Tuesday 4

 

"Hello and welcome once again to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we hope that 4 questions help you to blog, meet people and think about things in general.     Sometimes the simplest questions can be a bit difficult to answer. I do hope you are enjoying these questions...but if you can think up better themes and questions, please let me know!   I want to keep this going and make it nice for you."

It's been a while since I posted a Tuesday 4.

 

 

Let's talk about the countdown to Christmas or Chanukah or both!

1. What was the countdown to the holidays like for you as a child?  Special projects at school.. at home.. with friends? Was a big deal made of the month in your family or town?  What does your countdown look like now? My mom always had an advent calendar for the month and it was always exciting changing the days and counting down until Santa visited! I have a little countdown calendar with Christmas card holder that my not-so-little kids still change.

2. As a kid did your family stay home on the holidays or go visiting around ... what do you do now? We would go out and about to view the Christmas lights around town, and the usual family gatherings took place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. One of my favorite places to still visit and see Christmas lights is Luther Lake.

3. What foods did Mom and Grandma make for those days? What snacks were out? What is the food situation in your home today? Oh gosh, I always looked forward to Christmas dinner! Both my Nannie and Mom were wonderful cooks! My mom always made her famous baked beans, my Nannie made a wonderful brown sugar glazed ham and fresh sweet potatoes, and my Papaw made his amazing nuts n bolts. Everyone always brought a side. Yummy! Let us not forget the desserts - pink stuff and warm apple pie!! My husband loves to cook and we normally whip up fresh homemade sides like sweet potatoes, mac n cheese, green beans, fresh rolls, etc. A spiral ham or turkey, with pumpkin and apple pie to finish it off.

4. Did you have a traditional way of spending the day with time to open gifts, visit,  special breakfasts, special dinner, guests? What do you do now? As I got older, I realized why my parents, especially my mom was so frazzled. LOL! On Christmas Eve we always visited my grandparents. We would go to my dad's parents first and have Christmas with gifts and snacks, which was usually around 3pm. Then a few hours later, we would get together with my mom's parents for Christmas dinner and gifts. Christmas Day was celebrated with my family at home. As our kids were growing up, we used to get together with my husband's extended family on Christmas Eve and his dad's family. Now, we just celebrate Christmas Eve here at our house. Christmas Day used to be hectic. We used to have to get all our Christmas done before noon, then we would sprint to get to a Christmas gathering with my husband's family usually eating a grand layout of Mexican food and opening gifts. Now, we get up on Christmas morning and have donuts and coffee and open gifts.