Now that it’s December, I want to embrace every single day between now and the end of the year. I’m always so excited for Christmas Day, but this year, I’m extra excited due to a bigger surprise that is planned. I’ll have to share after the holidays, but I can hardly wait! I just don’t want to rush things or wish these days away. I think now is the best part of Christmas, everything that leads up to the big day — so many fun things to do, see and eat.
The evening of Thanksgiving is when everything started to kick off. Kenzy and I headed over to our most favorite street this time of year. Candy Cane Lane that shines bright on Summer Street in Dubistown. We can both hardly wait till everything is cleaned up from Thanksgiving and end the night by going up and down Candy Cane Lane, taking everything in. We were there for an hour on Thanksgiving night, picking new things out each time. This wasn’t our first time up it, though.
No lie, we went up it three times before that. Once in October, just to see if anyone decorated for Halloween. One of the houses had Halloween outside and a big, beautiful colored Christmas tree in their bay window. It was incredible. The best of both worlds! Then, the week before Thanksgiving, we went up just to see if they had started to set everything up. The third time, everything was all set up but not lit yet. In my head, I could imagine it, and it was breathtaking. I could hardly wait until Thanksgiving night. You are probably laughing, thinking, “This girl is crazy!” I do not mess around when it comes to my happy place on that magical street each Christmas season.
That same evening, our dog Bear came with Kenzy and me, and his tail was just wagging as soon as we turned to go up Summer Street. He remembered it. He knew where we were. He rested his head on the edge of the window that was down for him to take it all in. It was so precious to watch as Kenzy was yelling “Happy Thanksgiving & Merry Christmas!” out the sunroof while people were walking up the hill. Moments like this are what make Christmas.
It’s the dark drive home from work at 5 p.m., but homes are lit brightly with holiday cheer. It’s my Uncle John and Aunt Dixie throwing their Santa night at their home. Can you believe Santa and Mrs. Claus come clear down from the North Pole to Montoursville to visit us each year? They bring snow, cookies, hot cocoa, and even a super fun photo booth to get pictures with them! I round up all our friends, and we all go to Pudgie’s in Montoursville for dinner, then head over to anxiously see Mr. and Mrs. Claus. It’s such a special night, and so many of us look forward to it, especially the kids. It’s our church Christmas party with my church family singing Christmas carols and listening to the Christmas story. It’s baking cookies with my momma and laughing over the silliest things. It’s the battle of colored and white lights with my dad and I each year. It truly never gets old! It’s going on the Polar Express with my family, and I’m looking forward to seeing the Grinch, Rudolph, and Santa. It’s wrapping those gifts for loved ones that you simply cannot wait to give on Christmas day. It’s watching your favorite Christmas movie wrapped tight in a warm blanket while snow falls softly outside your window. It’s going to Dave and Kim Thompson’s annual Christmas party each year in the middle of nowhere, but that’s what makes it so fun! It’s going to our annual Christmas dinner with all my close girlfriends. We get all dressed up and go to someplace really nice. This year we are going to DiSalvo’s! Then, I go out another Christmasy evening with my cousin, Lindsay Clark. My boo. My bestie. My sister. It’s the candlelight service on Christmas Eve at church with our annual Christmas Eve party and the people we are with that same night. It’s the Webb Weekly annual Christmas party and being together all in one room celebrating the year. It’s my gram, Margret Perry’s Precious Moments Christmas Village, displayed in our bay window, just like it was when I was a little girl. It’s my gram, Lois Liddicks, Department 56 village pieces that glow in our dining room at night, and I remember how it took up half of her living room this time of year. It’s my kids’ faces on Christmas morning when they first see the gifts under the tree. It’s making gingerbread houses and delivering Christmas cookies. It’s that last Saturday before Christmas, going out with our crew for dinner while wearing our ugly Christmas sweaters in public, then hugging everyone goodbye and yelling “Merry Christmas, love you” until everyone reaches their cars. It’s the first manger you see all lit up in someone’s yard, and think about that very first Christmas oh so long ago. It truly is a magical season. I could go on and on with more, but I will end here so I don’t take up half the paper. *enter a joyful Christmas smile here*
Just take the time to celebrate, enjoy, love, and embrace your traditions!
Rice Krispie Ornaments
Ingredients:
• 1/4 C. butter + extra for your hands (you’ll need for shaping the Rice Krispy treats into a ball)
• (1) 10-oz. package marshmallows
• 6 C. Rice Krispies
• Holiday-colored sugar sprinkles
• Rolo candy
• Toothpicks
Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until well combined. Add the Rice Krispies cereal. Mix until all of the cereal is coated with the marshmallow mixture.
Butter your hands well, then shape the cereal into six balls. Make sure they’re packed tightly! Acting quickly, roll the balls in colored sugar or holiday-colored sprinkles until coated.
For the top of the ornament, stick a toothpick into one end of a Rolo candy. The other end of the toothpick goes into the Rice Krispy ornament.
