The Holidays are Coming, Coming, Coming but, so Lets Share some of our Holiday Traditions with other Harbour Lights Friends?
Do you have big Family Gathering?
Do you Decorate our Harbour Lights?
Do you Volunteer?
Do you cook a Turkey? Goose?
Do you make Cookies, Candies and or any Traditional Deserts?
Do you go Carolling?

May each and every Harbour Lights Friend have a Safe and Wonderful Holiday Season!
Karen

I live about 40 miles from where I grew up, so it is easy to spend time with relatives for the holidays. My sister and I share responsibilites- she takes care of Thanksgiving dinner and I do Christmas dinner. Our family puts up our Christmas tree and other decorations on Thanksgiving weekend- we always put on the 3 Mannheim Steamroller Christmas CDs, turn up the volume and get to work! This is my first Christmas as a Harbour Lights collector- my biggest problem will be deciding where to put the LH so I can put up my tree! It seems that the LH have taken over the space where the tree usually goes. I think that the tree is going to have to be the one making the move!!(LOL). One other tradition that we have is on Christmas Eve. My husband has 2 sisters in the area, so we always do a progressive dinner on Christmas Eve. That way, everyone has to share in the cooking responsibilites, everyone gets to see each others Christmas tree and decorations and we don't have to cart presents around. We have been doing it for about 12 to 13 years now and it is really a great way to spend Christmas Eve. When we are all through, my husband and I come home, put the kids to bed and then open our presents to each other (hope it is a HL this year!). Then we play Santa and put the presents under the tree for the kids. Sometimes we stay up really late and have a snuggle session by the fireplace!
I hope that everyone has a wonderful and blessed holiday this year, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or whatever it is that you celebrate! Let's hear some more holiday traditions from you all!

Well there are just so many, guess I'll start with Thanksgiving:

Stove Top dressing

LOL mombo.....Because my oldest daughter was born on November 30th it seems like Thanks-
giving always gets turned into a 4 day long party weekend. We start off with the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and fixings on Thursday, Friday is birthday party with family and friends. We traditionally take the girls out to dinner for their birthdays to the restaurant of their choice, then to a movie. Then Sunday the in-laws take us out for a birthday breakfast or brunch. My daughter will be 21 this year, can't believe she is that old. Then there's Christmas....well that's another story!

Kat

I know that feeling! My oldest was born the 17th of November, and my youngest on the 29th! Along with Thanksgiving and Christmas added in, no wonder I have no money for two months!!

Kat,
I can relate to you having a Family Birthday during the Christmas Holidays! My Birthday, is on Christmas Eve! I had a friend, who I grew up with, who also had a Birthday the day after Christmas! Then, I had an Aunt who had a Birthday on New Years Day!
I can remember as a teenager, my Mother had a Slumber Party for me around the Holidays, but, it was not on my Birthday, of course!
I can remember getting things wrapped in Christmas Paper but, Mom always tried to wrap my gifts in Birthday Paper. But, I never really minded, as she thought I might!
Today, I still enjoy my Birthday around the Holidays! Though, it might be a busy time of year; people seem to have a Christmas Spirt! No matter how busy they are!
Hoping your daughter has a wonderful 21st Birthday!
Karen :-)

Mombo
You are my kinda person! Today, I cook the Butterball Turkey Breast, *Stove Top, Mashed and Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans, Gravy. Then Cosco, bakes my Pumpkin Pie for me!
Years ago, I did it all, days of preparation and baking!
*Stove Top, I chop onions, celery, then also add those Ocean Spray Craisins.
Karen :-)

Deleting triple post

[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 11-23-99).]

Deleting triple post.

[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 11-23-99).]

Off to the grocery to buy the pies. At buy one ($3.99), get one free, mix or match how can you go wrong? They are sort of small but good and for four people I should bake?

Mombo - I burst out laughing when I read your stove top stuffing comment! With a large family I am always looking for shortcuts to make things easier in the kitchen - besides which stove top stuffing is good!

Kat and Karen and Jeff - Our family has holiday birthdays as well, so I know what you mean. Our youngest granddaughter's is January 8th, and mine is New Years Eve - our children always said that at least I can be sure we will celebrate on my birthday! Somehow, I always felt that one more day on my Mom's part would have made me a whole year younger! Oh well, such is life...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Barb

[This message has been edited by Barb Kepple (edited 11-24-99).]

