BWAHA! I love your version of the Peanuts Gang all grown-up. What do you think Charlie Brown would be doing? And yes, I watched that cartoon, too, every year when we were kids. Several years ago, Mr. Ex and I did a road trip to Cali (let's get real, it was more like a beercation for him, but I forced some culture into it) and we checked out the Charles M. Schulz museum in Santa Rosa. (https://schulzmuseum.org/). That place was so. Cool. I bought a plush Snoops for Sis (because she LURVED Snoopy) and bought a shirt for myself that had Snoopy sitting on his doghouse with a typewriter that had the words, "It was a dark and stormy night" on it LOL. I thought that was fitting for me.
I had excellent role modeling for a relatively chill Christmas. My mother (a schoolteacher) used to say, "It's a holiday for me, too," while we served ourselves Eggo waffles whenever we got hungry (a treat we coveted this one day each year) and scooped strawberries on our waffles that she had left on the counter to thaw the night before. Meanwhile, she'd put a ham in the oven in no particular hurry - much easier than a turkey. When we kids got old enough to peel and mash potatoes, we added those. When we got old enough to buy the champagne and make the mimosas, we added those.
Mostly, she spent the day with us and our toys and took a rest when she needed it. The kitchen did not master her on Christmas day. It's one of my most important life lessons.
Oh yeah, she stirred sugar into the frozen strawberries, so as far as we were concerned, she had made us a feast.
We opened the door and pulled out parkas when we tried to make a fire in the wood stove but the air pressure was wonky and pushed the smoke back in the house. Latkes would have been a nice addition, since we had the doors and windows open anyhow.
I would definitely vote for Peppermint Patty for senator.
This is so charming and funny. It must have been frustrating to have such small options for holiday support ‘stuff’. I mean Christmas is a billions of dollars commercialized industry. Lol. I shared many of our traditions in my latest co-post with Wendy Elizabeth Williams. I’m on a bit of a roller coaster this year as far as emotions. I’m joyful now that my decorations will be done today (modest amount this year) but a few days ago I cried alone in my room for 3 hours. Felt like I lost 50 pounds and afterward I slept like a baby. Maybe holidays are emotional because we’ve carried it around all year and then when we subconsciously feel soft and marshmallow-y for a moment in the holiday spirit it comes pouring out like the dam couldn’t take the pressure any longer. All I know is the holidays are shaping up nicely now and I for one am looking forward to time with family and friends. ✌️🎄❤️
Thx for sharing. 🥰 Your essay with Wendy this week was lovely.
You seem to be a very spiritual person. I would imagine the 3 hour sob fest could be about celebrating G-d and the gift of life, blessings and the opportunity for more personal growth next year. I get emotional during the Jewish High Holidays (Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah) for the same reasons.
Charlie Brown's plight is the SADDEST ever. All the adult commentary in that (and all the peanuts movies) went right over my head as a kid. But now, those kids just bum me out. Are ANY of them happy ... or NICE EVEN? Maybe PigPen. He knows how to take life easy. 😊
Merry Chanukkahmas!
I am breathing this Christmas. The new dog is helping. 💕
I love these reflections. Our holiday tradition was always to read "A Child's Christmas in Wales" and "T'was the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. This has slipped by the wayside in recent years because of COVID and geographic spread, but I'd love to bring it back. I'm breathing this year (as opposed to stressing) because I'm not being forced into performative jollity--it's all genuine. And we always watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special. My dad adored Vince Guaraldi--not just the Christmas stuff. The music was just as important as the cartoon. I hope we never lose Charlie. Peppermint Patty is SO a State Senator! 😂
Happy Christmakkah, CK! This was excellent. “A Dreidel is a spinning top with Hebrew letters on each side. Wherever the dreidel may fall will determine the prize. It’s good to teach kids how to gamble at such a young age.” Ha, amazing! And I’m so happy that you touched on one of the things that’s always confused me: the fact that everyone calls Charlie Brown by his full name. Even his sister!
Haha, I loved the discussion on the correct spelling and then the variety of spellings that followed! We are definitely breathing. Our tradition is that Christmas is never the same from year to year, and no stress allowed.
What a beautiful, heartfelt wish for us - Happy Christmakkah❤️ Same to you and your beautiful family! Only you would tell us what Charlie Brown's crew was up to these days and I was howling! A state senator and a cheerleader🤣, I think the best one is Pig Pen as a retired astronaut!!
