Merry Christmas and a Safe and Healthy New Year to All

Things are really busy right now for all of us, as you already know, with Christmas and New Year coming up. I will be spending time with family outside of country as well as spending time with other family inside so will not post until mid-January.  In the mean time...

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year! I hope everyone will be able to get together with their loved ones and enjoy time together as we celebrate the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus Christ, and prepare to begin a New Year. 

It is a joy to watch the little ones open gifts from under the tree.  That is something you miss when your children grow up. If you have grandchildren, you can kind of re-live that through them. 

For those who may be alone at Christmas, I hope you can find someone else who may be alone to share it with, or maybe someone will invite you to share Christmas with them.Years ago when my children were in University and one of their friends had no where to go for Christmas we would invite them to share Christmas with us. It became a tradition which we all enjoyed and felt blessed doing.  I know that if my children, even adult children, had no one to spend Christmas with, I would be so pleased if someone offered to share Christmas with them. We can do for others what we would like others to do for our own child (grown child) if they were unable to spend Christmas with us for some reason.  It really is more blessed to give than receive!  No one should have to spend Christmas alone.

As a tradition, my grandchildren play piano recitals and sing at a Nursing Home on Christmas afternoon for the old people. They then go around to speak with, and sometimes give hugs to, the older ones. It is very nice. 

Traditions are good!  There is always someone, somewhere who could use some Christmas cheer, or maybe Christmas dinner.  Maybe someone on the street could use mitts or warm hat as well as a meal. I think there are many ways to share the joy of Christmas with someone who is alone at this time.

What traditions do you have in your family? 
What traditions might you want to start?

Have you asked your children what they might like as a new tradition for bringing joy to the heart of someone who is alone.  Your children would probably have some great ideas!  It would be an interesting discussion to see what they come up with. They probably notice more than we sometimes realize.

Enjoy Christmas and New Years celebration...

In Christ's love,

~Annie~