Real Christmas Trees Are a Real Pain

It is spring and we’re growing things. Every year we plant a garden, green up the lawn and compete with this season’s version of trying to out-do the neighbors. We do the same thing with Christmas lights each fall. The neighborhood looks...

Loving Our Valentine’s Christmas Tree

Our Christmas tree is still up. The lights outside are down, the Christmas wreath is off the door and the stockings are no longer hung by the chimney with care. But the Christmas tree is still up, doggone it. And we’re not nuts. We’re...

Grinch Remake: Bah Humbug

Maybe it is the cold, dark grey of winter outside my window that spoils my Christmas spirit on a day like this. But reading of plans for a new animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas has me feeling blue. First of all, consider who has...

The Power of the Christmas Card

A story out of Bloomington, Indiana today tells of a one time service man receiving a Christmas card from total strangers while serving in Vietnam. The year was 1966 and the man was then 27 years old. He received the card while stationed outside of...

Yeah, I Listen to Neil Diamond

I read with some interest this opinion piece from a St. Louis publication concerning the Christmas music of Neil Diamond. The piece features a large image of a nondescript middle aged white guy (the writer of the article) — a guy that kind of...

Christmas Blues: A Soft Light Blue for Me

Ah, the post holiday. You hear and read a lot right now about the PCB’s (a.k.a. Post Christmas Blues). I even heard today on the radio that January 14th is the bluest day of the year. They say the “glow” of the holiday season is over. ...

The Things Kids Say to Santa

Over at Santa Update.com they have been tracking the adventures of Santa as he treks around the world since 1991. Unlike Norad or Santa tracking through the search engines — which do a great job showing where Santa is on a map — Santa...

Why I’m Returning These Christmas Gifts

Men are not shoppers. Or so the gift buying world thinks. As a retail worker my entire career I have seen the inside thinking and can wholeheartedly agree that when it comes to shopping it is a woman’s world. Retailers love women. They build...