"In a world full of Grinches, be a Cindy Loo!"
Well, hi there! Long time no see! Merry Christmas to you and your families! I know I have not been here in a hot second, but I just HAD to stop in for my FAVORITE time of year!! I thought I would share a few things that are getting me through this wacky holiday season! So... here it goes!
The Music:
You can follow me on Spotify and see my Christmas playlist or you can pull from these top 20 favorites of mine!
The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole
All I want for Christmas is a real good tan - Kenny Chesney
I'll be home for Christmas - Michael Buble
All I want for Christmas is you! - Mariah Carey
Baby, it's Cold Outside - Zoey Deschanel
Happy Xmas (War is over) - John Legend
Santa Tell Me - Ariana Grande
Thank God For Kids - Kenny Chesney
Mistletoe - Justin Beiber
Blue Christmas - Michael Buble
Holiday - Lil Nas X
Mary, did you know? - The Pentatonix
Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
Last Christmas - Wham
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Pretty Paper - Kenny Chesney
Rockin' Around the Christmas tree - Brenda Lee
It's the most wonderful time of the year - Andy Williams
Merry Christmas Baby - Bruce Springsteen
This Christmas - Chris Brown
The Movies:
If you have been around here a while you know how much I LOVE Christmas movies. I have a few here at the top of my head that are always good ones, as well as a few new releases that I think will suit your fancy!
ELF (I mean, let's pretend to be shocked)
A very merry mixup (My all-time favorite Hallmark Christmas movie)
Let it Snow
Happiest Season
A Christmas Carol
Mickey's Once Upon A Christmas
The Grinch (Obvi)
The Polar Express
A Year Without A Santa Clause
Santa Clause is Comin' To Town
I love Christmas as many of you know, so I also have many activities that I really hope you take a part in if possible! The magic of Christmas should not fade, and I hope that you enjoy your time with family and friends with a few of my favorite Christmas traditions!
Watching the Nutcracker Ballet
This is something that my dad and I TRY to do every year! We both are lovers of theatre and the arts. I remember when I was younger and dad would be at the station whenever the Moscow Nutcracker Ballet aired. I would have the house phone up to my ear and be talking his ear off! I do not know how he even was able to watch the actual ballet because I was just chattering away! Those memories are some that I hold closest. We always found a way to watch it together; even when apart.
Picking Out a Christmas Tree
This is a tradition that my family still involves me in... even though I am 1,500 miles away from them. I always get a facetime call and discuss which tree should be in the living room. Terrance never listens to me... even when I tell him, "I know this one is the tree! I can feel it in my bones!" Little did he know, he was going to walk right back to the tree at the end and say it was the right one all along. I might not be there, but I am a firm believer that picking out things like that... is just a feeling!
The Light hunt on Christmas Eve
Every year my parents, brother, and grandparents all pile into a car and go out to eat. After we eat we are on the chase for Christmas lights! We search all night long! We go to the obvious ones, but we also like to find the suburban streets with all the houses decorated all fun and jolly! While listening to Christmas music and waiting around for us to be able to go to the church and listen to the pre-mass Christmas carols!
The first really cold day
Oh goodness! This is my favorite day of the Christmas season! Not only can you smell that Christmas is on the way, but when you walk out and feel the nip in the air and immediately think, "Oh crap I probably should have started my car!" That right there, best feeling ever.
Midnight Mass
If you have been around here long you know how much I LOVE midnight mass! Not to mention I want to get married at midnight because of how much I just love this mass on Christmas eve! This is something that I look forward to every year! Although Christmas will be a little different this year... I can always count on one thing to be there when something just does not quite feel right, and that my friend is mass.
The Christmas Pageant
Oh goodness, this has to be the CUTEST thing throughout the Christmas season! I adore seeing all the little babies in all their cute little angel and shepherd costumes! Utterly precious!
The Christmas Eve Present
My family has a tradition to open one present on Christmas eve! Typically we open it before we head out for dinner and the past few years Terrance and I have chosen each other's presents because we are just SO excited! This is so fun! I love giving over receiving and I just get so excited!! It takes everything in me to not tell people what I got them for Christmas!
Christmas Cookies
This is a momma tradition! If you know her, you know that she loves to cook! This was a tradition that she holds close and we still try to fit in when everyone is home! There is just something about those homemade cookies! They just hit the spot so much better than those store-bought cookies!
Tracking Santa to know how long until he was at our house
I remember getting home from Midnight mass and opening the computer to make sure we had enough time to shower and get ready for bed before Santa was going to be sliding down our chimney! We would RUN for the shower when we saw that he was in the United States because we needed to make sure we were asleep by the time he got there!
Putting out the Reindeer sparkles so the reindeer knew that believers lived there!
With our Santa letters every year we got a ton of glitter and confetti! This was something that we would toss in our front yard after putting out the cookies and carrots because we wanted to make sure that the reindeer would not skip over us. I mean, they were busy and I am sure exhausted! We were just trying to help them out! I remember going out in the freezing cold in my silky pajamas, house shoes, and hair just slightly damp to toss everything out for the reindeer! So fun and a good little thing to do before hopping into bed and throwing the covers over my head!
I love Christmas and that is not a secret, but even in the hardest of times and the wackiest of holidays, there is a way to find a silver lining! I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and implements as many traditions as possible because even though things are not normal you can keep something feeling somewhat normal!
Much love!
Josephine A. Meinardus
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