Tag Archives: Christmas

Thankful to Be Home

What are you thankful for?It’s the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year, and for the first time since high school I’m not traveling anywhere. I guess 1996 would be the last year I didn’t go anywhere for Thanksgiving. In college I always drove the 700 miles home to Michigan. Once married, we alternated Christmas and Thanksgiving between our parents in Wisconsin and Kansas. The former was only a 300-mile trip, but the latter was another 700-mile full day in the car.

So I’m pretty used to traveling on Thanksgiving. On the years I made the 700-mile drive I’d get up at some ridiculous pre-dawn hour so I could be on the road early and make good time. The alarm would go off at something awful like 4:30 and I’d be on the road by 5. Except I could never sleep well before long drives and would always be up before my alarm. No matter how early it was.

I couldn’t sleep this morning either. No alarm was set, but I was awake by 5. Some habits die hard, I guess.

This year we decided to stay home for both holidays. Last year we somehow ended up traveling every other weekend in November and December and we just couldn’t handle it this year. Too many miles, too much whining from the back seat, too much stress. Plus, the idea of having our own holiday and forming our own traditions sounded pretty great. We’ve never done our own holidays, so we haven’t forged many of our own traditions.

Growing up we rarely went anywhere for the holidays. We had fairly set traditions, like going to cut down a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and setting it up that night. Watching Ernest Saves Christmas on Christmas Eve. OK, so sometimes family traditions are weird. But that’s what’s fun about them.

Through the years I’ve always been thankful that I had a place to go for the holidays. No matter what happened that year, no matter what life transition happened (and there were a few, between getting married, watching my parents get divorced and seeing them get back together), I always had a place to call home. A lot of people aren’t so lucky.

I’m also thankful that for all those miles traveled I never had any major car trouble. It always seemed like a minor miracle that I’ve never been in a big accident, never had my car break down, never had a flat tire. I’ve had my share of close calls. I hit a bird in Chicago once. A jet ski fell off a trailer just in front of me. It wasn’t a holiday, but on one snowy drive I did lose control and fishtail into a ditch, but I was nearly able to drive out of it. Plus my parents were there to help push me out and we were back on the road like nothing happened. Later that day on the Interstate I watched the truck in front of me start swerving and spin 40 feet off the road into deep snow. Last year I drove several hundred miles to Thanksgiving with the check engine light on, worried something bad was going to happen. But all systems were go.

I’ve had some close calls over the years, some diverted plans and some travel sickness I’d rather not detail, but we’ve always made it. I’m incredibly thankful for that.

I have a lot to be thankful for at Thanksgiving. This year it’s going to be staying home and doing nothing with my family. Forging our own traditions, like the day before Thanksgiving donuts (it’s a thing) and setting up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving (some traditions are meant to endure).

Make Your Own Antenna

Antenna built from cardboard and tin foil
I built my own antenna!

This week we upgraded to the flat panel, digital age and got a new TV with some Christmas money (yes, our family celebrates multiple Christmases between Thanksgiving and New Year; one down, at least two to go). We finally replaced the old school 21″ TV we got as a wedding present and got a fancy LED HD 720 something or other.

As fancy as the new TV was, it didn’t get actual TV.

This wasn’t really a problem. When we rearranged, the TV was on the opposite wall as the cable outlet and we never  cared. That’s how little we watch regular TV.

But with a fancy new TV it seemed like we should be able to watch regular TV (without draping a cable across the room). Apparently you need an antenna to get regular TV, even with a fancy new TV. As I started researching antennas online I stumbled across some instructions for a DIY antenna. The site claims it works as good as the fancy ones you can buy in the store, so I figured why not.

A cardboard and tinfoil antenna? That sounds cool.

And it totally works. I bought the required $1.78 part this morning and slapped it together this afternoon. And we’ve got regular TV! Not just regular TV, but HDTV with all kinds of weird extra channels. Cool. It comes in great. I’d wager just as good as anything we bought at the store.

Gotta love the juxtaposition of the high tech TV and a piece of cardboard junk. Sometimes spending more money isn’t always better. Now I just need to find a place to hide the cardboard antenna so it doesn’t look as ridiculous as a cable strung across the room.