There are still a bunch of them (including some at the Fairgrounds) all over but some are now gone.
BTW it was interesting to hear about all the variations on how to spell Hannukkah. I immediately thought of your CRAZY story about what makes a Torah. Especially the onerous standard of you have to start over if you get one letter wrong. That is MUCH WORSE than having nuns oversee your cursive. Feel bad for the dude who messes up the spelling of Hannukkah :) -- gonna need another skin as I'm starting over...
Christmas always seems so stressful somehow. We still do a lot for Chanukah (my preferred spelling) with presents and parties and decorating…but it doesn’t have that same pressure Christmas has. I think spreading it out over 8 days also helps with that. If the first day is meh, who cares, we have 7 more! 🕎
Our tradition is from my Swedish roots and it has us always celebrating and opening presents on Christmas Eve. This cozy, sparkly, shiny time felt so special. When I was grown with a family, we would go to Christmas Eve service (always the early one!) and then head home for dinner and presents. Christmas Day was then a low key quiet day that usually meant going outside for a hike or building a fire by the ocean and hanging out with hot chocolate while it seemed the rest of the world was busy inside. It felt like we had the whole outdoors to ourselves. (Although I think others have now picked up on this tradition.)
I watched Charlie Brown Christmas religiously when I was little and will still watch it now. Something about it just says Christmas to me...although you are so right about looking at it now with adult eyes!
And I make a point of saying "Merry Christmas." The fact people were trying to be politically correct by using "Happy Holidays" ensured I used the former and not the latter. The whole point of this time of year was Jesus' birth. But, let's pretend it's just a commercial holiday filled with shopping, trees, baubles and stress. If my kids ever whined about presents I would quip, "Jesus is the reason for the season!" It's not about presents!! Of course, they would just roll their eyes. One year, when they were little, I took them to a seniors home on Christmas day and we went room to room visiting the elderly, most of whom were confined to their rooms and handed out hand knitted lap blankets to the residents. I wanted my kids to switch the channel and think about others. The joy and happiness on the residents' faces, especially seeing the young children is burned in my memory. It was transformative for me and I hope my kids still carry that little life lesson with them.
What beautiful traditions. Sounds like my kind of celebration. Wonderful lessons for your kids. Focusing on others leads to invaluable insights and appreciation.
I watched CB again for this essay. It brought back so many memories. Watch again if you can.
Cheering for the kosher salt just made my holidays a little less stressful!
I’ve stripped the holidays way back just to make it easier on myself. The hardest part is grappling with family (and knowing no one is fully happy)—my divorced parents each live two hours away, but I have to split allotted relative time between them while still preserving quality time with my own little family.
Alternating years hasn’t worked out, largely because they’re in the same city. Mostly I just remind them both that they’re the ones who taught me to share so well. (You can guess how much they love hearing that!)
Been laughing about the kosher salt all day. Still.
Our new tradition now that we live on the Cape is: No Tree! At least not one that costs upwards of $250 and we can't cut down in our own yard. We're hanging a string of lights on a scrawny little pine branch instead and calling it good.
BWAHA! I love your version of the Peanuts Gang all grown-up. What do you think Charlie Brown would be doing? And yes, I watched that cartoon, too, every year when we were kids. Several years ago, Mr. Ex and I did a road trip to Cali (let's get real, it was more like a beercation for him, but I forced some culture into it) and we checked out the Charles M. Schulz museum in Santa Rosa. (https://schulzmuseum.org/). That place was so. Cool. I bought a plush Snoops for Sis (because she LURVED Snoopy) and bought a shirt for myself that had Snoopy sitting on his doghouse with a typewriter that had the words, "It was a dark and stormy night" on it LOL. I thought that was fitting for me.
A museum!? So sweet. I wonder why Peanuts never became as commercial as Disney characters or Hello Kitty.
Charlie Brown would have become some tech genius.
I had excellent role modeling for a relatively chill Christmas. My mother (a schoolteacher) used to say, "It's a holiday for me, too," while we served ourselves Eggo waffles whenever we got hungry (a treat we coveted this one day each year) and scooped strawberries on our waffles that she had left on the counter to thaw the night before. Meanwhile, she'd put a ham in the oven in no particular hurry - much easier than a turkey. When we kids got old enough to peel and mash potatoes, we added those. When we got old enough to buy the champagne and make the mimosas, we added those.
