Halloween is barely over (just a few hours ago!), but the stores are already prepared to lure you in for holiday shopping. Sadly, we’ve seen Christmas decorations and displays in stores locally for the past several weeks already. I wish I kept the picture I took at Target two weeks ago. There was Halloween decorations on one side of the shelving unit, and Christmas decorations on the other side. That’s just crazy! Let’s finish one holiday before we start another one. I can’t wait to fill my Christmas ornament storage box.
Seeing the Christmas decorations has already got me thinking about Christmas. I have to start coming up with gift ideas for our kids and my husband, as well as others on our holiday shopping list.
Our kids are young adults now. All they want is cash or gift cards. That is not really a gift in my eyes.
Rather than gift the kids gift cards, I would rather take that money and buy tickets to go see the Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular, visit the tree in Rockefeller Center, and perhaps have dinner in the city then walk around and see all the holiday displays. For me, that would be the perfect thing to do.
I rather have a great time and make memories than give our kids plastic gift cards that will be used and tossed out a couple of weeks after Christmas.
Sigh…
Thinking about the upcoming holiday has also got me thinking about Christmases past. My husband and I love to reminisce about our Christmases from our childhood. We talk about things like the Sears “Wish” catalog (remember those?), stringy tinsel (those long, silver strands that got all over everything), seeing Santa riding on the back of a firetruck as he handed out candy canes and coloring books, and getting excited to watch A Charlie Brown Christmas.
I recently received to review a charming book to truly get you into the holiday spirit. It’s called An Old Fashioned Christmas: Favorite Yuletide Quotes & Traditions.
I LOVE the cover of this book. It features a vintage (retro?) Santa and two little cherubs. I am totally into retro/vintage Christmas things.
This is a small book, maybe about 8″ tall by 5″ wide (give or take – I don’t have a ruler handy), and it has 103 easy to read pages.
Inside this lovely book you’ll find different sections:
- Introduction
- The Spirit of Christmas
- Selflessness
- Humor
- Family and Friends
- Faith
- Through the Eyes of a Child
In each chapter you’ll find delightful quotes from famous people such as Norman Vincent Peale, Kelly Clarkson, Bing Crosby, Pat Boone, Charles M. Schulz, Phyllis Diller, Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Murray, to name a few. There are also people whose names I don’t recognize, but I’m sure they are famous in one way or another.
I have truly enjoyed reading through this book. It made my heart smile. The quotes are not only thought provoking, but humorous too. There is a nice assortment of quotes throughout the book.
Now, more than ever, I am excited for the upcoming holiday season.
As the book tries to convey, the holiday season is NOT about the presents under the tree, but the people around the tree (I think that is a quote from Charlie Brown Christmas, but you get what I mean).
This book is great for anyone, young and old, who truly value what Christmas is all about (and I don’t necessarily mean from a religious standpoint). The quotes bring you back to the basics, such as love, family and friendship.
This book would make a great gift, stocking stuffer, “Secret Santa” gift or hostess gift.
I couldn’t find this book on Amazon, but I Googled it and found that it’s available from many retailers including Target, Walmart and Barnes & Noble.
Do you have a favorite holiday quote or tradition? What do you do to get into the holiday spirit? Feel free to share your thoughts and stories.
Kimberly
*I received a free sample to review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.