My last cardboard project worked pretty good, too (until somebody threw up on it). For my next cardboard project, I’m thinking of tackling this.

What Do You Want for Christmas?

Wrapping RexSeriously? It’s not even Halloween yet and I’m asking about Christmas?

I know. Sorry. With family spread across the country we generally do at least three different Christmas gift exchanges between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Needing to have gifts by Thanksgiving can sneak up on you. So I need to have a Christmas list early.

And I suck at Christmas lists.

I like to rebel and not do one, but then poor grandmas throw up their arms and have to resort to gift cards, which they hate.

Then I get too practical. Do I really need all the usual crap? Then my list amounts to six items nobody wants to buy (two of which were gift cards). One year I told my wife I needed socks. I think she hit me. Trying to be anti-materialistic isn’t compatible with the Christmas list. I guess that’s the point—this is stuff I wouldn’t buy for myself. They’re gifts. They’re supposed to be extravagant.

Last year I got smart and told my wife I wanted a new winter coat. Half the present was her doing the shopping and making the decisions for me. Best. Present. Ever.

So materialism aside, I’m trying to fill out my Amazon wishlist and for once I have more than six boring things. I have a lot of ridiculous things nobody will buy (Like $150 prints, a new TV and $200 Lego sets—see? Extravagant.) as well as some realistic stuff like the new Anne Lamott book, picture frames (hey, something besides books & movies!) and a Blu-ray player.

So what do you want for Christmas this year? Help me out, I can pad my list by stealing your ideas!

Free Christmas Music 2011

I like Christmas music and I like free music, so I must double-like free Christmas music. And yes, I do. I’ve shared some free Christmas music in the past, but this year there are a few offerings worth mentioning:

  • Justin McRoberts: Right now you can get the Christmas Songs EPs from acoustic folk rocker Justin McRoberts for free from NoiseTrade. You do need to hand over your ZIP and an email, but otherwise it’s free. One of Justin’s songs made it on my top 5 list of Christmas songs, so it’s worth checking out.
  • Eisely: Over at Facebook you can download the Dupree Family Christmas Bundle, which is a collection of Christmas songs recorded over the years by members of the Texas-based band Eisley. How to describe Eisley? Hmmm… female-fronted, melodic-melancholy rock with a lot of harmonies?
  • Amazon’s Advent Calendar of Free Christmas Music: Every year Amazon gives away a song a day until Christmas for 25 days of free music. Some of it is worth a pass, but there are some gems here, including something for all tastes. We’re talking Bing Crosby to Twisted Sister, Leigh Nash (of Sixpence None the Richer) to the Flaming Lips, and Brian Wilson to Fitz and the Tantrums. Give it a try.
  • Five Iron Frenzy: OK, it’s not very Christmasy (at all), but I’d be remiss not to mention the new Five Iron Frenzy (they’re back) single you can get for free: “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night.” It’s free and it’s close to Christmas, so let’s call it a Christmas present. (OK, if you really want some Five Iron Christmas, you’ll have to shell out for “Gotta Get Up.”)

Hope you enjoy yourself some free Christmas music.

And if you’re up for spending a few bucks on your Christmas music, I strongly recommend the Sufjan Stevens’ Songs for Christmas. I could rock around the Christmas tree to that indie-rock wonder collection all night long.

Last Day of 2009

It’s the end of 2009 already? Sheesh. I’m old.

I love the holidays for the chance to do a lot of nothing. This year’s nothing seemed like it came and went faster than normal. And I don’t feel like I did enough nothing.

Christmas always feels like a month-long blur, and this year was no different. Our Thanksgiving in Kansas plans changed at the last minute and we spent Thanksgiving in Green Bay and then Christmas in Kansas. And our Christmas in Kansas plans were moved up at the last minute and we ended up taking the dogs with us, which is always one extra thing to worry about. But it’s probably good we left a day earlier and avoided becoming one of the many cars I saw in the ditch (and especially glad I didn’t become one of the three rollovers I saw in the ditch). And our lack of New Year’s plans turned into a last minute pizza party in the backage claim with our good friends during their three hour layover.

I’m sensing a last minute theme to the 2009 holiday-palooza. I guess that’s how we roll.

