every area of their lives. If we allow our children to rule the roost because we don’t want to make them unhappy with discipline or telling them “no,” then that is exactly what they will expect. While they truly crave boundaries and discipline to feel loved and secure, few children are going to ask you outright to set those rules or inforce them.
Most will just keep taking and want more.
Another quote that I love from Kristen takes on this demand of entitlement for more:
“’This is all I get. There’s nothing else?’
From ice cream serving sizes to allowances, the opportunity to demand more is present.
‘Is that all?’…We as parents have to examine the question for ourselves, so we can say to our children with conviction, ‘Yes, that is all. We don’t need more.’”
This Christmas we are setting limits because we know that we don’t need more, and so far, our children are fine with it. They are still young so the expectations for an extravagant Christmas haven’t cemented in them yet.
That’s another reason for us to start NOW with keeping our guard up against entitlement. While it isn’t impossible to teach and direct them when they are a little older, it’s much easier to begin on the right foot from the get-go.
And if the world thinks that we’re strange, so be it.
Kristen’s words from the introduction are an encouraging reminder to stay the course:
“It’s in our human makeup to want to fit in, to not stick out or be different, to blend in. The problem is, we are called to exactly that – to go against the flow.”
For Christmas this means celebrating Jesus more, giving to others in need more, and realizing that for us, less really is more.
This post contains an affiliate link, which means that at no extra cost to you, I may receive a small commission if you use the link to make a purchase.
When the weather gets cold and blustery, there is something truly special about a cup of delicious hot chocolate to warm you up, and when I want to make it an extra special treat, I stir in a generous splash of homemade salted caramel cream.
Luscious, sweet, and just a touch salty, this tasty cream is rather easy to make, but it instantly transforms the simple into the decadent.
I adapted this recipe from one for Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate that I found last year on Pinterest (where else?). However, I already make a decent cup of cocoa (using the recipe on the back of the Hershey’s Cocoa box, but doing half regular cocoa and half cocoa). I just needed the Salted Caramel Cream part.
I like having the cream available to add to other things in addition to hot chocolate. It’s perfect in some sweet cinnamon tea (this tea is one of my new favorites, and it’s such a yummy combination with the cream), over warm apple crisp or apple pie, or even on ice cream. Honestly, it’s so good, you might be tempted to just drink it all by itself, and I wouldn’t blame you (probably not the healthiest option, though).
Okay, so how does one make their own container of Salted Caramel Cream? It’s not hard. It might get a little boring even because it does take a little bit of time.
Basically you are mixing water and sugar, and reducing it down to caramelized sugar – that’s the part that takes the longest. Then you mix in some warm cream, salt, and vanilla. This step takes some patience, too, because you have to get it all thoroughly combined. The cooling sugar hardens quickly and needs dissolved back into the cream.
5 Ingredients are all you need: Cream, sugar, water, salt, vanilla.
Allow the sugar and water to reduce.
Caramelize sugar to an amber color.
Salted Caramel Cream goodness, cooling and ready to enjoy.
However, once it’s all mixed, you’re done, and it’s delightful.
Having this on-hand for the holidays is a must around here now. The little extra oomph of flavor that the cream brings to hot cocoa, teas, and treats makes it feel even more festive and celebratory. I wouldn’t be surprised if it tasted good in coffee, too.
This Salted Caramel Cream would also make a nice addition to a homemade goodies gift basket…if you can bear to part with it.
(By the way, it works great in a squeeze bottle. You can get them at most stores or through Amazon.)
Okay, here are the real, far-more-detailed instructions so you can make your own batch. Whether you choose to share it or not is up to you.
Sometimes the best Christmas gift require a little advanced planning. My “best Christmas gift” idea was one of those, but it was completely worth it. It’s an original Tried It Tuesday idea born out of need. Here’s why.
Any parent of two or more children can tell you that making the jump from being a one-child family to a multiple-children family is daunting. The adjustment from one to two (or more, if you get blessed with multiples) is a big one.
