“ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
It is truly an honor and a joy to be able to host this wonderful Carnival again. I had so much fun last year that I pretty much badgered poor Adam Graham into letting me do it again! I am grateful that he said yes. And we have over sixty wonderful entries (well, at least I think so – I believe I lost count at around fifty, LOL).
To open up and set the mood, I offer up the Wexford Carol, performed by Celtic Women (sent in by my Cotillion sister, Nice Deb):
Welcome to “Bethlehem” this joyous season! I pray that this Carnival will be a blessing to all who read, and that God sheds His infinite grace and love upon us all. I hope that this Day finds you with family and loved ones all around, and that you look back on the year and remember all the blessings given to us. I pray, as always, that we don’t leave the “Christmas Spirit” behind when the season is over, but rather that we spread the kindness and love to all we meet throughout the rest of our lives. But most of all, I pray that this Carnival, now and in the future, reminds us of the Reason for the Season, and helps us still our minds and spirits so that we may truly have a glorious Christmas – and
REJOICE!
Pride of place this year goes to Hoosier Army Mom, who reminds us of the men and women in our armed forces. These brave and unselfish citizens volunteered to serve our country in a time of war, and many are far away from home and family. Please remember them in your prayers, and go over to buy them some phone cards at the Online Military Exchange.
Our second pride of place entry goes to Gayle, who writes of Christmas Lost and Found. Truly, this is a wonderful post about how God can – and does! – turn mourning into dancing, and works all things together for good to His called. Gayle is a perfect example of this year’s REJOICE! theme!
Oh – DON’T FORGET TO TRACK SANTA ON CHRISTMAS EVE!
And now for the rest of all those excellent entries:
Christmas Traditions and Memories:
Our Carnival Daddy, Adam Graham, starts us off in this category with The Christmas Advantage. Don’t forget, in these uncertain times, “a lean Christmas doesn’t have to be a poor one.” Amen, Adam. Amen!
Jenn H. presents His Christmas Legacy over at Mixed Metaphor.net. It is a beautiful and touching tale about the simple faithfulness of the season, and how rich a simple, loving life can be.
Rick Sincere, one of my Virginia blog-brothers, has sent in two delightful posts – one about his memories of how his family celebrated Christmas in Milwaukee (and he’s got pictures AND a video – gosh, you were a cute kid, Rick!). I love seeing how other families have traditions springing out of their former cultures… His second entry is no less worthy, and speaks about new traditions being made, this time in Arlington, VA. I will definitely have to try and get up there next year for some good music and theater – maybe Rick can get me the tickets! LOL *wink*
Have you ever wondered whether wrapping presents is worth it? Well, according to a study that GrrlScientist dug up, it certainly is!
Suldog reposts Pointy the Poinsettia this year, and all Pointy’s fans will be delighted to know he’s doing very well!
TF Stern sent in his Gingerbread Cookie Tradition – which ought to go in the recipes section, except it’s not a recipe. It’s a story about sacrifice in lean times, and how the true value of any gift is how much of yourself you put into it.
Here is a very worthwhile read: Teaching Your Children About Giving on Christmas Day. Vickie of SidetrackedMoms is one of our prolific contributors this year, and I think this is my favorite entry from her. But then again, I also adore her post about Christmas traditions, so you ought to go over and decide for yourself!
Oh, I remember cutting our own Christmas tree – and this story about a family’s first experience with cutting their own tree is both funny and heartwarming… Thanks to Philaazophy for this contribution!
Laura Lee Donoho tells us a beautiful tale of how she learned to give the gift someone wanted. That’s a very difficult lesson to learn – we often want to give what we think someone ought to want – but Laura relates the story with a simple honesty that is truly touching. There’s a lot more, so you really really need to go read! Thank you, Laura; I’m so glad you found the Carnival this year! (And Jo was always my favorite, too!)
My dear blog-brother – and new grandapa! – GM Roper writes about Daddy Bah and his Gift of Love. The GMan writes so well, and the story of enduring and selfless love will really bless your heart!
How many of us sing the story of Frosty the Snowman? Well, Jody Wilcox at Contemporary Conservative shows us how very like Jesus ol’ Frosty is… And does an exemplary job of reminding us of the meaning of Christmas!
Obi’s Sister sends in two entries of Christmas memories: the Best Santa Ever! and one about singing with Robert Shaw’s youth chorus one year *happy shivers* I love hearing big, well-trained choirs sing!
Finally for this section, Big Dog (yeppers, another blog-brother!) reminds us that a Simple Gift for Christmas is what it’s all about.
My dear blog-brother Scott, after the terrible deaths during the Black Friday shopping frenzy, reminds us of what is really important about the season. He goes on to remind us that it’s OK to wish people a Merry Christmas! After all, for all the political correctness running around, the holiday (short for HOLY day) we are truly celebrating is Christmas!
GrrlScientist (who sent in several entries) posts America’s food-availability crisis, a strong reminder that amid all the bounty many of us enjoy, there are others in need. Please keep the season in mind, and open your hands as generously as you can to help those less fortunate.
