http://www.hulu.com/watch/198677/a-charlie-brown-christmas

There is something about A CharlieBrown Christmas that immediately centers me…fond childhood memories do that sometimes!

Remember driving around looking at Christmas decorations?  Granted, this was when gas was  35 cents a gallon, and the whole family piled in the car driving through other neighborhoods seeing who out-did us!  It was always on those crisp, cold, indigo nights with a full-moon beaming down and so many twinkling stars when you look straight up.   I’d pretend I was smoking a cigarette with my vaporized breath (that’s the closest I got to smoking) !  We were usually heading to the store for much needed powdered sugar and paraffin wax.  Huh???  Yeah, this was the best part of it…my mom would make Bourbon Balls (funny how we never ran out of THAT, she always well stocked the Jack Daniels)!  So, we’d get home and start making those sugar sweet balls, let ‘em cool, then my sister and I would excitedly put toothpicks in each one with great anticipation of the grand finale… dipping them in the paraffin/chocolate combo while we watched Charlie Brown and Snoopy on the boob tube!  And then we’d watch the weird, other worldly, almost unnerving “clay-mation” version of Rudolph!!!

Life was perfect.  Thank you God!  I’ll have those sweet and simple memories forever while I try to make some new ones.   I’m getting MY daughter into the holiday baking game.  Such a great way to bond.  Do you have holiday rituals with your family?  Would love to hear about 'em !

Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, I’m glad you’re the Charlie Browniest!!!

Merry Christmas,

Jg