By Alli Worthington | Leave A Comment
There’s something about the holidays that makes me want to jump in a Norman Rockwell painting. I think it is a desire for the simplicity that I knew as a little girl and the happy memories I had with my Grandma during Christmas.
We shared the tradition of baking gingerbread cookies every year.
Every time that I smell gingerbread I can’t help but feel happy.
My grandparents were given an old jukebox and they kept it in their kitchen. (On a side note, I now want one in my kitchen. Wouldn’t that be so fun?) I remember flipping through the jukebox pages and carefully selecting just the perfect Christmas song while we baked our gingerbread cookies.
I may not be able to jump into an old Norman Rockwell painting but I do try to continue the tradition of making happy memories every Christmas. The boys and I play Christmas songs from my itunes collection and bake up our cookies every year. And yes, it does count as cooking if your oven has to heat up. I say ready made gingerbread cookie dough is a modern gal’s best friend. 
Another great tradition we have is each of the five boys gets an ornament each year. One day they will have their own trees and eat delicious gingerbread cookies. I hope they continue to build memories with their families as the years go on. And yes, I’ll be the mother-in-law who will never judge another woman’s cooking. Well, as long as it smells good.
In my house Hallmark is always part of Christmas. I love the traditional ornaments and the boys all love the fun ones. Last year one of the boys played Charlie Brown in the school play. He was thrilled to get the Peanuts ornament as a memento. What a great Hallmark holiday moment for him!
This year we will be recording a storybook to send to all their grandparents. Each of the boys will add their individual voice to the stories.We will also send a book for the grandparents to record their voices and send back to us! Unfortunately we can’t travel this year. But I’m so excited to share a way we can make a way to have a memory forever.
I’m also super grateful to Hallmark for partnering with us at Blissfully Domestic to share our Hallmark Holiday Moments.
Hallmark Holiday Moments $250 Gift Card Giveaway!
Grand Prize (1): $250 Hallmark Gold Crown Gift Card, “The Night Before Christmas” Recordable Storybook, Two (2) of Hallmark’s newest Keepsake Ornaments and other assorted Hallmark goodies.
Runners-up (2): “The Night Before Christmas” Recordable Storybook, Two (2) of Hallmark’s newest Keepsake Ornaments and other assorted Hallmark goodies.
Required Entry for Hallmark Holiday Moments Giveaway:
Leave a comment and upload a photo sharing one of your favorite Holiday Moments.
Additional Entries:
- 2 entries – Blog about this giveaway (leave the link in two comments)
- 1 entry – Subscribe to Blissfully Domestic Newsletter.
- 1 entry per day – Tweet about this giveaway – “I want to win a holiday moment from @HallmarkPR and @BlissfullyD http://bit.ly/HallmarkGive #hallmark” (leave comment with the link each time)
- 1 entry – Share this giveaway on Facebook – “I want to win a holiday moment from @HallmarkPR and @BlissfullyD http://bit.ly/HallmarkGive #hallmark” (leave link to status message)
Comments must be submitted by 11:59pm December 12, 2010 to be eligible for entry. Winners will be drawn by random draw from eligible entries.
ABOUT Alli Worthington
Alli is the Founder of Blissfully Domestic, the Co-Founder of the BlissDom Conference and BlissDom C{read more}
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Ok… sorry… I saw it after I hit the ‘submit’ button. One of our favorite things to do for Christmas is setting up our nativity scene!
Every year we go to a local tree farm…we walk through the orchards, select our tree, cut it down. Then we head back to the barn/gift shop where we pay for our tree, purchase some coffee and cider, and sit around a big fire warming up and soaking in the joyous atmosphere.
I took this photo in that very gift shop a couple of years ago; it makes me all warm and fuzzy as it reminds me of our trips to the tree farm over the years.
I love seeing the girls’ faces when they come downstairs on Dec 1st to see the advent tree. They love opening a treat every night and the arrival of the tree means the countdown to the trip north to be with family (and of course Christmas).
My favorite holiday moment is decorating the tree with my family. This year that will include my 11 month old, should be interesting lol!
Tweeted again!
http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/10744614814224384
Facebooked it as well: http://www.facebook.com/#!/christine.mathias/posts/112050318864896
Setting up the Christmas Tree and having one of our kids put the ANGEL that my parents got on THEIR first Christmas together on top of our tree!
Tweet Tweet http://twitter.com/sthrnfairytale/status/10748538573037568
Our new family tradition of helping my son make a gingerbread house. This is a photo from last year, which was the first year he was old enough. Grandpa is helping. And I think more candy was eaten than got on the house!