However, the adjustment for an only child to go from “it’s just me” to “it’s my little brother/sister and me” is just as big and can be harder for little ones to navigate.
When Elijah learned that he was going to be a big brother, he was just over two years old, and he was ecstatic. He liked babies, so for him, it was going to be tons of fun to have one to play with.
Brad and I did our best to prepare him for the changes and talked to him about how his little brother was going to need Mommy and Daddy and Elijah, too, to do things for him for a while because, as a baby, his little brother wouldn’t be able to do them on his own yet. I made sure that Elijah knew that if he ever felt lonely for Mommy or Daddy, all he had to do was ask us for a hug or come sit with us.
Photo courtesy of Picture Bliss Photography
Even with all the preparation, we still had some rough days, and there was a point, after the initial “I’m a big brother now” stage, where it seemed that Elijah was constantly getting in trouble, especially for being defiant. I’m sure part of it was just the natural phase of becoming more independent (he was 3), but the timing didn’t help.
It was heartbreaking because not only did I feel guilty for having to spend so much of my attention and time on Josiah when I knew Elijah could still use some Mommy time, but my sweet, joyful Elijah was becoming moody and difficult. I remember telling Brad that I missed “our Elijah.”
It was a situation that we prayed about constantly and one for which I was always on the lookout for a solution.
Then one night while I was up nursing Josiah, God gave me an answer, or at least part of it. He gave me the seed of an idea that took root so quickly that I couldn’t go back to sleep until I’d written it down, even though it was four in the morning.
I was going to write a book for Elijah, one all about him and the many reasons I loved him. Since it was later in November, I think, or maybe even already December, I wanted it to be one of his Christmas gifts.
In my mind, I could see a book with illustrations and knew exactly how the wording would be laid out and what the font would look like. However, with a limited budget and timeline, I decided to do the next best thing – use pictures that I already had and match them to my story.
(By the way, this post contains affiliate links, which means I get a small percentage if you make a purchase through the link, at no extra cost to you.)
Having used Shutterfly for a few photo album-style photo books in the past, I decided to see what photo book themes they had that might work for Elijah’s book. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to find one that worked really well, and I began laying out the story.
The story was really simple. I was recounting our day with Elijah at bedtime and using the events of the day to illustrate all the things that I love about him, such as his creativity, his kindness, and his courage. The final pages also reassured him that even when he wasn’t kind or brave or obedient, we still loved him very much because God has given him to us. I titled it, “Why I Love You.”
On Christmas morning, it was the gift I was most looking forward to him opening, and I was praying that it ministered to his unsettled little heart.
From the moment he saw it, he loved it. A book all about him, written by his mommy, was a big deal. The words were exactly what he needed to hear.
That book instantly became his favorite. For weeks we were reading “Why I Love You” every night and sometimes during the day.
And my sweet Elijah slowly reemerged, calmer, more secure, and more willing to listen and help. (He was still stubborn and independent – that’s just him, but it was more manageable.)
I am confident that God gave me the idea and the story because He knew what Elijah needed from us and how he would best receive it.
The book became the best Christmas present that year for all of us.
Since my first personalized book was such as hit, the next year I created two more books: one for Elijah and his cousin Christian that was all about their friendship and an ABC book for my little Josiah that featured words relating to him and our family. Each book contained pictures that I had taken throughout the year, so it served not only as a fun storybook about them, but also as a way to share our memories.
In addition, Shutterfly often features great coupons for everything photo-related, including prints, calendars, and the photo books. By planning ahead and having my stories ready for when they had special offers, that year I ordered three books and only paid full price for one of them (and I don’t think I had to pay shipping on that one)!
And again, those books became instant family classics.
Feel free to borrow this idea. I’m sure it’s not unique to me, but the cool thing is, when you write your own stories, your book will be completely original and special for whomever you write it!
(If I see any new Shutterfly coupons coming up, I’ll be sure to share them on my Facebook or in my emails. Follow me or sign up so you don’t miss out.)
What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever given someone?
Get more ideas & encouragement from this real-life mom as I experience God’s faithfulness through the joy and chaos of motherhood.
