The loveliness of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day lingers on. All things planned and unplanned went off without a hitch. As holidays go, this Christmas season has won a spot at the top. HHH and I marvel at how fast time has flown. December 15, 2024 marked our third Christmas together, beautiful in every way.
Any Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a drive around town to look at the lights. Grabbing Miss B, (HHH’s Mom), we drove through a magical wonderland of Christmas spirit. Each year, there is one special area of town in which the neighbors go all out. This year was no different except that one house in a different neighborhood was even more beautiful. Ours.
This year, HHH made Winterpast look fantastic with an assortment of lighted designs. From homemade Christmas trees to lifelike versions of Wookie and Oliver, our yard has sparkled for weeks. Of course, the Marine across the street got into the competition, along with his next door neighbors. The result was a little corner of beauty in our part of town.
Christmas Eve began with a visit to our favorite Denny’s for breakfast. With gifts in hand, we met with a distant relative who works there. We also left a gift for the manager, who keeps our restaurant beautiful at all times of the year, not only Christmas. He makes sure our Denny’s offers the best hamburgers in the area, each and every visit.
At 6 pm, we were seated in our favorite spot in church to enjoy the candlelight service. Singing all the hymns featured in the blog this month was special. It carried me back to a simpler time in the little German church in Central California. Ending the service with “Silent Night” sung in a room full of candlelight, we were told to spread our light around our town and the world. Yes. That hymn could stop a war in the night and bring two sides together.
As a shared family tradition, we came home to open one gift. We both laughed that, as children, we observed that same rule. However, back then the gift was always new pajamas. Neither HHH or I gifted PJ’s this year, just so you know.
Going to sleep, we reminisced about waking to open presents in our early days. Thinking of late nights of toy assembly and early mornings of gifting, we laughed at how times had changed. No need to be up so early
And then……..
HHH woke me at 4:15 am to open presents.
Celebrating the day with new friends from church over Honey-Baked Ham, fresh scalloped potatoes, rolls, and veggies, the day held laughter and happiness. Life is wonderful when shared with those you love! Christmas 2024 — A Total success!!!!
Whatever you do today, take a minute to write about your 2024 holiday season. Think about how the season unfolded. You might even add notes about how your life has changed this year. First, write down the top three things for which you are grateful. Focusing on the good sets a good tone. Writing is a beautiful way to sum up the details of one heck of a year.