My favorite holiday memory is the year we actually got to celebrate a “white Christmas” in our city.
I tweeted.
http://twitter.com/#!/Simply_BC/status/10755887761203200
Shared on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/SimplyBC/posts/169325086433549
My favorite memory is spending time with my family who I never get to see much anymore! I really, really miss that!
this is my favorite christmas pic. this is me and my older sister in 1971, she is 16 and i am 6. yes, she is very excited about the whole situation…She get’s much more excited about Christmas now that she is a mother and grandmother.
Merry Christmas to all….
Mariah
Decorating the tree is always a highlight.
Our last Christmas with “all” 5 of our combined kids…. Our daughter is waiting for her half sister and brothers to finish cleaning, putting the tree together and play with her… she was 18 months old. We hope to have our family all back together soon…. keeping the faith!
thanks for the entry.
God Bless Everyone ♥
I used to expect the holidays to be perfect – to be this ideal image of caroling, smiles, everyone and everything magically falling in to synchronized step… and every year the human element (flawed) of the holidays would break my heart. Someone angry, crowds unruly, parking spaces illusive, finances failing, traffic jams, sickness …. and the bruised heartstrings from family dynamics that just don’t add up to a Christmas archetype. Tears come on Christmas. Pain comes on Christmas.
And then I got in really close with my camera – the tree and the problems all became the bokeh in the background. The focus of Christmas became clear through my lens. Christmas is not about perfection. A stable full of animal stench is not perfection. Labor and delivery pains are not ‘comfortable’ and smiles are saved for after the contractions. Christmas is about giving of yourself.
The gift of forgiveness. The gift of sacrifice. The gift of a needed embrace – a shoulder to cry on – an IDEAL in the flesh… in the stench of human brokenness.
It is all about what you focus on. How closely you have your eyes on the real meaning of the season and whether you can take a deep breath while the world spins with glitter around you… and know that you are truly loved. Then you can share that love with someone else. That’s Christmas.
We love to drive around and look at all the Christmas lights … and the awe of the first glance at our own home after we get our lights up!
I subscribe to blissfully domestic by email!
I shared this giveaway on facebook!
I have too many fave Christmas memories to choose just one..but one of my faves is trimming the tree as a kid and now also as a mom with my give kids- ages 20yrs thru 22 months. I have a bazillion Hallmark ornaments & no matter whether they were given to me as a gift or whether I gave them to my kids, they all are perfect & have such meaning.
Each year my kids get a new Hallmark ornament & it’s so fun looking at the tree & remembering all the phases they went through over the years & what they were interested in during such & such year. Or which cartoon characters were their faves at place in time.
When the tree is set up and all aglow with ornaments dressing it up like a fabulous gown, it’s like a glimpse back into my kids’ childhood – and my own. The Christmas tree becomes a memory tree with the thoughts of family near and far -always close in my heart –and mind– during the Christmas season.
One of the most special ornaments I have, besides the handmade ones given to me as a child & by my kids- is a Hallmark ornament that my Grandma gave to me the last Christmas of her life. She knew she was was probably going to die (cancer) and she sent me that ornament. When I opened it up & saw it, I admit, there was a sting in my heart- followed by tears. I knew, what she knew, what she was telling me. But I also heard other things, apologies & affirmations of her love, all from an ornament. She had given me many before over the years..but this one was different. It was absolutely perfect – representing an unspoken truth between us both.
Every.Single.Time I take it out of the box and hang it on the tree, I feel her close – I feel the love & the reassurance she wanted to provide me by that very last gift.. some of which she had a hard time verbalizing in her years spent on this earth. Such a simple, small gift became sacred and profound- in a silly little ornament.
Life is like that sometimes.
She was a complicated, imperfect, woman, like a lot of us, but I know she loved us. Loved me. And she found the perfect way to remind me of this each Christmas.
I’m very grateful.
(Good luck y’all and Merry Christmas!! May 2011 bring much love and good health!!)
http://twitter.com/butterflysnbees/status/10784394360913920
I subscribe to Blissfully Domestic Newsletter.
http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=165418350160251&id=615281079
I wrote a post linking to this contest…
http://sbees.blogspot.com/2010/12/your-christmas-focus.html
Here’s entry #2 (because the posts count twice, right?)
http://sbees.blogspot.com/2010/12/your-christmas-focus.html
I already sub to the newsletter!
http://twitter.com/sprittibee/statuses/10807876662599680
Tweet!
http://www.facebook.com/sprittibee#!/sprittibee/posts/122754167787169
Facebook Status
Great giveaway! My fiance and I are on a tight budget this year saving for our upcoming wedding and first home. We aren’t able to buy presents for our families this year so winning this giveaway would give us the opportunity go have some gifts to give them. We were also planning to bake some cookies and package them up nicely.
