I hope and trust your holidays thus far have been warm, cozy, full of delicious homemade eats and wonderful times with friends and family.
The best days for me are the ones leading up to Christmas morning and New Year’s Eve. We have our own traditions, which I mostly celebrate with the gang in this photo. That’s me in the funny blue hat, my husband in the other funny (straw) hat. And our son, his wife and the 3 grand kids (including the two youngest who refused to wear a coat for this photograph, insisting they are “freeze proof.”)
Here’s what I do in the days leading up to Christmas:
1. Choose our own Christmas tree on our 20 acres (Always, we pick one that is crowded and never going to grow into a tall and glorious pinon pine.) Rather, this flat sided misfit is endowed with a burst of glory, its final days spent decorated with 40 years worth of collected ornaments and sparkling lights.
2. Bake Christmas cookies with the grand kids, almond flour delights decorated with “semi” healthy goodies like Trader Joe’s “M and Ms” and fair trade chocolate drops
3. Wrap all presents in beautifully colored cloth with reusable ribbon (Living in the country, disposing of rolls of wrapping paper every year can be problematic)
4. Bake pumpkin pies on Christmas eve, with approximately 3X the amount of spice called for and adding molasses for extra flavor depth
And now? I’m excited that the roaring 2020s are just around the corner.
In fact, our little town of Mountainair is holding its first ever New Year’s eve party. The Roaring 20s is the theme, of course. And Ed and I will for sure be there, dressed up in our vintage 1920s outfits.
You know, I think we should all ROAR this next decade. Do what we’ve always wanted to do. Take up a new hobby or craft. Or get better at what we already do. Maybe make a bunch of new friends.
I’m planning to do all that.
We’re going to attend more shows this next year. That means meeting more people and making lots more friends. And I’ll hone my craft, creating new designs and even recreating some past favorites. So watch for some Magic Zoo announcements of new designs coming up soon! I’ll be wanting to know what you think of them.
Now I have 2 questions for you…
- What is one of your holiday traditions?
- What do you plan to do in the roaring 2020s?
I always answer every comment made here. And I adore hearing from you!
Love and Peace to you, your family and all your non-human best buddies,
Merry
Jimi says
We always celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Our meal is usually Colorado style Enchiladas and Chili Pork. I bake the Chili Pork all night and wake up to this delicious smell in the morning. Then we have Breakfast Tacos.
As for the 2020’s nothing special. I’m not doing a throw back.
Robie Haught says
My husband, Brian, and I celebrated 29 years of marriage on December 22! We happily welcomed our adult children home to spend some time with us. Our Christmas Day tradition is to host lunchtime dinner for many of our family members. Depending on the year there can be anywhere from 30 to 60 individuals at our house. Everyone brings food and we share good fellowship for many hours.
I would like to do more crafts – cross stitch, needle point, hand quilting. I must work to find the time to make it happen!
Merry says
Congratulations, Robie! Your holiday sounds absolutely wonderful. And I LOVE your ideas for the New Year!
Bill Jezzard says
Debi and I went to visit the Dillo the last couple days of it this year [we stopped 5? years ago] and thought of the folks we met there whom we haven’t seen for years. Besides that, we found a couple pieces last month that we traded back in the day so you and Ed came easily to mind.
Debi and I are doing great. We are only doing the Maryland Renaissance Festival now where we only sell our jewelry and traveling as much as we can stand. We got back from three weeks in Ecuador Thanksgiving day. We spent 2 1/2 months in Bali, Thailand and Laos. Headed back to Asia in February and are thinking about taking some friends up on their offer to join them sailing in the Greek Isles.
I trust you and Ed are doing well. Your holiday photo looks like you are.
All the best from Debi and I
Merry says
Hey Bill, SO nice to hear from you! Ed says he’ll shoot you an email soon. It sounds like you and Debi are really having a blast! We love living in New Mexico with our family. I think of The Armadillo every year about this time, and hope one of these days we can get down there and see who is still at it from back in the day. We are still doing some shows, even more this coming year. I still design new things, and love what I do. Keep in touch! Love, Merry