I just googled the Macy’s “Pink Pig” that looks like a cute ride! Yes, the suspended monorail version touring parts of Atlanta certainly looks more exciting. I wish they had one of those in NYC but then ... it might not have gone over to well with all the snow, sleet and freezing rain ... I could just picture it derailing off the track or getting stuck. :wacko: Is the Pink Pig in reference to Charlotte Web story? Well having 7 kids we always did the 12 days of Christmas with the tree going up after the early church - pageant. We sometimes decorated the outside after the 4th Sun of Advent but the lights went on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning kids openedtheir stockings with cheap stuff from Santa. The Grandparents showed up after chaos around 10. I always made dinner as we had a huge table. I did a turkey and a ham. (One year I tried one gift a day for the 12 days but life was too busy.) The tree and decorations came down after the Epiphany service. I have a HUGE nativity set with animated Mary, Jesus, Joseph and the Angel. It filled the entire top of the piano! Figures are about 10" tall. The stable goes up after Advent 4 and the shepherds and sheep are off to the side. The 3 wise men which have lights are on the side table until their time on Ephiphany. I had a wire mesh that held a doz angels on the wall. When we retired 7yr ago we got a small 4' fake tree - had real ones with kids. I have the tree all decorated in its box and the nativity all set up in a 4'x3'x3' box in the closet. I open the boxes slide them out a adjust and we are ready. We try to catch the children's pageant, Midnight Mass, and the Nutcracker Ballet. Our clubhouse does a pot luck meal and we Skype with kids.I don't miss snow - had enough in CT (roofs were collapsing winter of 2011 and had to be shoveled, we are too old.) But got an inch last Jan in Myrtle Beach. I made a BIG deal out of it - putting on snow coat, hat, scarf, etc. Got the shovel and made a snowball. LOL It was gone in an hour. We chose SC as we have 4 seasons. Leaves are just falling off the maples now. This Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King celebrating the second coming. Many services end with singing the Hallelujah Chorus. Hope to meet you all soon! Beautiful nativity set! More than the traditions themselves are the memories associated with them. Being young, naive and given to fantasy our imaginations could certainly take flight. Up until about 5yrs ago I always looked forward to the Christmas season and Christmas itself. Then I started to countdown the Christmas's until the Rapture! For me giving of gifts to make peoples eyes light up was the motivation. It hasn't been about what I'm getting for quite some time. And given that our Heavenly Father is the greatest gift giver, and wanting to emulate Him, being the perfect gift giver became my motivation. Giving the best that I could was the goal. Commercialism aside, becoming a servant allowed me to give gifts to many more people year round. I believe that this spiritual reality is highlighted in our Christmas gift giving. Just as the wise men gave Christ meaningful as well as useful gifts so too we should do likewise. Seems to me that this is the bedrock of spiritual ministry. Sadly, ministry can be accomplished for more selfish reasons. This aside, God is mindful of all our perfect gifts that are offered. Just like the little drummer boy, if we give of ourselves from the heart then we offer acceptable gifts not only to others but to the Lord as well. Joy is then in the giving not the receiving! TR I agree. Christmas to me is about gathering with family, celebrating Jesus’ birth and eating good food. Its not about the gifts. I already received the greatest gift of all - eternal life so nothing else could match that. However, I did enjoy buying gifts for my little nieces and nephews and seeing the joy on their faces. Because He first loved us, we love Him! Because He gifted His Son to us, we should gift His Son with our spiritual gifts! Truly Christmas has motivated soldiers to cancel war, for parents to sacrifice for their children and to instill a sense of anticipation and wonder world wide. All without benefit of having the Lord's correct birth date! Go figure. Again it is truly a magical time of year! And though faith and fantasy utilize the same brain cells, our fantasies are better directed towards glorifying God, awaiting His return and longing for the Rapture! IMHO. And even fantasizing about a divine disclosure! SORRY, my bad! Indeed CHRISTMAS: More of Christ! TR Lee, that is such a precious memory and I love the nativity, yes, indeed maybe we will see each other very soon, I take Sunday
