Tag archives for Christmas
Posted by BOOK NAME: Skipping Christmas
AUTHOR: John Grisham
If you had the chance to skip Christmas, would you? Sure, it would mean not having to go to your siblings’ boring Christmas pageant, not getting sick on candy canes and fruit cake, and not having to pretend you’re thankful for the wacky presents your relatives send you, but wouldn’t you miss the Christmas tree? And the decorations and carolers? And not to mention, what would your family and friends think of you?
These are the types of questions Luther and Nora Krank are faced with when they suddenly decide to forgo the holidays in the novel, Skipping Christmas. With their only daughter leaving for a year to go teach children English in Peru, the Kranks are feeling pretty gloomy and don’t know if they are up to celebrating Christmas. In fact, Luther, who has never liked the holiday because of the all the stress and chaos it brings, proposes the plan of skipping altogether and going on a luxurious cruise instead. Although the idea at first seems crazy and Nora immediately vetoes it, the couple eventually comes around and they excitedly book their tickets for a Caribbean cruise, starting on Christmas day.
At first, Luther and Nora’s attempt to forgo everything that has to do with Christmas goes very smoothly and they begin to think that skipping the holidays will be easy. However, as they continue to refuse invitations to Christmas parties, turn down charities asking for donations to help give underprivileged kids presents, and go as far as to not decorate their house with Christmas lights, ultimately causing their neighborhood to lose the annual holiday decorations contest, they soon begin to be met with distaste from their neighbors. As the book goes on, that distaste grows into a full-fledged “war” between the neighborhood and the Kranks, the matter being over whether or not Luther and Nora are going to celebrate Christmas.
This novel is very amusing and will have you constantly laughing as you read it. I recommend it to preteens and young teenagers because it does contain some bad language (Luther utters the occasional swear word) and was originally aimed for an adult audience. Other than that, this book is very funny and entertaining and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Posted by T’was Christmas Day and all through the house all the creatures were stirring, even a mouse. For Christmas I got a kindle fire and a lot of pretty clothes. Everest got a spy set, a remote controlled car that is insanely fast, a life size stuffed tiger, and a lot of logos. We spent the day lounging around the house and playing with our new toys. We had a delicious family dinner that night. Everyone obviously over ate but it was the perfect way to end a wonderful Christmas.
That next morning we left for the Potawatomi Lodge, our home away from home. I have been going there since I was born. My parents have shared a family reunion there for the past 30 years. During the winter they have a toboggan run (it is kind of like a sled going down an steep icy hill). It was super fun and super fast.
I love spending time with my family, especially because we only get to see them two times a year. We spend hours sitting by the fire, play card games, and building snowmen. This year my eleven year old cousin Kayla and her sister came and we got to hang out together.
After three great days we went back to grandma and grandpa’s to ring in the New Year. We went to an exciting hockey game with Olivia (my friend who helped me raise money for the orphans in Nepal). Her older brother JD is an amazing player. We also went to an arcade with my aunts and uncles and won 2666 tickets!!! Last time I played at an arcade in Santa Barbara I won enough tickets for a lava lamp. Have you ever won so many tickets?
A few days later Uncle BJ came to Michigan and shared dinner with us and played at the park.
On our last night we went to a Mavericks Pistons basketball game that was awesome! The Mavericks won and we got free shirts, pizza and lottery tickets. Our holiday season was awesome, but I am super excited for South America!
Posted by BOOK NAME: Christmas in Williamsburg
AUTHOR: K.M. Kostyal
When I say the word Christmas, what comes to mind? Things like Christmas trees, mistletoe, and the smell of cookies baking are probably just a few. While imagining this, have you ever stopped to think about where Christmas and the traditions associated with it came from? Most of these traditions are recent and come from many different counties. Many of them were brought by some of our earliest European settlers in Williamsburg and others were originated in America when they came here.
For example, a man from Germany introduced the Christmas tree to Williamsburg and it stuck as an annual tradition (hard to imagine Christmas without it). Today you think of the family sitting around the tree with presents for the kids underneath. But back in colonial times this holiday was not geared for the family, but was mostly a festive holiday party primarily for adults. Many people in colonial times got married during this holiday season because it was the only time the entire family was gathered. Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were married during Christmas.
This book describes American Christmas history and traditions from the past and present. It also gives instructions on how to mimic these traditions so that you may enjoy them at home. I followed the craft instructions for the paper chains and as I decorated our tree with my handmade crafts, I felt like it really made this Christmas special by reminding me where our traditions came from. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to put some of the old Williamsburg traditions into their own Christmas. Have fun doing this with your family and have a very Merry Christmas.