The photo I’m sharing is a picture of my fiance and I are his work Christmas Party last year.. it’s one of our favorite holiday moments. We had a great time!
Have a blessed holiday season! Thanks for hosting this giveaway and for the opportunity.
Seasidesmitten@aol.com
I am a subscriber
I remember my grandparents taking us downtown to see the Macy’s Christmas window displays…we have always taken our kids and now we are taking our grandkids to see them.
I subscribe to blissfully domestic…love it!
Here is our Christmas tree lit up! Haven’t gotten outside yet this year!
I guess having my father recently in the hospital has me being nostalgic lately. I remember going to the 5 and Dime with my dad and picking out a little something for each of my siblings for Christmas Eve. Or helping my dad put the tree up while we all listened to all my parents’ Christmas albums. I mean record albums not CD’s lol. Thanks dad for those memories and many more.
I am already a subscriber to the Newsletter.
Twitter clm39: I want to win a holiday moment from @Hallmark PR and @Blissfully D http://bit.ly/Hallmark#hallmark
and I also made a comment on Facebook.
this is one of my favorite christmas moment … our Cat Mack lying under the Tree every Year or the past 13 Years
tweeted
http://twitter.com/cdmtx65/status/10912061139714048
posted on FB
http://www.facebook.com/cdmtx65#!/cdmtx65/posts/122483887813908
Newsletter Subscriber
oops, here is a photo to add to my memory. We love the counting down til Christmas with a daily activity, story, reading from Scripture, song or treat or gift for others. However we do it….the count down creates the anticipation. The Everyday Display board is just one tool to approach the coming event. A favorite Christmas memory would be gathered around the twinkling tree, cuddling on the coach and reading from our Story a Day til Christmas book or other Advent themed book to help us count down, and simply slow down and linger around a story, the joy of the season and each other.
Posted on FB about the contest. Here is the link to my status post:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/karis.bellisario
As an additional entry, I also subscribed (can you tell I would be delighted to win this prize?!!!)
I love anything Hallmark…this photo is of our family enjoying holiday dinner…can you see my daughter with the huge turkey leg LOL.
I’m a newsletter subscriber via email.
Tweeted:
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/10941336391786496
Facebook share:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/AuntieThesis/posts/181171751898727
(Michelle Hudak)
This one is of my son one Christmas when I was trying to change his diaper and he jumped up and put on the Santa hat and started running around the house saying Po Po Po (he said that instead of HoHoHo everytime). He’s 13 now and I’m amazed at how the time has flown by! I may just have to post this on his Facebook page (awwww MOM!!)
tweeted: http://twitter.com/happyenchilada2/status/11008267207581696
shared on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=122643811130980&id=100000694611865#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=181290435221274&id=1002173928
I subscribed to the Blissfully Domestic newsletter.
We have probably alot of the same traditions as others: making cookies, decorating, when wrapping presnets for the kids I tie on an ornament…so that one day they will have both memories and a set of their own ornaments. We also like to have a snowman contest with the 1st snowfall. This picture was last years snowman ring we made…it is fun coming up with different ideas!
Our favorite holiday moment every year is putting up all our ornaments on the tree and having the memories of where we bought them. We collect Christmas ornaments as our hobby when we travel and buy vintage one at flea markets etc.
@AnnickVer
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/11066391360700417
I facebooked you
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=nf#!/permalink.php?story_fbid=165280616842042&id=100000183517038
http://twitter.com/hsbapost/statuses/11174164337528832
Tweet!
Tweeted~! http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/11211133339828224
This photo of my son from a few Christmas’s back always makes me smile.
Mel4Him777{at}gmail{dot}com
I am a newsletter subscriber.
Mel4Him777{at}gmail{dot}com
http://twitter.com/#!/Mel4Him/status/11269800466579456
Mel4Him777{at}gmail{dot}com
Shared on FB
http://www.facebook.com/Mel4Him/posts/180374631972666
Mel4Him777{at}gmail{dot}com
12/5 rt
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/11388332575555585
Tweeted! http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/11488099213250560
I LOVE Hallmark and collect ornaments from there each year, but I lost alot of ones I used to have due to a tragedy:( I am trying to rebuild them and this would be awesome to win! lol
I am looking for the great 50th Anniversay of the Andy Griffith Show ornament-It’s sold out everywhere seems like!
