Virtual Advent Tour

Greetings, Virtual Advent Tour!  Thanks for stopping by.  This is my fourth year participating in this fun event.  Unfortunately, due to the death of my mother-in-law and traveling for her funeral, I don't have time or computer access to write a complete post.   Rather than miss out completely, I am sharing a song that has been special to her.  She had a beautiful voice (read about it here) and sang in many community and church concerts.  Oh, Holy Night was one of her favorites to perform so, in her honor, please enjoy this flash mob version.

Virtual Advent Tour

Welcome to Day 1 of the Virtual Advent Tour, sponsored by Kailana @ The Reading World and Marg @ Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.  I've planned a few minutes of fun to kick things off. 

Two of my favorite things are Christmas and puzzles - so I've combined the two and created a collage of scenes from twenty-four of my favorite Christmas movies, TV specials and Christmas TV episodes.  How many can you identify?

Just leave a comment listing the names of the movies and TV shows (no need to identify the specific episode name.)  Comment moderation will be turned on temporarily so you can't peek at anyone's answers.  The winner will be selected by random drawing of all entries that get all twenty-four correct - or come the closest.  The winner will receive a hand-made Christmas ornament.

Entries will remain open till midnight, Monday, December 3rd.  Come back on Tuesday, December 4th to find out who won - and to play along on a second puzzle matching quotes from the Christmas movies with the proper title.

Have fun - and have a Merry Christmas!

Click to enlarge

Virtual Advent Blog Tour

Sign-up is open for the 7th Virtual Advent Tour, sponsored by Kailana from The Written Word and Marg at The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader.  It works just like a standard Advent calendar, with a lovely surprise to anticipate every day from Dec. 1 through Dec. 24 - but the treat comes in blog form.  Participants are assigned a date - usually 3 or 4/day - to share something about their holiday celebration:  a recipe, tradition, book review, funny or heartwarming story, craft....whatever they choose.  Visit the Virtual Advent Tour site daily to find links for that day's goodies.  

Virtual Advent Tour 2011

Kailana from The Written World and Marg from Adventures of An Intrepid Reader will be hosting the Virtual Advent Tour again.  Participants take turn sharing something about their Christmas celebration - family traditions, recipes, movies, music, decorations or ethnic customs.  If you would like to join in, visit Virtual Advent Tour and sign up.  You will be assigned a day to post your Advent thoughts on your blog.  Then just follow along with the Advent calendar and open a few blog-treats each day in December.

This will be our third year as part of the tour.  It's a great way to meet new people, learn about Christmas celebrations from different cultures, and get some new ideas for your own holiday season.

Virtual Advent Tour: We Wish You a Charlie Brown Christmas

Celebrate the joy of the holidays with the classic animated special, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," tonight at 7:00 p.m. Central Time on CBS.  Charlie Brown and his search for the meaning of Christmas are pop-culture icons.  But do you know the story behind the story? 

In April of 1965, an ad exec contacted tv producer Lee Mendelson.  Coca-Cola wanted to sponsor a Christmas special. Did they have anything in the works?  Mendelson's emphatic answer was "Absolutely".  His next phone call was to Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, to inform him that he had four days to write a Peanuts Christmas special.  After Coke approved the idea, Schultz, Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez scrambled to produce the special in only six months. 

When the final product was delivered, CBS Programming Exec. Fred Silverman was less than thrilled.  A jazz soundtrack, voices done by non-professional children rather than actors, and scripture voiced by a cartoon combined to make an atypical children's special.  However, since the tv schedule had already been published, CBS had no choice but to air it anyway and hope for the best.

What ensued took everyone by surprise.  A Charlie Brown Christmas was the second most watched show that week, with an unblievable 49% market share.  (If you're wondering, Bonanza was the #1 show.)  The show went on to win both an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programing and a Peabody Award for Distinguished Achievement in Television.  Charlie Brown and the gang have helped America celebrate Christmas every year since.

