Thanksgiving is upon us and therefore, so is Christmas. We love both.
We have tried all kinds of different approaches to the Christmas season and to Christmas Day itself. For a couple of years, we tried dollar store toys and had each child give to every other child. By the time we had nine children, that became so unwieldy that we quit and tried something else.
We tried giving three gifts for Christmas, figuring if three gifts were good enough for baby Jesus, they were good enough for us. We did something for the mind, body and soul. Later, we added a fourth gift: fun. That worked for at least a decade.
As my kids have gotten older, though, we have started focusing less on gifts and more on things we can do together. Last year, we had our first themed Christmas Eve and started with Harry Potter. Some of the boys made wands, we had butter beer, cooked a pork loin and called it basilisk and had “Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans.” (Word to the wise: Don’t do this unless you want to waste a lot of perfectly good jelly beans. No one would touch them on the off-chance they might get “fresh grass” or “boogers” jelly beans. Go figure.)
This year, our Christmas Eve theme is Star Wars, complete with light sabers and Jedi robes. Happily, we also have the entire month of December to enjoy other new and old traditions.
Next week, the Debra Bonner Unity Gospel Choir is presenting their second annual A Soulful Christmas Celebration, Thursday, November 30, 2017, at 7:00 PM at the UCCU Event Center in Orem. They are a multicultural, multi-faith gospel choir, singing gospel music and touching hearts wherever they go. In addition to the choir, the event features celebrity artists Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys, and David Osmond, Center Stage Performing Arts Studio, Spark Singers, Beyond Measure, The Bonnor Brothers (Yahosh,Oba & Conlon Bonner), and world-renowned gospel pianist, David Blakely. Check out their version of Joy to the World right here.
If you want to attend, head on over to www.debrabonner.com to purchase tickets. We are really looking forward to it!
Another Richardson family favorite is looking at the lights on Temple Square. When I worked in downtown Salt Lake, I watched lights start going up in August, in 90-plus degree weather. Weird. I also recently learned that no one really knows how many lights are on Temple Square during the holidays. Last count was about 800,000 in 1997. However many it is, they make for a spectacular sight.
Of course, lights are not the only draw to Temple Square. It wouldn’t be Christmas without the music. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Concert will be held Dec 14, 15 and 16 this year. You could also plop yourself down at any one of six locations on Temple Square starting Saturday at noon and listen to musical performances for hours. Temple Square has a guide you can download with all performances listed, as well as many other fun ideas and bits of information.
Like many families, we also do an advent countdown. My grandmother started a tradition of advent stockings that we hang on Nov. 30. Santa’s elves come and fill them that night with a piece of candy for each member of the family. As you might imagine, the current stockings are quite large. We’ve also done an advent box, with doors that open to show a tiny little treasure that can then be displayed in a miniature winter scene.
This year, I am excited to add in some of the ideas from a beautiful new book by Christie Gardiner. It’s called “Our Family Christmas: Creating Meaningful and Memorable Christ-Centered Traditions.” Each of the 24 days in December leading up to Christmas Day has six things for you to read or do together: a quote, a story, an activity idea, a recipe, a song and a journaling prompt. The part I really love is that for each day, she gives you a suggestion that can be done in five minutes, expanded to 20 minutes or fully embraced in an hour-long activity with your family. Pretty sure I can handle at least five minutes a day.
Finally, Christmas would not be complete for our family without taking the time to serve others. In the past, we have participated in Sub for Santa, Toys for Tots and Angel Trees. One of my kids’ favorite traditions is going to Temple Square, taking some cash and finding someone else to give it to. One year, my son’s Eagle Scout project was to help provide Christmas for residents of the Utah State Developmental Center. We continued to celebrate Christmas morning with them for a number of years until government bureaucracy shut it down this year.
My new favorite place to look for service ideas is JustServe.org. Put in your zip code and you will get a number of needs in your local area. I found 122 such opportunities within a 10-mile radius of my home. Those include making first aid kits for refugees, crocheting beanies, making blankets, becoming a reading tutor, teaching classes at a local senior center and volunteering at the Festival of Trees. And, more than 100 other possibilities.
As we sit down to enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends, this Irish blessing seems appropriate.
“Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.”
Holly Richardson
Holly Richardson wishes you all a very happy Thanksgiving and a joyous start to this year’s Christmas season.
