Festivals and such a holiday must
How do you get into the holiday mood? For me it is a combination of things, putting up the tree and adding ornaments is always a trip down memory lane. Seeing ornaments kids and grandkids made. Other memory triggers are the ornaments picked up during travel. The pinneapple from Hawaii, the blue and white from Amsterdam, the round globe from Paris, and the latest, a couple of straw stars from the Kris Kringle Market put on by the German Club in Springfield, Il, an event I had never been to before this pas weekend. Ornaments bought during travel along with jewelry are my takeaways and they never fail to evoke memories of the wonderful places we have been whether as far away as across the water or as near as thirty miles from our farm.
Those festivals and events around the holidays are a big holiday mood booster for me. Last year I attended a great event, a servants tour at Edwards Place around Thanksgiving and this year I went to Homestead Village to shop, hit the Kris Kringle Market and went to a great craft show at the Methodist Church near Chatham, Illinois. There is something about decorations, Christmas music and shopping for loved ones that gets the Holiday spirit into Christmas mode.
Everywhere there are events, whether it is seeing the grandkids perform at their local dance school, a high tea like the one I went to last year at Edwards place, or simply Christmas on the Square like I attended as Santa arrived in town to the roar of the fire truck engine sirens. From elaborate to simple, they all accomplish the same results reminding us of the joy of the season, the arrival of the Christ child and the love of friend and family that is a little more special at this time of the year.
This is a great time to act like a kid again. I saw Santa and had to have a picture. I might even have made a wish or two, but I won’t tell!
Whatever you do, wherever you go, take a minute or two to get out and enjoy the lights, the glitter and hear a hymn or two this holiday season. As the song goes, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”