Free Christmas Music

Last year I explored my top 5 Christmas songs. Those recommendations still stand this year, though I keep coming across a number of free Christmas songs and they’re worth sharing.

  • Christmas for Kenya – University Baptist Church (David Crowder’s church) has put together their second Christmas album raising money for a water well in Kenya. You can download the album for free and then donate whatever you like (but please donate something).
  • Holiday Sampler – Vanguard Records has a free holiday sampler. All it will cost you is your e-mail address. It’s more country/folk oriented then I’d prefer, but I did like the tracks by Joshua Radin, Dar Williams and the Watson Twins.
  • Christmas Songs Vol. 2 – Folk rocker Justin McRoberts has made his EP of Christmas songs available through Noise Trade, which means you can have it if you spam five of your friends. I’m not a big fan of that method, but the price is right.
  • 25 Days of Free – Like they did last year, Amazon is offering 25 days of free Christmas song downloads. It’s not all quality stuff, but you might find a few gems.

Christians Demand Retailer Lip Service

Happy Eid al-Adha from Best BuyJust what you always needed—a web site to show you which retailers will wish you a hearty “Merry Christmas” while taking your money and which ones are heathen bastards and say something sinful like “Seasons Greetings” or “Happy Holidays”. It’s the lastest effort from Focus on the Family: Stand for Christmas. The site guages how “Christmas-friendly” retailers are with a user-generated rating and comment system.

For example, you know those heathens at Best Buy are hell-bound with their 9% friendly rating and devilish 77% offensive rating. That’s what they get for wishing Muslims a happy Eid al-Adha. And you can take comfort in WalMart’s 63% friendly rating and low 13% offensive rating (nevermind the continual questions about WalMart’s human rights abuses—another issue for another day).

I’m not even sure where to start. I think what disappoints me the most is that this is perhaps the least Christ-like way to celebrate Christmas. I don’t think brow-beating and threatening retailers with my dollars unless they pay lip service to my religion is a very Christ-like approach. It seems like Jesus would have intentionally shopped with the heathens.

Assuming Jesus would have shopped. The consumer-centric approach is even more baffling. One of their news reports even notes that promoting Christmas by name is good for business (PDF). Seems like we need an Advent Conspiracy. Instead of letting retailers feel our righteous wrath by spending our dollars elsewhere, maybe we should stop the spending entirely. Maybe we should focus on spreading the message that Christmas isn’t about shopping. Maybe we should find more productive ways to focus our energy at Christmas. After all, 76% of adults who rather receive a Christmas gift that helps someone else instead of another sweater or DVD player. Our culture doesn’t care so much about the lip service of saying “Merry Christmas”—instead they’re yearning for some actual meaning in Christmas.

God forbid a business seeks to acknowledge the many faiths and beliefs represented among its customers, whether we’re talking a specific “Happy Christmas/Hanukkah/Eid/what-have-you,” or a generic “Happy Holidays.” Is that really worth getting worked up about? Should I really be holding it against my Muslim/Jewish/atheist friends for not saying “Merry Christmas”? That seems kind of petty. Especially when they pitch it as being “more inclusive and respectful” (read the comments on Best Buy and tell me that’s an inclusive and respectful tone).

I’m not alone. One columnist said this kind of effort gives Christmas a bad name, and as if to prove it Wonkette weighs in with easy swipes at “wingnut” Christians. Then again, there’s also the folks putting words in Jesus’ mouth—and then putting them on a billboard. Ug. It doesn’t end.

Being obsessed with retailer lip service is not what Christmas is about. There are better ways to put the ‘Christ’ back in ‘Christmas,’ and they don’t start with shopping.

Update: Pocket Guider Jason Boyett writes a similar piece that says much the same thing in more detail and better. Plus he’s got 35 comments and counting.