Crystal Clear Conservative posts Joy in the Heart, a beautiful memory of how she learned that Christmas is about giving – and giving of yourself is the most rewarding thing you can do.
Connie sends in an unusual contribution: her Christmas story is a day by day journey with lots of beautiful images. Well worth the read!
Save Your Christmas! Brent, of the Ominous Comma, gives us this wonderful, practical post which shows us how, with a little personal sacrifice (just a little), we can give someone in need the gift of pure, clean water (and he’s going to see this and tell me to take out at least eight commas, I’m sure!) Go on over and watch the video – and then put the Christmas Spirit into action!
Robert and Jennifer from Conservative Convictions send in two excellent posts, about appreciating the simple things, and finding peace in those simple things. These are two posts well worth the reading to remind you of the meaning of the season!
SWACGirl thinks back to a 10 year old boy she knew long ago, and how his joy amid his trouble reminds her to be grateful during this season. Merry Christmas indeed, Stacy – wherever you are.
In Eight Ways to Ruin Christmas, Michael Teft relates a story that looks at our Christmas decorations and points to what they should remind us of – definitely something to teach our children! (Odd title, though *grin*) He also sent in the Gift of a Bible, which has a link to a video by Penn Jillette (of Penn&Teller fame) that is a MUST-WATCH.
Another very dear blog-brother of mine, Ogre, posts two items. One is a cartoon about the Christmas rush – look carefully, because that is what the Christmas rush ought to be! The second is a reminder of what the Christmas story really is – and, oh, I love that old, old story!
Toni presents "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" posted at Wifely Steps. She’s got a love of excellent videos up, starring the wonderful Food Host, Nigella Lawson. Nigella’s recipes are always easy and delicious – and you’ve gotta love that accent!
Oh, sugar cookies! I love holiday sugar cookies, but don’t usually have the time to make them. Gretchen at Dishes and China offers a simple recipe for them that I’m sure taste as good as they look.
Vickie of SidetrackedMoms, sent in a recipe for Christmas ornaments you can make with children. No, it’s not for food, but the fun you can have with your children is certainly the best part of a recipe for cherished memories!
We also have an entry from Making This Home – a link to some delicious German Christmas Cookies! Oh, dear – all I have to do is look at that recipe, and the pounds just glom onto me *grinning*
The Merry Widow is posting several recipes which, taken all together, will make sure you’ll roll out of the house on a very full and satisfied tummy Christmas night: Christmas Breakfast, Christmas Appetizers, Christmas Bread, and a Christmas Standing Rib Roast (OMG, I have just died in ecstasy – it’s been ages since I’ve cooked a rib roast…). I know she’s going to post a couple more after the Carnival’s deadline, so make sure you swing on over to find out what else she’s cooking!
Well, he calls them “cheap,” but really, these are foods you can get on a budget and still celebrate scrumptiously. Thanks to Ben of Money Smart Life for sending these in!
Julie from More4Kids sends in some recipes for fun Christmas desserts… And my scales are still creeping up-up-up!
Melody Rhodes sends in a post with a smorgasbord of items, but since she starts with several recipes, I’ll put it here. Go on over for some wonderful ideas!
SWACGirl returns to this edition of the Carnival with Forgotten Cookies, which look fascinating – I’ve never heard of cookies you can bake all night!
And gingerbread – at least in my memories – plays a huge part in making Christmas festive. I haven’t made gingerbread or gingerbread houses in years, but go on over to Walking Prescott, and look at the pictures of their annual gingerbread house competition. No recipes – but, WOW! – I didn’t know you could do that with gingerbread!
Christmas Songs, Pictures, Video and Poetry:
My goodness, this section got a lot longer than I expected…!
I want to thank the very talented Warren, of Longshot, for the graphic to the left. He created it especially for my dear friend, Always On Watch. AOW has composed a beautiful acrostic, A Piano Christmas, for her contribution to the Carnival.
Yet another of my blog-brothers, Kender, who is an extremely talented storyteller and writer, wrote the Love that Burns Brightest, which is a marvelous poem about the meaning of love, and its greatest Example.
GrrlScientist has a beautiful picture of Helsinki draped in snow – I wish Finland would send some of that white stuff to south-central Virginia; it would be lovely to have a white Christmas!
Chaosgone sent in two video-rich entries – one with beautiful traditional songs, and one with the *ahem* more amusing side of Christmas music, LOL!
NiceDeb, who gave me the link to the Wexford Carol video up top, sent in several pictures of her beautiful decorations at home. I’m jealous; I don’t usually “do” decorations – I leave them to my Beloved Husband and the Darling Munchkin, while I cook and clean, LOL
Fishersville Mike sends in his favorite Christmas carol – which is one of the most beautiful and uplifting of the traditional hymns.
Our Carnival Dad, Adam Graham, pops back in with the story of the Big Little Jesus – go on over and have a listen! And then he’s also posted his Christmas Eve (got THAT one in under the wire! LOL) roundup: a Truth and Hope Christmas.
Alton, who blogs at I’m not Emeril, has two posts with video. First, the Christmas story with a little video he made, and then the lyrics to “Christmas Wrapping.”