Mostly, she spent the day with us and our toys and took a rest when she needed it. The kitchen did not master her on Christmas day. It's one of my most important life lessons.
Oh yeah, she stirred sugar into the frozen strawberries, so as far as we were concerned, she had made us a feast.
We opened the door and pulled out parkas when we tried to make a fire in the wood stove but the air pressure was wonky and pushed the smoke back in the house. Latkes would have been a nice addition, since we had the doors and windows open anyhow.
I would definitely vote for Peppermint Patty for senator.
Your Fred Meyer video: 🤣 😅
Nice memories. 🥰 So glad mom relaxed. I learned early on to delegate at Thanksgiving.
This is so charming and funny. It must have been frustrating to have such small options for holiday support ‘stuff’. I mean Christmas is a billions of dollars commercialized industry. Lol. I shared many of our traditions in my latest co-post with Wendy Elizabeth Williams. I’m on a bit of a roller coaster this year as far as emotions. I’m joyful now that my decorations will be done today (modest amount this year) but a few days ago I cried alone in my room for 3 hours. Felt like I lost 50 pounds and afterward I slept like a baby. Maybe holidays are emotional because we’ve carried it around all year and then when we subconsciously feel soft and marshmallow-y for a moment in the holiday spirit it comes pouring out like the dam couldn’t take the pressure any longer. All I know is the holidays are shaping up nicely now and I for one am looking forward to time with family and friends. ✌️🎄❤️
Thx for sharing. 🥰 Your essay with Wendy this week was lovely.
You seem to be a very spiritual person. I would imagine the 3 hour sob fest could be about celebrating G-d and the gift of life, blessings and the opportunity for more personal growth next year. I get emotional during the Jewish High Holidays (Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah) for the same reasons.
Merry Christmas. 🎄
Not stressing this year, but i probably should! My childhood was CharlieBrown, Frosty, and Rudolph (oh my!). Plus the Grinch.
As the designated latke maker, I rebeled one year and made them in a Belgian waffle iron. My life is a fruitless search for a healthy latke.
Healthy latke is an oxymoron. I once tried making them from root vegetables. I was the only one who ate them.
I would totally eat those!
Charlie Brown's plight is the SADDEST ever. All the adult commentary in that (and all the peanuts movies) went right over my head as a kid. But now, those kids just bum me out. Are ANY of them happy ... or NICE EVEN? Maybe PigPen. He knows how to take life easy. 😊
Merry Chanukkahmas!
I am breathing this Christmas. The new dog is helping. 💕
A new dog!!! Please share.
I'll email you some pictures. 😁
I love these reflections. Our holiday tradition was always to read "A Child's Christmas in Wales" and "T'was the Night Before Christmas" on Christmas Eve. This has slipped by the wayside in recent years because of COVID and geographic spread, but I'd love to bring it back. I'm breathing this year (as opposed to stressing) because I'm not being forced into performative jollity--it's all genuine. And we always watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special. My dad adored Vince Guaraldi--not just the Christmas stuff. The music was just as important as the cartoon. I hope we never lose Charlie. Peppermint Patty is SO a State Senator! 😂
Lovely traditions.
So glad you’re breathing.
Yes, the music MADE the cartoon.
Merry Christmas. 🎄🎁
This was amazing and hilarious, glad I found it! I’ll even give you a pass for comparing the American icon Charlie Brown to that asshole Calliou 🤣
No, we banned our child from watching that whiny SOB! 🤣
Haha.
Haha. Welcome!! Did you have kids who watched Caillou too?
Happy Christmakkah, CK! This was excellent. “A Dreidel is a spinning top with Hebrew letters on each side. Wherever the dreidel may fall will determine the prize. It’s good to teach kids how to gamble at such a young age.” Ha, amazing! And I’m so happy that you touched on one of the things that’s always confused me: the fact that everyone calls Charlie Brown by his full name. Even his sister!
Thx, ChrisStanton. Hehe.
Merry Christmakkah. 🕎🎄🙏🥰
Haha, I loved the discussion on the correct spelling and then the variety of spellings that followed! We are definitely breathing. Our tradition is that Christmas is never the same from year to year, and no stress allowed.
Yay. No stress. Just enjoy. 👏👏🎄🥰🙏
What a beautiful, heartfelt wish for us - Happy Christmakkah❤️ Same to you and your beautiful family! Only you would tell us what Charlie Brown's crew was up to these days and I was howling! A state senator and a cheerleader🤣, I think the best one is Pig Pen as a retired astronaut!!
