It starts with the day after Thanksgiving (Black Friday). Instead of going Christmas shopping we decided that is the perfect day to go get our Christmas tree. When I was a kid we went to a Christmas tree farm and we would cut down our own tree and then play hide and seek in the trees with my 2 brothers. My mom would always join in and chase us as well as my dad would laugh and continue to saw the tree down.
Since there isn’t a tree farm near we go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and pretend we are in the deep forest. There we find the perfect tree and then play chase and hide and seek.
We then bring it home and spend the night adorning it with beautiful keepsake ornaments I have collected over the years. We sing Christmas carols until our voices hurt then have hot chocolate with extra marshmallows.
Having traditions to pass onto your child is so important. It establishes roots and gives them something to look forward to and something she can pass along as well as she grows up and has a family of her own. Then my daughter usually makes her Christmas list and of course the gifts get more extravagant as the years pass. She doesn’t get everything on her list, but it’s okay to have dreams and keep hoping they will come true.
When my daughter grows up and has a family of her own I hope she remembers the beautiful Christmas’s we spent together just her and I and all the magic that happens around each Christmas season.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Apricot Chicken
INGREDIENTS & DIRECTIONS
Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer.
Recipe courtesy of Gigi Butler Copyright 2024 Heartland Journal, LLC
