What's the one SPECIAL thing you do every Christmas?

[Keith_Hixson]

I have to be there for some reason. But, to me it is the most enjoyable thing about Christmas.

Christmas is hectic it drives me crazy. This progam and this party or special program. Love to watch some form of Christmas Carol.
But, when I go through the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke and sing Christmas Carols with my Church Family. It puts Christmas all together as it was to be celebrated. Honor the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Then after the Christmas Eve Service I can go home and say the Christmas Season is over and enjoy Christmas.

Keith

[Dragon Lady]

For me it's not Christmas unless I get to hear my dad telling his made-up stories to the little ones. His best is how Cinderfeller helped Santa save Christmas; complete with singing and whistling. I swear that man was a Celtic Bard in a past life.

[VIETNAM 1968]

Decorate my Best Buddy's Grave. He died of wounds on September 7, 1968, while trying to save two Marines that had been wounded during a Firefight just South of Danang Airbase. He is buried in Woburn, Massachusetts in the Veterans Section of the cemetery.

After that I then decorate my parents Grave. They are buried in Watertown, Massachusetts at the Mount Auburn Cemetery.

After the Cemeteries are decorated, I then take my Wife into Boston so that she can see the Enchanted Village and do some last minute Christmas Shopping. The Enchanted Village used to be displayed at Jordan Marsh but when Jordan Marsh sold out to Macys, the entire display was sold to the City of Boston, who now display it at the Government Center (the old Skully Square).

To all my Vietnam Veteran Brothers and Sisters, I again state:


WELCOME HOME:


VIETNAM 1968

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Shirley decorates the house inside and out, top to bottom. Then she has all the descendants of my father over for dinner, all sixty or so.

[Andy]

I always pray at Christmas. First it was for cowboys and indians, then a new bike, then for my drivers license, just a little later it was for a girl with two hooks on her bra strap that were broken. By '67 I was praying for life and another Christmas. For many many years I've been praying for my kids. Course kids make you pray all the time, regardless of their age. (I tend to pray for their mother and my own too.)

Other Christmas traditions: Visiting relatives, or being visited, watching the face of a child opening a present you know they will like, eating traditional foods and perhaps having a nip or two off a bottle to take the frost from the nose. Feeling blessed regardless of the circumstances because you know there are those worst off than you. And yes there are things much more annoying than squatting in a rice paddy, eating cold C's and getting shot at.

Stay healthy,
Andy

[MORTARDUDE]

I also like the 1951 version of "A Christmas Carol". One of the best movies ever made. "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" is a classic. The scene where Randy Quaid is in his underwear emptying the waste form the RV into the gutters is unbelievable.

Andy, your post reminded me of 1955. The arrival of the Sears Wish Book, as I recall in late summer, caused us to pore over each page in preparation for the big day. The "Davy Crockett Craze" was in full swing. I prayed that I would get the Davy Crockett Alamo set from Marx and did. I still have what is left of the set. By the way, you can purchase the old Wish Books on eBay, plus other store's catalogs. I have a number of them, and they are well worth the price.

We also have 30+ years of ornaments. My wife has a Santa collection, but I draw the line at the hip-swiveling-cowboy-Santa she got a few years ago. There is just something wrong with that... LOL

Larry

[revwardoc]

To those of you of Scandanavian descent....what the hell is this thing you have with lutefisk?! I've worked with several Finns and Danes and know several Swedes. They all insist that it wouldn't be Xmas without lutefisk. I was invited to try it once and I went ahead figuring that, since such a sizable portion of the world's population does this every Yuletide, it must be OK. WRONG!!! That stuff is awful, with a capital BLEAH!!! Once my sense of taste returned, I asked them, what the hell is the big attraction. They said that they didn't know but that it was a tradition. I then asked if they liked it. They all said, NO!! I dunno, tradition or not, I wouldn't eat that crap again.

[usmcsgt65]

Invite our next door neighbors (in their 80's) over to take part in some present unwrapping. Unfortunately, we can only invite Mary, since Ernie in September.

[Andy]

I still have about 2/3rds of my Alamo set!!! Mom kept things like that and gave them to my kids when they were 5 or 6 years old. When they stopping playing with things like that we boxed them up and are still waiting for a grandchild. Matter of fact my younger son has about 1,000 comic books from my youth, including Donald Duck in Vietnam, Circa 1955. Did you know the idea of the solid gold temple was based on the Cow-die (spelled wrong) temple in Tay Ninh?

You must know that Doc Fred lives just a few miles from Davy Crockett's birth place. He was nice enough to take us there last fall. I'm pretty sure it was Fess Parker who caused me to decide that one day I would probably join the army so I could kill bad guys.

RevWarDoc: Those Finn's were just messing with you. Their fish tastes a lot better after lots of vodka. Vodka is usually as big a part of the tradition as the fish. Matter of fact some of them drink the vodka and all together forget to eat the fish.

Be Healthy,
Andy

[Dragon Lady]

This year we start a new tradition...my in-laws are coming to our house for the first time, complete with dinner. It will finally feel like home here after living in this house for 5 years.