Merry Christmas
When we were kids, we would spend hours listening to Christmas Carols and reading Christmas poems. Oh how I loved this time of year when I was young. The anticipation of Christmas morning and Santa Claus having been to our house. We had an artificial Christmas tree with Christmas ornaments and tinsel that were in my mom’s family for years. Fragile bulbs and aluminum tinsel that we used year after year. Painstakingly adding one piece of tinsel at a time – per my mom’s request…..until we got to the back of the tree where no one would see it and we threw it on in tiny handfuls. What a magical time it was!
I remember listening to and singing along with Mitch Miller and his ‘Sing Along With Mitch’ Christmas albums. All the fun Christmas Carols that have been sung for ages! And Christmas hymns, too! Boy, does that bring back memories!! All the fun songs like – Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Silent Night, Joy to the World and Away in the Manger….and so many more. I know I am not the only one of my friends that remembers these records. These were classic! I sure miss those days of innocence, anticipation and simplicity.
As we got older, we hand made a lot of gifts for each other in our family. Felt drink cozies with sequins sewn on for dad, fireman underwear for my brother, needlepoint drink coasters for my mom and honestly, I cannot remember what I made for my sister. (Sorry….) Probably something with decoupage and gold leaf. The point is, we did this for a few years and it was pretty cool. I wish I still had some of the drink cozies – although no one called them that in ‘those days’. The word cozies had not been invented yet.
Once we were all in high school and junior high, things of course changed again. This was then end of the 60’s. Suede jackets and Indian moccasins were all the rage! I remember shopping at the Army Navy store in downtown Orange. And the Orange Circle was always decorated with a huge Santa Claus by the fountain. As an adult coming back home to visit my mom for Christmas after I moved away I always wanted to drive around the Circle. Just classic Christmas.
Happy New Year
New Year’s Eve memories from when I was a small child were my dad shooting his 357 magnum into the ground in the front yard at midnight. His prized dichondra lawn with bullets! He loved that lawn… As we got a bit older, I remember mom and dad having lots of fun parties in our rumpus room in the back of the house. That was a fun place to hang out in. Pool table, ping pong table and a wet bar. Fun times with champagne toasts at midnight, party hats and noise makers, Great memories!
Of course as an adult I also had my share of New Year’s Eve parties – who among us didn’t? Just what we did back in the day, heck maybe even this year! In the past few years we have watched the new year ring in down under in Australia and have gone to bed before 10pm our time. It is hard to stay up until midnight anymore! All my childhood friends and I are in our 60’s now. (WOW…that doesn’t sound so OLD now that I am here)
This year for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we will be Virtuoso Hosts on a cruise that leaves San Diego on the 21st of December and returns on January 5, 2020. Crystal Symphony will be our home away from home for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Years Day. It will be different and it will be fun. We have 103 guest on our hosting list. We are looking forward to meeting everyone and celebrating in a new way. Ringing in 2020 will be amazing! Please check back for cruise update blogs. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!