It seems this time of year holiday traditions are somehow more romantic. The Christmas traditions I shared with Ken are still very important to me. We really delighted in the season. Ken had a childlike giddiness that was infectious. It was impossible to be a Grinch at Christmastime with him around. For me, Christmas continues to be magical. It’s my first Christmas in my new place, and I’m looking forward to bringing some old traditions here and making new ones, as well.

First on the list is to decide where to put the pink Christmas tree.

New Tradition: decorate the mantle with Hermey!
New Tradition: decorate the mantle with Hermey!

The Christmas cards I’ve sent since 2011 have been store-bought, but during the prior decade, Ken and I designed and executed construction of our cards–from concept to creation. (See photo gallery below.) Brainstorming usually began sometime in the midst of summer over cocktails on our patio or in our back yard where it morphed and changed from one thing to another before being finalized sometime in November. Actual construction would begin on the weekend of Thanksgiving. Someday, I’ll have the spark to create my own cards again. Someday.

I have so many memories of Christmas with Ken. Some mundane. Some supreme. But one of my favorites is below. It’s from our 2007 card (which was a DVD) and shows “outtakes” from our video shoot. We’d originally planned a talk show format, but couldn’t work it out. This was funnier.

I’m grateful to be in a place where watching this brings me the joy of the season, and the joy of being with Ken.

4 thoughts on “The Rituals of Christmas”

  1. God I love this. I always look forward to your cards. But the year of the video and green Christmas remains my favorite. And the out takes are hilarious! I love them. And you. 🙂 Merry Christmas, ya B.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.