Watching a Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my favorite parts of the season.  I have it on DVD and in book form - both regular and pop-up versions.  I often identify with Charlie as he struggles with the commercialization and ponders the true meaning of Christmas.  Not that I'm against the more commercial aspects of the celebration. If you've visited here before, you probably know that I'm a Christmas nut.  I love the music, the decorations, the lights, the tv specials and Santa Claus.  But the Peanuts characters remind me to stop amidst all the rush and glitter to consider "what Christmas is all about."   The answer can be found in Luke 2:8-14.  Listen to Linus recite those amazing words and have a truly Merry Christmas.



Bonus trivia:  In the opening scene of the program, we see the characters skating and playing Crack the Whip.  Charlie Brown and Linus are at the end of the line and are sent sliding across the ice.  Charlie Brown slides into a tree and snow falls on his head, but we never see where Linus lands.  Do you know why?

In the original version, Linus slides into a Coca-Cola sign - an extra bit of advertising for the sponsors.  Since Coke is no longer the exclusive sponsor, that scene was cut.  And now you know....the rest of the story.

Avent Tour

Kailana from The Written World and Marg from Adventures of an Intrepid Reader are once again sponsoring a Virtual Advent Tour.  Open a gift every day in December by following the posted schedule of blogs that will be sharing their favorite Christmas stories, memories, recipes and traditions each day. 

On December 7th the tour will be stopping right here at "Just One More Thing..."  Last year we shared a favorite family tradition - Grandma's Sugar Cookies.  We're not sure what we'll be offering this year, but be sure and stop by and join the festivities.

Virtual Advent Tour

Merry Christmas and welcome to our blog! We're happy to share with you a piece of our Christmas. In our family, December brings Grandma's Sugar Cookies. This tradition is now into it's 5th generation. Beginning with my Great-Grandmother, Carrie, baking and decorating sugar cookies has become an established part of our Christmas celebration. As young housewives around the turn of the last century, Carrie and her neighbor began collecting cookie cutters - passing the collection back and forth between the two households during the holiday season. My grandmother, Rosa, helped with the baking and garnishing, and eventually taught her daughters to do the same.

I remember many cold, winter days gathered around Grandma's table, shaking colored sprinkles onto all shapes of cookies, licking my fingers (and, yes, then touching all the cookies), and arguing with my sisters over who used up all the red sugar. When Grandma and Grandpa retired and were frequently traveling at Christmas, Mom took over the baking duties. Naturally, as time passed we all moved away and began our own families and in time grandchildren visited to help out.

Last year, Mom decided that since 7 of her 8 grandkids were 16 or older, the cookie tradition was on hiatus until the next generation was ready to take over. The uproar from the kids was so loud that she drug the cookie cutters back out this year and continued the custom. Seems high school and college students still like to gather at Grandma's.

Dave and I now have two grandsons who live in Albuquerque (a seven hour drive from us) and schedules don't usually allow for two visits in December, so we have yet to share this experience with them, but our empty-nest years are just around the corner and I'm sure we will continue the fun with them and the many other grandchildren (granddaughters?) we're hoping to have.

The cutters my mom uses are the original collection, with some additions of her own. I wish now that I could ask Grandma about the beginning of this piece of my heritage. Some of the cutters look hand-made - who made them? What did they use for decorations in her youth? Were candy Jimmies and Sprinkles available in the early part of the 20th century? Did she have friends or cousins who took part? Family legend has it that the collection began with a few cutters that were brought from Germany by my great-great grandparents, is that true? As with many things, it didn't seem important when I had the opportunity to ask and, now that I realize how precious this tradition is, Grandma's no longer here to answer my questions, but the memories we made in her kitchen will last for generations.

Below is Grandma's sugar cookie recipe. It's probably not much different than the one in your recipe box, with the exception of the "sour milk". To make sour milk, stir 1 T. vinegar into 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes. Whatever recipe you use, we wish you a Merry Christmas and lot's of holiday memories.

Rosa's Sugar Cookies:

2 c. sugar

1 c. shortening (I prefer butter-flavored Crisco)

2 eggs - beat lightly and fill to 1 cup with sour milk

1 t. baking soda

vanilla

salt

5 c. flour

Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs and vanilla, then dry ingredients. Chill in refrigerator, roll out and cut. Bake at 375 for 11 minutes.

Join the Virtual Advent Tour at http://adventblogtour.blogspot.com/