Sing Them All!

Today I'm inspired by a post at RevGals: Those Stanzas Nobody Knows. Like the writer of that post, I'm  disappointed when we only get to sing a couple of stanzas of hymns and carols because often the text of the lesser known stanzas carry the most meaning. As far as I'm concerned, the more congregational singing the better!

Here are my favorite verses from familiar Christmas Carols often omitted in worship that I wish were included.

From O Come, O Come Emmanuel:

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

From Once In Royal David's City:

Not in that poor lowly stable

With the oxen standing by

We shall see him but in heaven

Set at God's right hand on high

Where like stars his children crowned

All in white shall wait around

From O Little Town of Bethlehem:

Where children pure and happy
Pray to the blessed Child,
Where misery cries out to thee,
Son of the mother mild;
Where charity stands watching
And faith holds wide the door,
The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,
And Christmas comes once more.

From O Come All Ye Faithful:

Child, for us sinners
Poor and in the manger,
We would embrace thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love thee,
Loving us so dearly?

From Joy To The World:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

From O Holy Night:

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O'er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend

Gentle Readers, what are your favorite carol or hymn verses that nobody knows?

They Don't Have White Christmases In Houston

SO TRUE! It's 75 degrees and we're sipping ice tea on the porch in our flip-flops. Love this!!

The 12 Doctrines of Christmas

This is a hoot! Don't miss the 5 Points of Calvinism vs. 5 Solas stanza. Hat tip to Dave Pepper.

Merry Christmas--Adeste Fideles

The Christmas Can-Can

No Herald Angels Singing?

Mark Roberts is doing an interesting series on his blog about the history of different Christmas Carols. Today and tomorrow his subject is "Hark the Herald Angels Sing: The Carol That Shouldn't Exist."

This is one of my favorite carols so I chose that melody for this year's Sappy Christmas Song contest. Check it out!

Christmas Noshies

Aren't these the cutest? One of my dear church friends made these for a luncheon last week and I couldn't resist trying them myself. I don't know if they have a name, so I've dubbed them Christmas Noshies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put tiny pretzels on your baking sheet (I lined it with a Silpat but you can also use foil). You want the smallest pretzels, which I could only find bagged up in snack bags.

Place one Hershey's Hugs Kiss on each pretzel.

Pop in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes. You want the Hugs to soften but not melt all over the place!

Top each softened Noshie with a red or green M&M. Cool and serve! They'll keep really well so the Christmas Noshies will make good gifts or pretty treats to keep around your house.

And while we're on the subject of Christmas candy, anyone else noticed that the easiest recipe in the world for creamy delicious fudge is MIA? It used to be printed on the Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk cans. If you still have a can with this recipe, check the expiration date--betcha you need to throw it out. Here's the recipe--nothing could be simpler and more deliciosio.

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There's still time to enter the 2009 Sappy Christmas Song Contest! Post your entry in the comments on the post below!
The final version will be posted tomorrow and my Gentle Readers will then get a chance to vote on the winners.

Alternative Christmas Gifting: Pay It Forward

This morning a friend and I were discussing different alternatives to Christmas giftings. This year my SIL and I agreed that it was time to do something different and more meaningful. So instead of giving individual gifts to all the members of the family, we are going to give donations to worthy causes in their honor. Not one of us needs any more stuff, thanks be to God!

My friend told me that last year she and her husband gave each of their now- adult children money--but with a string attached. The money had to be given away to benefit others! At Thanksgiving dinner each family member reported where the money went and what it did.

One of their daughters gave her money to KIVA for micro-loans to help small business owners in the third world. As the loan was paid off, she was thrilled to be able to "reinvest" the principal and interest in loans to more people.

Another daughter and her husband used the money to recruit runners for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in honor of his mother, a breast cancer survivor. More money was raised for the cause as a result of their efforts.

Her son used the money as seed money to organize a fund-raiser for a friend whose wife (a young mother of 4) was paralyzed from the neck down as the result of a freak accident. At the end of that fund-raiser, $30K was raised for the family.

My friend called it "Paying It Forward". I particularly loved the idea that everyone shared the results at Thanksgiving dinner the following year--what a celebration they had! I'm going to see what SIL thinks about Paying It Forward next year.

Geeky Gift Suggestion

St. Betty gifted me with this on Thanksgiving, since I said I didn't think I would get around to putting up a Christmas tree this year. It plugs into the computer and changes colors when it lights up! When I tried it out, everyone loved it and wanted to know where to get them. If you want to get one for your geeky friend, here's one site that sells them.

How about a Mini-Tree?

It's still two weeks from Thanksgiving, but my mailbox overfloweth with catalogues featuring Christmas decorations. And that made me start thinking about how to decorate the new house for the Christmas season.

I threw out my old spindly fake tree when we moved. Portia and Babs had made fun of it for years because they said it was shaped like El Jefe--tall and thin. But it fit perfectly in the living room at our old house!