Today Has Conspired Against Me

Or maybe this entire week has conspired against me. Let’s count the ways…
(In case you can’t tell, this is one of those whiny, poor me posts, so feel free to move on now)

  • I’ve been sick since Wednesday night with a sore throat and persistent cough. Last night I was coughing so hard my chest hurt.
  • Because of all that I couldn’t go to the Social Media Breakfast on Friday morning.
  • I also couldn’t go to a planning meeting for a group of local church communicators I’m helping to organize.
  • That sickness also meant the date night my wife and I have been trying to have for two months that almost happened this weekend didn’t happen.
  • It also means I forgot about the U2 tickets that sold out in two hours on Saturday morning.
  • It also means I never had a chance to enjoy one last taco at Dora’s (OK, it would have been more like six last tacos).
  • This morning I left the kids with a babysitter and took the bus to the doctor. I missed the bus.
  • Which meant I missed my appointment by 20 minutes and the doctor wouldn’t see me.
  • Then I spent three hours at the dealership while they investigated my car’s uneven tread wear problem, only to tell me they have no answers.
  • Then I got a call from the babysitter that Lexi has been throwing up.
  • I dropped $50 at Best Buy tonight to replace items that have been lost or stolen in the last six months.
  • One of those items was a power cord for the portable DVD player Lexi watches in the car. Thanks to disposable electronics, that portable DVD player will now be the main DVD player powering our living room TV. (Our house has two VCRs and four DVD players, and only two of the DVD players work. And one is portable.)
  • We have two couches in our house. Lexi managed to throw up on both of them.
  • While preparing all the puke-stained items for the wash, I realized the dog peed on the carpet.
  • At this point it was supper time and I realized I never had lunch.
  • Being gone all day meant I got next to nothing done for work.
  • We were planning to go to Kansas for Thanksgiving and I was excited about introducing Milo to lots of extended family that hasn’t had the chance to meet him yet. Tonight we decided we can’t go to Kansas with all the sickness and our complete lack of preparation.

Did I forget anything?

However, this week is Thanksgiving. So let’s find some bright spots, shall we?

Continue reading Today Has Conspired Against Me

Rethinking Christmas

Redefining Christmas has been on my mind this year. As I was editing a like-minded blog entry for Church Marketing Sucks, I realized how insane it is that people go into debt for Christmas. How crazy it is that we’re so obsessed with shopping that people get trampled. How sad it is that people feel the need to apologize when they can’t buy as many presents as they bought last year.

How ironic that the celebration of a baby born in shit and straw has become so materialistic. Mary and Joseph had very little in that stable. They didn’t have a fancy crib with a light up mobile. They didn’t have an iPod to soothe the crying baby. They didn’t have a credit card to reserve a better room. But they had more than they needed.

  • Wouldn’t it be cool if Christmas was a time when people got out of debt instead of into it?
  • Wouldn’t it change your city if instead of trampling people to get gifts, we lined up to serve one another?
  • Wouldn’t it be refreshing if instead of packing our own shelves and closets we gave gifts to people who really need them?

I’m rethinking Christmas. I hope you are too.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor.” (Isaiah 61:1-2/Luke 4:18-19)

Top 5 Christmas Songs

Christmas music is playing everywhere, but it’s not always good. Every year I find myself on the elusive search for truly good Christmas music. Here are my top 5 Christmas songs:

1. “You Gotta Get Up” by Five Iron Frenzy (Buy it: CD on Amazon)
(Not sure why this song isn’t more widely available. Not sure if it’s legal, but you can grab an mp3 download here)

2. “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” by Sixpence None the Richer (Buy it: CD on Amazon)

3. “Last Christmas” by Leigh Nash (Buy it: iTunes/Free on Amazon)

4. “Oi to the World” by No Doubt (Buy it: iTunes/Amazon)

5. “O Holy Night” by Justin McRoberts (Buy it: iTunes/Amazon)

And special nods go to the Songs for Christmas boxset by Sufjan Stevens (Buy it: iTunes/Amazon) that is so awesome you just have to buy the whole thing, as well as Andrew Peterson’s Behold the Lamb of God (Buy it: iTunes/CD on Amazon), which gets distinction for doing an entire song about the genealogy in Matthew.

I should also admit that my favorite Christmas song from my childhood is “Jesus is Born Today” by the Oak Ridge Boys (Buy it: iTunes/Amazon). It used to be on a Christmas tape my dad made, but he bumped the record player when it was dubbing and scratched horribly. Rather than starting the tape over, he just started the song again so the tape had the song one and a half times. Awesome.