Hehe. Thx sweetie. 🥰🙏🎄🕎
1. Do you have a holiday tradition? -- LOTS of them but brevity is king.
2. Are you stressing or breathing? -- BREATHING
3. Did you watch A Charlie Brown Christmas too? BTW, you can stream it on Apple TV. -- YES
For those Peanuts lovers, here a link to enjoy. https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/recreation-centers/parks-recreation-programs/public-art/peanuts
That’s awesome! I didn’t know Schulz was from St. Paul. 🥰
There are still a bunch of them (including some at the Fairgrounds) all over but some are now gone.
BTW it was interesting to hear about all the variations on how to spell Hannukkah. I immediately thought of your CRAZY story about what makes a Torah. Especially the onerous standard of you have to start over if you get one letter wrong. That is MUCH WORSE than having nuns oversee your cursive. Feel bad for the dude who messes up the spelling of Hannukkah :) -- gonna need another skin as I'm starting over...
Christmas always seems so stressful somehow. We still do a lot for Chanukah (my preferred spelling) with presents and parties and decorating…but it doesn’t have that same pressure Christmas has. I think spreading it out over 8 days also helps with that. If the first day is meh, who cares, we have 7 more! 🕎
Great point! 8 days of trials. Maybe day 2 sucked but we can try again. Hehe.
Our tradition is from my Swedish roots and it has us always celebrating and opening presents on Christmas Eve. This cozy, sparkly, shiny time felt so special. When I was grown with a family, we would go to Christmas Eve service (always the early one!) and then head home for dinner and presents. Christmas Day was then a low key quiet day that usually meant going outside for a hike or building a fire by the ocean and hanging out with hot chocolate while it seemed the rest of the world was busy inside. It felt like we had the whole outdoors to ourselves. (Although I think others have now picked up on this tradition.)
I watched Charlie Brown Christmas religiously when I was little and will still watch it now. Something about it just says Christmas to me...although you are so right about looking at it now with adult eyes!
And I make a point of saying "Merry Christmas." The fact people were trying to be politically correct by using "Happy Holidays" ensured I used the former and not the latter. The whole point of this time of year was Jesus' birth. But, let's pretend it's just a commercial holiday filled with shopping, trees, baubles and stress. If my kids ever whined about presents I would quip, "Jesus is the reason for the season!" It's not about presents!! Of course, they would just roll their eyes. One year, when they were little, I took them to a seniors home on Christmas day and we went room to room visiting the elderly, most of whom were confined to their rooms and handed out hand knitted lap blankets to the residents. I wanted my kids to switch the channel and think about others. The joy and happiness on the residents' faces, especially seeing the young children is burned in my memory. It was transformative for me and I hope my kids still carry that little life lesson with them.
Thanks for sharing about Chanukkah! xo
What beautiful traditions. Sounds like my kind of celebration. Wonderful lessons for your kids. Focusing on others leads to invaluable insights and appreciation.
I watched CB again for this essay. It brought back so many memories. Watch again if you can.
Merry Christmas!! 🎄 🎅🏼 🙏🏼
Happy Christmakkah!! Enjoy your festive season. Sending heaps of hugs and best wishes. 🤗🤗😘
Thx Beth of Aus! To you as well! xoxo 🥰
Cheering for the kosher salt just made my holidays a little less stressful!
I’ve stripped the holidays way back just to make it easier on myself. The hardest part is grappling with family (and knowing no one is fully happy)—my divorced parents each live two hours away, but I have to split allotted relative time between them while still preserving quality time with my own little family.
Also? I’ve decided the solstice is my jam.
I know about the divorced parents. Do you alternate years? I know a lot of families that do this with Thanksgiving too.
Having little kids makes for a good excuse. Tell the parents to come to you.
Winter solstice-- another grand celebration.
Alternating years hasn’t worked out, largely because they’re in the same city. Mostly I just remind them both that they’re the ones who taught me to share so well. (You can guess how much they love hearing that!)
Been laughing about the kosher salt all day. Still.
Our new tradition now that we live on the Cape is: No Tree! At least not one that costs upwards of $250 and we can't cut down in our own yard. We're hanging a string of lights on a scrawny little pine branch instead and calling it good.
Makes sense.
Some of those plastic, fold up trees are nice. One just needs a decent storage space for the rest of the year.
The cape must be gorgeous this time of year.