Had a childhood flashback thanks to my daughter yesterday.
It is that time of year! The commercials are already starting and two things arrived in the mail.
The Amazon and Walmart Wish books arrived in the mail!
Let me say that these are a FAR cry from the HUGE wish books that I went through growing up. And we certainly had a few to go through –
Montgomery Ward ….
Sears …
And JC Penney (which was our favorite)
We’d spend hours looking through these wish books, thinking that these were commissioned by Santa. After all, we were creating our list of toys that HE was going to bring. Our folks told us constantly that they had to pay him for them!
I remember the above page like I was still 5 years old. We actually had that treehouse!
The above page was one that had a huge black circle around that Millennium Falcon! Santa did bring it to me that year, incidentally!
Anyway, back to my daughter. She is at that age now where she wants a say in what she wants for Christmas. So I grabbed a pen and we opened up the Walmart Wish Book (which was more like a cheap magazine). Her finger pointed to toy after toy. “Circle that one for me!” “I think Bubby (her brother, Andrew) wants that. Circle it for him!”
I circled and circled many items. It was insane! I circled doll houses, electric cars, Paw Patrol, Cocomelon, and Gabby’s Dollhouse stuff. There was something on every page. There were even times she would offer special instructions. For example, when we came to this …
…she made sure to say, “I want this Barbie house. With the Barbie car. And all the Barbies, ok?”
She is a hoot and it was a lot of fun going through the books with her. Now we wait to see if she is on the Naughty or Nice List, right!?
With Christmas just days away, I thought I would take a moment and write a Christmas wish to you. Yes, you. Many of my followers are friends on Facebook, however, there are many of you who only know me from this blog. I wanted to be sure to extend holiday wishes to you before I got too busy with Christmas things.
I really had hoped to come up with some deep and meaningful wish, but I can’t seem to find the right words. Let me start with this: For my blogger friends – I appreciate you. I am glad to have made your acquaintance through mutual likes (movies, music, TV, etc…). I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy reading yours. I may not get the chance to comment or “like” each one of them, but I do find time to read them.
For my family and friends who are connected through Facebook or social media, I am grateful for you, too. Even though we do not get to see each other face to face, I laugh at your funny posts, I smile at your family photos, I pray when you request special prayers, and I cry when you experience sadness or tragedy. I send my love to each of you.
For Christmas 2021, I wish for you:
C – Carols and music. May the sounds of the season accompany your holiday gatherings.
H – Health and happiness. May you be blessed with good health and an over abundance of happiness!
R – Rest and relaxation. May you find time to rest, relax and recharge before heading back to the grind.
I – Innocence. May you take in things that are so often overlooked with the awe, wonder, and innocence of a child. Notice those things – and treasure them.
S – Surrounded by family and friends. May you share all of your holiday season amongst those who mean the most to you.
T – Traditions. May you enjoy old traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation as well as start new ones to pass down next year.
M – Memories. May you make many happy memories together and recall memories from Christmases gone by.
A – Appreciation. May you celebrate this Christmas with an appreciation for all you have, no matter how big or how small.
S – Savior. May you celebrate the Savior this Christmas. Yes, the world is celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, but it is also important to remember that the Baby in the manger grew up to be a sinless Man. That sinless Man, was crucified for you and for me. He bore all of our sins on the cross so that we could have eternal life.
I Corinthians 15: 1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
A Musical Wish
I have never heard of Katherine Jenkins. She is a Welsh opera singer who performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns. I was scanning through channels of Sirius XM and heard this song this week. I felt like it was a good one to share and conveyed what I might not be able to put into words.
I wish you starlight on fields of snow The winter’s morning light and evening’s glow; I wish you candles that shine from every tree So all the world can see The light that there could be
I wish you music, I wish you song With voices echoing, Joyous and strong; I wish you church bells, ringing true and clear; I wish you Christmas, a merry Christmas A merry Christmas to remember all the year
Old friends smiling Thinking of times gone by; Young friends laughing: Christmas is here Spirits are bright And hopes are high
I wish you loved ones around your fire; May Christmas bring you all your heart’s desire I wish you children to make the season new With dreams you help come true Just like it was for you
I wish you blessings, I wish you love The sound of angel choirs from high above; I wish you laughter, happiness and cheer: I wish you Christmas, a merry Christmas And may its joy and peace be with you through the year
I wish you music, I wish you song; I wish you harmony your whole life long; The warmth of memories that long remain: I wish you Christmas, a merry Christmas And may God bless you till we all shall meet again
Merry Christmas from your nostalgic Italian friend,
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 