Well I hope everyone has a good Christmas this year. Around this community where I live they are decorating the place up really nice again this year. I live right across from the pool and clubhouse and its is all decorated with hundreds upon hundreds of lights, and big reefs with lights..the whole nine yards. All the street lampposts are decorated and the mailbox house, the workshop and shuffleboard courts (lol) are all decorated with lights and Christmas things. Even the neighbors in this park have there golf carts decorated with Christmas lights..lol Its a pretty sight around here at night. Being next to the clubhouse and pool we are right in the middle where all the action takes place and parties. Most of these people are in there 60's and are all really nice folks. They will again this year have a Christmas party in the clubhouse complete with a live band. Its BYOB and people bring some drinks also. They open the gates for 2 weeks at night so people can drive through and look at the lights, thats always fun. I set outside on the porch and watch all the cars driving through, there must be hundreds a night it is always packed with cars. The cars come through some in trucks and vans and even buses, full of kids all laughing and pointing there fingers in awe of all the Christmas lights. Its a tradition around here to decorate the place up really good for Christmas and open the gates for drive thrus.
Then on Christmas Eve some people will go around house to house and sing Christmas Carols, its quite an event.

So whats your plans this Christams?

Merry Christmas Y'all
plans for Christmas is a Breakfast on Christmas day, Kids, Grandkids their girl friends, and some friends..we choose an ethnic type of meal this year it is Greek
this year we are buying a unisex gift, and then draw it from the numbers put in a bowl, then we play Dirty Santa.. after opening gifts, there will be pool,scrabble cards and chess played..

Everything here sparkles, all my decorations are up..smells like balsam here ,with a dash of citrus,cinnamon, potpourri,,and candles.. Love this time of year..

Hope all are Blessed,

Tyler that sounds really awesome, I have the house and yard decorated, tree up and twinkling, we always ride around to see the different light displays and 2 churches have living nativity scenes. I am expecting a crowd for Christmas dinner, kids , grands and several from my daughters work who have no families in the area, the more the merrier. We adopt a family every year and provide gifts and a Christmas meal, we have the shopping for that finished. We have traditions every year that we do, since my husband passed away we now go to the cemetary on Christmas Eve and read The Night Before Christmas, that was always his roll Christmas Eve no matter how old the kids were, so we are still carrying it on.

That sounds really nice both of you Gypsy and SSC.

To SSC,
that is really nice tradition you are doing now to read The Night Before Christmas at the cemetery where your late husband is, I think that is very sweet. Perhaps he is aware of it and smiles when you all are there, I would like to think so. In any event its a remembrance time of a loved one passed and a nice gesture of love from you all.

For me its the quite moments I spend thinking of the loved ones passed, the memories of the good times that are so precious to me now. Around Christmas I remember the traditions we shared, how we all got up in the morning together to open our presents under the tree. We would all take our places around the tree and give everyone a present to open. And without fail every single year Christmas morning our stockings would be filled with goodies. You never knew what would be in your stocking, and the tree, that would magically appear with candy canes hanging from it. That continued my entire live with my Mom and Dad, there I was a 40-50 year old man opening his Christmas stocking and eating a candy cane from the tree. It hurts me now that there are no stockings to open anymore, or candy canes to pull from the tree, or the smiles of both my Mom and Dad, they are all but memories for me now, but sweet memories they were, and I am thankful to have them.

Bless you all, and have a Merry Christmas.

I enjoyed reading that Tyler.When Mom And Dad were alive,the hills of Kentucky is where everyone wanted to come for Christmas,, they would,all gather at our house,usually there would be snow fallen or falling,we lived at that time on a big hill,the kids old and young would sled down that hill,,we also rode horses.
it was a beautiful time, and makes my heart glad I have those memories,I miss that time, but now we are blessed with a new era.. we also adopt a family,this year it is two..one will be eating with us, the other we will take a meal to them, the wife is bed fast..


Merry Christmas!!
God Bless All