This is a pic of my Aunt from 2006 when she came to visit my brothers and I for Christmas! She was so happy to see us as it had been years since we had been together!(The Civil War Times is part of my Uncle’s gift from us lol)
Happy Holidays & thanks for the chance to win!!
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
Already a subscriber to your Blissfully Domestic Newsletter
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
Tweeted:
http://twitter.com/JoeyfromSC/status/11522685733441536
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
Shared on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/ajoebloe/posts/172151712807553
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
Joey J.
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/11559573466906624
daily tweet
https://twitter.com/cdmtx65/status/11920590386495488
12/6 RT
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/11957946502094848
http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/11971068763836416
http://twitter.com/BlissfullyD/statuses/11902940541353984
Tweet.
Plus – I tweeted yesterday, too – and for some reason the server wouldn’t let me on to post the comment. Did Bliss have a techie hiccup yesterday?
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/12191489023016960
Tweeted: http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/12210544115195904
Daily tweet
http://twitter.com/JoeyfromSC/status/12213976444174336
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
http://twitter.com/sprittibee/status/12261351476953089
Tweet.
12/7
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/12369908247560192
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/12523529060749312
http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/12676307183730688
Tweeted again!
My favorite holiday time is making Christmas Cookies!
Subscriber
Facebook post http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/drala625/posts/166299083406862
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/one2try/status/12695578391617536
12/8
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/12714423022002176
Every year Thanksgiving Night we pull out all the Christmas ornaments and goodies and begin to decorate the house and the tree….. This year, I was in the hospital, I was so upset, not that I was sick and there, but that I could not enjoy this time, one more time (before my son leaves for the Marines) and as we have just welcomed my first grandchild on 11.10.10. I had such plans!!
When I returned home the hospital earlier this week — this tree was up, they purchased a 4ft live tree and decorated it with some of their special ornaments (each year growing up the kids all got new Hallmark ornaments and one that I would hand make for each of them each year.) The angel on top of the tree — my sons bought for me some time ago (with help from their dad) to remember my beloved mother and grandmother who have long since passed. They are the angel atop looking upon us with love, peace and joy.
This tree is set up just opposite my bed, as I am on bedrest for awhile, so that I could soak up the season — even if it isn’t the way we’ve always done it — some how this year…. it’s better.
email subscriber livelaughlovecj at gmail dot com
@LiveLaughLoveCj tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/LiveLaughLoveCj/status/12704387822518272
Shared on my facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/LiveLaughLoveCj/posts/147061465343939
Tweet’d! http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/12907574420570114
Daily Tweet for 12.9:
http://twitter.com/#!/LiveLaughLoveCj/status/12898673281204224
http://twitter.com/sprittibee/status/12624990113370112
Tweet
12/9
http://twitter.com/auntiethesis/status/13010410466709504
Daily tweet http://twitter.com/#!/one2try/status/13051528659079168
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/13061398208708608
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/13249372787576832
http://twitter.com/cdmtx65/status/13265035715420160
Daily tweet
http://twitter.com/JoeyfromSC/status/13292281599631360
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
http://twitter.com/sprittibee/statuses/12987367379968000
Tweet!
Daily Tweet:
http://twitter.com/#!/LiveLaughLoveCj/status/13429704467943426
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/13578567388499968
Done did tweet: http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/13805420091019264
Third try! Sorry! Ignore the last two comments of mine…links are being ornery.
Tweeted!
http://twitter.com/NoWatchMe/status/14119303670398976
Daily Tweet:
http://twitter.com/#!/LiveLaughLoveCj/status/14107700677844992
http://twitter.com/AnnickVer/status/14128036609785856
Last one Fingers crossed. I am a Christmas ornament nerd
Awwww! Thanks for making me go back and look at last Christmas’s pics. My little elf is already so much bigger than he was!
Newsletter subscriber.
FB’d: http://www.facebook.com/GetAlongHome/posts/113858582016158
One of my favorite Christmas mornings was 2 years ago. Our now 9 year old had wanted a violin for 3 years and had taken a violin program at school that same year. “Santa” brought her the violin she had been begging for and she was so happy she forgot about the other gifts & stocking that she still had to open! We loved seeing her so excited and she still enjoys playing violin today.
I tweeted this giveaway:
@TheJohnsFamily
The Johns Family
I want to win a holiday moment from @HallmarkPR and @BlissfullyD http://bit.ly/HallmarkGive #hallmark