Last night, on a whim, we hopped in the car and drove around our neighborhood looking at all the houses adorned with sparkling, twinkling Christmas lights.
I didn’t want to go at first—it was already past 5 p.m. (who have I become that I now consider this hour “late,” LOL!), it was pitch-black outside, and dragging everyone out to the car just felt like an unnecessary chore after a long day. But my husband had heard about this one house 10 minutes away that apparently did Christmas up spectacularly and so he convinced me. Or should I say my children’s begging and pleading convinced me. Man let me tell you, this sleigh ride was a much-needed treat—for all of us.
As soon as we set off down the driveway and I spotted our very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree out front (complete with the single red ornament!), my heart and mind felt lighter, my spirits lifted, and I could not keep the child-like wonder and awe from my face, or my ear-to-ear smile for that matter. We oohed and aahed over every glittery, glistening house whether they were decked out to the max or adorned simply with a lighted wreath or a candle in every window. I truly felt like a child again and set against the backdrop of all the sadness and heartache over the past few weeks, well, there’s nothing like a little Christmas magic to put you in the holiday spirit.
Not that I haven’t already been indulging in every minute of this holiday season. Despite my family’s recent tragedies, we’ve still managed to make happen several of our beloved Christmas traditions. Last weekend we spent two days burying our sorrows in pierogi and babka, mixing, kneading, rolling, stuffing, and baking ourselves into oblivion (I also whipped up batches of banana and pumpkin mini muffins and cranberry orange bread). It was the perfect remedy, too, because it kept our hands busy and our minds empty. Then on Sunday we all sat down in our family room to color while caroling along to a special virtual Christmas concert put on by our church (I’m calling this “Caroling & Coloring”). They closed the show with a combined adult/children/bell choir singing “God Bless America;” it gave me chills and, of course, brought tears to my eyes. We ended our weekend with family movie night: Arthur Christmas.
My husband kept teasing me (lovingly, of course) about my cheesy “Caroling & Coloring” idea but he played along, nonetheless. Then again, a little Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur could convince anyone to join in on my reindeer games, no?! In all seriousness, though, I don’t care how silly my ideas are this year—or what anyone thinks of them—my kids are loving it and a little (OK, a lot) Christmas cheer never hurt anyone. Hopefully deep down my handsome agrees with these sentiments because I’ve got a lot more lined up for this coming weekend (shh, don’t tell him just yet, LOL!): homemade gingerbread men on Friday and Christmas puzzles/games on Saturday (including my indoor Christmas scavenger hunt and pin the hat on the elf)—capped off with our first holiday livestream of the month: Andrea Bocelli! Oh, and we’ll start these festivities off on Thursday night with the Magic of Lights drive-through at PNC Bank Arts Center. I couldn’t be more excited, and I think my kids are going to have a blast!!
Speaking of lights, let’s prance(r) back to last night’s neighborhood showcase. (Apologies for veering so far off-track—see what a smidgen of Christmas spirit does to me?! 😊) I’m not sure what we were expecting but journeying into a magical winter wonderland of glittery red, white, and green lights, with houses decked out from top to bottom and trees covered from tip to trunk, certainly wasn’t it. What a spectacular surprise!! Think of the neighborhood in the movie Christmas With The Kranks, where everyone comes together and decorates their block for the holidays. We drove around this loop like five times, taking everything in (I’m including pictures here, but they honestly don’t come close to doing the view—or the feelings it conjured up—justice). Windows rolled down. Christmas carols playing in the background. Feasting with our eyes, ears, and lungs—it even smelled like Christmas! The only thing that would have made it better is snow. I’m still hoping and praying for a white Christmas this year, like I do every year … fingers crossed!
I know it sounds childish, but I loved everything about last night’s drive—a simple but wonderfully happy hour spent together, warm and cozy in our car, on a random Tuesday night in early December (and it was free, too!). It reminded me of other magical nights oh so long ago. Nights spent driving around my Nana’s old neighborhood with my parents and brother (and later my sister). Back in the early days of my youth, Nana used to live near this one street where every single house on the block—both sides—littered their homes and yards with thousands of strands of colored Christmas lights and every Christmas decoration you can imagine. We used to ride through this merry village anytime we visited my Nana during the holidays, which wasn’t a lot but was so worth it every time. My brother and I used to beg for these lights every year. I wonder if this holiday-stamped block still exists … part of me almost hopes it doesn’t because then I can hold it in my heart as one of those unique childhood memories of yore. And another light in the remembrance candle for my Nana.
It’s funny how the simplest memories are often the ones we remember the most. That speaks volumes to me, which is why no matter how simple or cheap or silly my holiday tradition ideas are I’m going to give every piece of myself to make them happy and memorable for my children. Because all these innocent memories that I reflect on and share here and cherish so fondly today were the stepping-stones for the foundation of a happy, hopeful, and magical childhood. And, to me, there’s no greater gift I could give my own children than the gift of joyful memories.