The new house is so Mediterranean/Texas Hill Country in style that I'm rethinking my traditional decorations. I don't think I want to have a large tree anymore, so maybe a tabletop size would be a good idea, something like this:

Family allergies prevent bringing in a real tree, so it has to be fake. But I could use a rosemary bush if I wanted something real. Like this:

Luminarias would be pretty at the front entrance and down the loggia, particularly if I can find battery-operated ones and not have to use the candles that will make El Jefe very nervous that the house will burn down!

It will be a very different look! Are you thinking about making changing your Christmas decorating this year?

Adventures in Family Land

We've been immersed in Family Land for the past week, just the same as many of you.

Here are some random highlights from the week:

• On Christmas Eve as the pastor read from Matthew the story of the 3 Wise Men bringing "treasures" of gold, etc to the baby Jesus, the littlest member of the family (aged almost 3) looked up from the coloring in her lap and eclaimed "Treasures? Gold? OOOOO!"
• Cleanup after Christmas Day's dinner for 25 was accomplished under the capable direction of my niece Txbelle and St. Betty's daughter, The Defender. Muchas gracias, damas!
• Portia's SIL turned out to be an excellent cook, contributing great side dishes and coffee cake to the menus for the week.
• Having the aforementioned almost 3 year old and her brother, age 4 1/2, run down the stairs on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought was just priceless.
• Olivia and Beatrice made a new friend, Ricky the Min-Pin, who was the perfect canine guest.
• I got several books from authors I'm not familiar with, but are the among the favorites of the givers. New authors! New books! Yippee.
• It was also my Kindle (tm) Christmas. I downloaded and am reading my first book on it--the new biography of Andrew Jackson. Using the gadget does take some getting used to, but I think I'm going to like it. After I've used it awhile, I'll do a review.
• For the first time, Babs didn't spend all of the holiday with us. She left Christmas afternoon to join the BF in Alabama and meet his family. Stay tuned.
• The Old Marine, now the CEO of a food company, brought over a basket full of their latest product--excellent Spanish olive oil. Yum.
• This last Christmas in the big house was definitely one of the very best. What a blessing! I'm so thankful.
  

Now it's back to the "real" world....

Christmas at the Bay

Can you see the little Christmas tree on the dock? We've been down at the bay since the day after Christmas with all the family in tow and away from the internet. (Update: there were 25 for dinner on Christmas Day Chez QG!)

We just got back and had a great time. I hope you and yours had a good celebration, too.

In an uncharacteristic burst of domesticity, El Jefe just made a trip to Home Depot (yes, of course I had to go along) and bought a new steam vacuum cleaner hoping it will clean the dang beige carpet downstairs of the "mystery Bea" stains.

I know. I'm shocked too. Will wonders never cease?

More later.

Christmas Day 2008--For Unto Us a Child Is Born

Christmas Eve 2008--O Come All Ye Faithful

QG's Tips for Aspiring Hostesses With the Mostess

After reading a number of comments to my Friday Five play expressing astonishment that I am hosting 22 for dinner on Christmas Day (plus 4 adults, 2 toddlers and a dog out of town guests staying at the house), I am sharing my tips for hosting large numbers in the spirit of the season.

My own mother was not a good hostess--Christmas always made her tense and nervous. This was something I had to learn as an adult and fortunately , my sister and brother-in-law have the gift of hospitality and provided a great model for me.

Herewith QG's tips for Aspiring Hostesses (and Hosts):

1. Delegate, delegate and again I say: delegate. When a guest says "what can I bring?", tell them. Forget being Martha Stewart yourself. You are not a caterer! I always provide the entree, but let guests bring side dishes, bread, wine and desserts.

2. When you tell someone what to bring, take into consideration that guest's personality and lifestyle. Don't ask the busy working mom to bring an elaborate dessert or side dish--assign her bakery rolls or bread from the supermarket. Or wine. Let those who love to cook or bake bring home-made offerings for the table.

3. Fill in the festive board with left-overs. For example, SIL and St. Betty are both having big dinners on Christmas Eve. They will bring left-over side dishes, wine and desserts to my house on Christmas Day. The food is still good and there is a slightly different group who will enjoy it.

4. Set up a large cooler on the porch (or other easily accessible place) filled with ice, water bottles, soft drinks, and fruit juice for the kids. If there are beer drinkers, set up a second cooler with beer and ice. Let everyone help themselves.

5. Assign someone to oversee the bar. Chez QG that is El Jefe's job. This includes setting up and making sure the coolers mentioned above are refilled.

6. Set up a large garbage can in an easily accessible place for disposal of plastic cups, paper plates, etc.

7. Know who is in charge of the cleanup. This year that will be Portia and DK, with assistance from St. Betty and her daughter, The Defender.

8. Choose an easy main dish that doesn't require a lot of fiddling and can be kept warm if necessary until everyone is there and ready to eat. QG's first law of lots of guests is that someone will be delayed so you don't want to serve anything that is ruined if not served immediately.