Homesteader Belle presents a post with lots of pictures of the beautiful Christmas ornaments and paper snowflakes her family made. What a gorgeous way of decorating!
SWACGirl, one of our prolific sender-inners, posts a picture of the gorgeous Christmas quilt made by her grandmother. Just lovely – and something, as a quilter myself, I can really appreciate! Then, she makes me very jealous with her pictures of snow, Christmas lights, and elegant old Virginia, dressed for the holidays. If she sends some snow to her “sister” (me!) down in south central Virginia, I will be an extraordinarily happy camper!
Another of my dear blog-brothers (gee, I do have a lot of them, don’t I? LOL), David of Third World County, has a whole set of discussions on Christmas hymns in his Christmas Alliance category. I love the old songs so much, and particularly like Thou Who Wast Rich Beyond All Splendor, Beautiful Savior, Ding Dong Merrily On High, and Still, Still, Still. You need to go over and check him out; he has a neat way of ferreting out interesting tidbits of information about the most beautiful music!
You definitely need to stop by Carrie and Danielle’s place for a list of worthy Christmas songs. I love their first choice so much, that I’m going to embed the video here (but do go see their other recommendations, because it’s a fantastic list, and full of really fun stuff!):
My dear blog-brother Michael, of the Write Side of My Brain, has been posting beautiful Advent meditations all this month, and they have been a wonderful blessing to me.
I also have my Alphabet of Christmas series, which I hope has helped us all focus on the Reason for the Season… And, yes, I am going to go all the way to the letter “z”!
GrrlScientist returns with the hilarious How to Stuff Your Parrot for Thanksgiving – which would work equally well for Christmas, I’m sure!
Madeleine Begun Kane, of MadKane, slyly gives us the Mad Gift Giving Guide, a contract between a husband and wife. WARNING – although this will make you laugh, there’s a lot of good sense in there, too!
I know it’s late for shopping tips to help us this year, but I thought I’d post Vickie’s suggestion for a Girls’ Shopping Day, as well as MoneyNing’s 32 Shopping Tips. OneFamilysBlog also has some frugal shopping tips. If you bookmark them and come back to them for next year, I’m sure they could be very helpful!
And looky here – Christmas card designs which are downloadable! I am going to bookmark this post and use some next year – thanks to Brent Diggs who sent this in from Home Life Weekly.
Finally, don’t forget the animals who share our lives – they should enjoy the season, too! GP from Manely Montana helps us have a Doggone Safe Holiday (there’s even a recipe for some doggie treats), and GrrlScientist gives us tips on how to keep our feathered friends safe as well.
I knew this would happen - there would definitely be a couple of extremely worthy late-comers to the Carnival that I absolutely HAD to link... LOL
Yet one more from my dear blog-brother, David - but not musical this time, even though it's a poem.
And this post is truly fitting to end with: A Police Officer's Story. Truly, an ending done right is only the beginning...
Well, that’s all for this year; I hope you’ve enjoyed reading through the Carnival entries as much as I have. It’s been wonderful fun, and I hope we can keep this annual tradition going for a long while. In the meantime, I will wish you all a very blessed and merry Christmas, and hope to see you again next year!
Wow! I have a lot of Christmas reading to do!
Thanks so much for all your hard work on this, Kat.
And Merry Christmas to you and your household.
Posted by: Always On Watch | December 24, 2008 at 08:44 AM
Wow! Quite an impressive job. Thanks for doing all this Kat, it's great!
Posted by: Ogre | December 24, 2008 at 08:47 AM
Kat, you have done a wonderful Job. Thanks and Merry Christmas dear friend and blog-sister.
Posted by: G M Roper | December 24, 2008 at 08:55 AM
As I said, it is an honor and a pleasure to host this wonderful Carnival. I am so glad this year that pretty much ALL the entries did such an excellent job on focusing on the theme.
I think this year's Carnival is MUCH better than last year's... I hope we can keep up that trend!
Posted by: Kat | December 24, 2008 at 09:10 AM
What a joy to read so much from so many during the Christmas season. May everyone in my favorite place, the Conservative blogsphere have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, filled with hope, joy and love from our Savior. God Bless, and thanks for doing this again Kat, it is simply fabulous!
Posted by: HoosierArmyMom | December 24, 2008 at 09:29 AM
Thanks for the joy-filled Carnival-- we sure need it this year!
Here's a roundup of traditional ways to celebrate Christmas in some of the world's great cities, from National Geographic:
http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/admin/mt-search.cgi?tag=The%20World%20of%20Christmas&blog_id=74&IncludeBlogs=74
Posted by: Marilyn Terrell | December 24, 2008 at 01:17 PM
Kat,
This is amazing! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Posted by: Crystal Clear Conservative | December 25, 2008 at 11:46 AM
I _may_ get through this reading list by 12-24-09...
:-)
Merry Xmas! *heh*
Posted by: David | December 25, 2008 at 10:45 PM
Thank you so much for your lovely comments and including my story in the Carnival.
Happy Holidays to you!
Posted by: Jenn | December 27, 2008 at 03:24 PM