We have some traditions that I have been unsuccessfully trying to change for years. I have out of town relatives who insist tha they have to go to both sides of the familiy on Thanksgivung and Christmas. They are also always late. We try to get them to go to one on one holiday and the other on the other holiday. We finally made progress this year after 25 years. We also each have a child born on the same date 12/17- tens years apart. My daughter turns 21 this year. We have always made a consciuos effort to celebrate both days seperatly for her, especially when she was younger. Planning full blown children's birthday parties are so much fun at Christmas time. We also had my father-in-law whose birthday was Christmas Day. He was easier though, as he did not want anything special done for his birthday, but of course we did it anyway. Denis

Well, luckily my family is able to get together for almost every holiday. I don't know if that's great for my mother, since we all go to my parents' house. My father is Italian, my mother Puerto Rican. My youngest brother's wife is from the Philippines and doesn't have any of her family here and my other two brothers both married Jewish. So there's never a problem as to who's house to go to for Christmas. Having such a diverse family is just wonderful. For Christmas we have manicotti, roast beef, fried rice and panset, potato latkes, noodle kugle, flan and pina coladas.

Joanne

Barb,
I am glad to get a laugh Mombo!
I learned to cook from my Grandma, German, Irish, English but, she really knew how to cook and make anything taste good!
I can remember back then, cutting up the loaves of bread into cubes, putting them into the roasting pan. Which, had a white dish cloth,to cover the bread, while it dry out.
Then the preparation of the meat grinder, then the gizzard, pork sausage, celery, onions. Adding the right seasonings and cooking to the right texture and taste.
Final adding raisins and/or currants!
Then stuffing the Turkey!
My Grandma is probably turning over in her grave now; with my quick method!
Holidays Dinners back then, took days to prepare!
I can remember, as a single parents getting up in the wee hours of the night so, I could prepare the Holiday Dinners. From the Turkey dressing, cranberry, to the Homemade Deserts!
Thanks for bringing back some good memories!
Karen :-)


[This message has been edited by Karen Smith (edited 12-04-99).]

Happy Holidays to all!

NiagaraMan's birthday just happens to be
December 20th. Now don't tell - he's
getting an HL for his birthday AND Xmas.
And I had the best time picking them out -
our local store had a 20% off sale a few
weeks ago.

My brother and I take turns hosting Xmas
dinner and this year it's his turn so all I have to bring is dessert. Looking forward to being with family and watching the excitement on all the little one's faces.

NiagaraLady:

Your "man" and my daughter, Linda, share the same birthday but I'll bet that he's going to be slightly older that day (Linda will be 28)!

I guess one of my "holiday traditions" for the last 28 years is deciding which of the gifts I've purchased for her will be her birthday gift!

For the first time, Papa and I will be celebrating Christmas with our grandtwins. They are 4 now and we just know that we will see Christmas in a new light.

Our family celebration begins on Christmas Eve. My mother will be 85 this year and as usual we will treat her like a queen. She will have 4 generations to wish her well. We have a big breakfast of fried pork tenderloin, grits, scrambled eggs and hot biscuits. Later in the day we open presents, go to church and have a late dinner.

Like so many of you, I grew up with loving grandparents. For as long as I can remember, my "Kaky" did like others and spent days in the kitchen. We always had turkey, dressing made from homemade biscuits-cornbread-crackers and loaf bread, several green veggies( collards, string beans and butterbeans) and sweet potatoe yams(now its Sweet Potatoe Crunch). The desserts were the best, pecan and sweet potatoe pie and coconut cake. That cake was my "Papa's" favorite and since his birthday was Christmas day, we had the cake. Our time in the kitchen is not as long, but we still do almost the same as when I was growing up.

I always seem to run out of time, but this year since I am going away, I will have to have all presents bought and wrapped by the 22nd.

Ho-Ho-Ho
Derith

Mombo:

You and I have more than Dec. 20th in
common:

- HL's
- New York
- Contest Winners

and yes, he is older - our two sons are
24 and 21.

Let's get back to the point people...lighthouses, remember? This is the only time of the year my Xmas pieces come out of the closet!