9. Set up extra tables and chairs wherever you can around the house. Everyone HATES trying to eat in their laps. This may cause crowding, but trust me, it's worth it.

10. RELAX AND ENJOY YOURSELF. Your guests are not going to be critical of your efforts. They are coming to share Christmas joy with you, your family and each other. They are happy to be there and grateful to you for sharing your home and giving them the gift of hospitality.

Whither the Christmas Card?

My friend Rev. Di commented on Facebook that she wasn't receiving many Christmas cards and maybe this was the last year she would send them. I've noticed the same phenomenon myself--usually by this time in December we have a big bowl full of cards. This year not so much.

Which raises the question: Whither the Christmas card? Is this tradition that began in Victorian England loosing its popularity?

I can see several reasons why this may be true.

The popularity of email, blogs, Facebook and Twitter (and other internet social networking sites) enable people to find and keep in touch with long-lost friends and relatives year-round. Even us Baby Boomers are doing it!

This year I created a Christmas letter and enclosed it in more than 75 hand-addressed envelopes. This took many hours. Rev Di reported she sent out more than 100! E-greetings would be cheaper and quicker. I have to admit that in some ways I would be relieved to give it up.

On the other hand, we've grown up with this tradition and it wouldn't feel right to abandon it just yet. I do limit my card-sending to close family (because they want to see the Christmas letter) and out-of-town friends. Otherwise the task would be overwhelming.

Are you sending out Christmas cards this year? Why or why not?

Do you think this tradition is becoming less popular? Will E-greetings replace it?

The Behinder I Get

Remember that old saying: "the faster I go, the behinder I get"?

That's me this Advent season. When we got back from celebrating Thanksgiving with a big crowd down at the bay, I intended to put up the Christmas tree and set out my Christmas decorations. But that hasn't happened yet.

I guess it will get done next weekend. If Babs and Portia will come help me. El Jefe always confines his assistance to hauling the tree from the garage and putting it together.

When I was growing up, we always had a real tree. The family tradition was that we never got the tree before my father's December 8 birthday and it came down on New Year's Day. Now that I use a faker-jocker tree (due to family allergies to the real ones), our tradition has been to put it up after Thanksgiving.

So I'm already behind.

When do you put up the tree in your home? Fake or real?

Peace That Passes All Understanding

Christmas afternoon.

Sharing Christmas Traditions

Today at a lunch with friends, we began discussing Christmas traditions that were dear to us and our families. The ideas were so good that I thought I would share them with you all.

Basket of Christmas Books-- one of the gals collected Christmas-themed books (most of them religious). She keeps them in the attic during the year but at Advent wraps each one in wrapping paper and puts them out in a basket. Each evening her children choose one to unwrap and then she reads it to them.


Christmas Stockings--In the interest of a little more sleep for Mom and Dad on Christmas morning, put the filled stocking in the child's bedroom after they go to sleep. The child has permission to take stuff out of the stocking and play with it until the agreed upon time to get up and see what's under the tree. This clever mom, who must collect wrapping paper as a hobby, wraps the bottom of her stairs on Christmas Eve so that the children get to burst through the paper like a runner winning a race. It also is an incentive not to peek too early!

Purple Plate--This is a variation of the red "You Are Special" plate you may have seen in gift stores. The purple plate appears on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, other family celebrations or just when someone needs encouragement. Everyone at dinner says something complimentary about the person who has the purple plate at their place.

Ornament Fairy--One family has an "ornament fairy" who visits each child during Advent. The children are told the fairy is likely to visit one night and they place a shoe outside their bedroom door which the fairy fills with an ornament. The ornaments are special ones chosen to reflect the children's personality and interests and are labeled with their names. The parents plan to give them those ornaments for their own homes when they grow up and being their own families.


We all loved the story of the oldest member of the group who recalled her grandparents' practice of putting a shiny silver dollar under the plate of each grandchild at Christmas. Those were the days!
Maybe some of you will want to adopt one of these ideas. I would have loved the Basket of Books when Portia and Babs were little. But I can always do it with grandchildren someday!

Results of Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

I was SO disappointed--Portia didn't win the Ugliest Sweater prize at the party.

She said the winner wore her mother's sweater from 1980. Not only did it have shoulder pads that only a linebacker would love, but it featured a string of Christmas tree bulbs that lit up AND it played music. Alas, she didn't bring me a photo or video of it, so just use your imagination. Who could compete with that?

Babs, however, won the Best Outfit award with her aunt's borrowed nutcracker sweater. As she and Portia thought, it was just too tasteful for the Ugly Christmas Sweater competition.

Portia did report that a couple of gals told her they would actually wear that flamingo sweater. Chacun a son gout!

Aside to Rach: DK's pajama bottoms can be found at Old Navy in the men's section. Tell your Secret Santa.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.