Imagine a Christmas Without Electronics!

This actually happened this year in the Nielsen house. No one received anything that required batteries, needed to be plugged in or connected to the Internet. Instead everyone received something practical. The family also received a great "back to the basics" game which was fun for the whole family. It's called The Game of Things and uses brain power not electrical power!

The day after Christmas we enjoyed breakfast together then took a 3-mile hike in the woods where we enjoyed the beauty of listening and seeing nature in all its glory. A bright blue sky against trees that had no leaves. We noticed as we viewed the trees that some had bark with a reddish hue which is something we would never have noticed if we were whizzing by in a car. The sound of a rambling brook as it meandered through the woods, trying to figure out which footprints were left by humans, dogs and deer, breathing in the fresh crisp winter air were also some other things we experienced.

Dear Santa…

…all I want for Christmas are two good-paying jobs – one for me and one for my husband.
Thank you.
Dawn Nielsen
Bristol, CT

Don't Ever Try to Outsmart a Four Year Old…

So my husband and I thought we were being clever when one Christmas Eve as we were putting out the presents for the girls from Santa…
We came up with this idea that if we took a piece of white chalk and drew a footprint on the fireplace hearth that we could tell the girls (mostly Heather because Katie was only 2) that it was Santa's footprint and that he left it there when he came down the chimney to leave the presents. We were excited the next morning when we thought our plan was foolproof and said to Heather, "Look Santa left a magic footprint over there by the fireplace." She went over to examine the footprint, took her finger and touched it then smelled it and said to us both very seriously, "It's chalk!" It was so hard not to laugh, but what could we do! Ho Ho Ho.

Christmas Past and Christmas Present…

My girls…
Then and now.

Blue Gum, Christmas and "Hanakin"

This happened many years ago as I was dressing the girls for a Christmas party and I thought I'd share it as we are in the midst of bad economic times that have curtailed those Christmas parties of long ago…

So when you don't have a lot of time and two little girls, plus yourself to get ready for a Christmas party you put them in front of the TV to watch a captivating show so that you can get things done quickly and have more time to make yourself pretty. I dressed Katie, the younger one, first in a pretty green dress with white lace on the collar, white tights and red patten leather shoes then proceeded to dress Heather in a black and white striped dress with a red bow at the waist while Katie become engrossed in the TV show. Heather didn't feel that the dress I chose for her was very "Christmassy" and declared, "Mommy this dress isn't very Christmassy, how come Katie gets to wear a Christmas dress?" At which time Katie, who we didn't think was paying attention to the conversation, piped in without missing a beat, "Yeah, Heather. That's right not only am I Christmassy, but I'm 'Hanakin' too, because I got blue gum." As she chomped on the big wad of blue bubble gum (which I also gave her to distract her while dressing her!).

For those of you lucky enough to be able to celebrate this holiday season at a Christmas party or two – enjoy!

A 77-Year Old Tradition Continues…

Last night was the annual lighting of the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC so I thought it fitting to let you know a little trivia about this 77-year old tradition. Did you know that the first Christmas tree was erected by construction workers who were so thankful to have work in 1931 during the Great Depression. Here it is 77 years later and the country is once again part of a worldwide economic downturn. In 1931 it was thanks to John D. Rockefeller Jr. who created jobs for thousands of people by creating what is known today as Rockefeller Center. The first tree was a simple 20-foot balsam, which the workers draped with makeshift garlands and tin cans as decoration. The tree gave a gaping hole between 49th and 50th streets in Midtown Manhattan a festive feeling as the men lined up next to the tree to receive their paychecks on Christmas Eve 1931. For some, it was their first paycheck in weeks, if not months.

This year's tree was decorated with 30,000 energy-efficient LED lights on five miles of wire, topped with a 750-pound star made of 25,000 Swarovski crystals. It was donated by the Varanyak family in Hamilton Township, N.J. Mrs. Varanyak planted the tree in the 1930s with the hope that it would someday be chosen as the Rockefeller Christmas tree.