Shortly after getting married, my late ex-husband, Steve, and I knew our Christmas traditions were going to have to change. Growing up, I had always gone to Winnipeg for a large family gathering on Christmas Eve. In my first parish, we went to Steve’s family farm on Christmas Eve, since it was only a few miles from the church I …
OK, so The Triumvirate (Mom and my sisters) decreed that we’d have German food for Christmas. My three brothers and I are not consulted on decisions of such import, even though we constitute a majority, but we don’t have to cook, either. It may be a simple matter of public safety. It’s a relatively benevolent dictatorship — Mom and her …
“Hi, Orv!” chirps Stan. “What did you get for Christmas? Another 10,000 acres of dirt? Hair plugs? Personality injections?” “What’s it to you, Marxist boy?” hisses Orville, as he takes another sip of his vodka gimlet. “Are you 10 years old or something?” He mimics the voice of a small boy. “What did you get for Christmas? Geez Louise.” Stanley thinks …
Friends of ours, Mark and Kitty Westin, came up with a lovely Christmas card tradition for themselves a couple of years ago. Each year, they discover and repurpose a classic Christmas card from another era, sending them “back out into the world!” As they visit antique stores throughout the year, they find interesting, vintage Christmas cards that they repurpose, usually by copying the front …