Footle and Grok

Messing about with empathy

A Visit with Saint Nicholas

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 16 – Go to the mall and wave at Santa. Sit on his lap if you want to tell him what you want for Christmas or at least wish him a Merry Christmas.

I think a fun variation to this idea would be to take a child to see Santa. Perhaps a grandchild, or family friend. Go out to lunch first, do a little shopping, and visit Santa. That would make a fun and memorable day for both by you and the child.

If you want to see the real Santa, I recommend a trip to North Pole, Alaska. You can fly into Fairbanks and be there in a day. Mrs. Claus hangs out with her husband, so you get a double dose of fun.

Okay, you don’t have to go today. Santa hangs out in North Pole, Alaska, every day (except Christmas Eve) so you can plan to see him when there’s more daylight and less snow.

Even if you don’t go see Santa, spread some ho-ho-ho with these fun Santa jokes.

  • How much did Santa’s sleigh cost? It was on the house.
  • How you can tell that Santa is real? You can always sense his presents.
  • Why is Santa so good at karate? He has a black belt.
  • Why does Santa go through the chimney? Because it soots him.
  • What do you call a kid who doesn’t believe in Santa? A rebel without a Claus.
  • How does Santa take pictures? With his Pole-aroid camera.

 

Some traditions last

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day  15 – Try something old. Is there something you used to do as a child that you don’t do anymore? Do it again. Revive an old tradition and feel young again.

I can’t think of anything to suggest. Much of what I do at Christmastime is the same as what I did when I was a kid.

  • I use an advent calendar
  • I send cards
  • I listen to Christmas music
  • I watch Christmas movies
  • I color Christmas pages
  • I make Christmas crafts
  • I decorate my house
  • I give wrapped gifts to friends and family
  • I do religous activities

The way that I do these things might have changed over time, but not the activity itself or the meaning behind it. So, I need your help.

Do you have childhood traditions* that you don’t do nowadays? Would you be interested in doing it again? Let me know in the comments, and maybe I’ll remember a tradition that I’d stopped doing. Except for having to go to school, which I’m not ready to repeat, I can’t think of any.

I found a great list of timeless Christmas activities. I do most of them, so it didn’t help my dilemma, but you might find something fun to do.

Make Frosty some friends

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 14 – Go out on a snow-covered day and build a friendly snowman. No snow? Build an ice cube man with toothpicks for arms. He can live a long time in Freezerland.

I have never lived where it snowed every year. Growing up, we visited Sequoia National Park after Christmas to get our snow fix. Where I live now, it might snow twice a year, but not enough to make a really impressive snowman.

I don’t know where I got the idea for an ice cube snowman, but I don’t think using toothpicks would work. How would you stick them in the cube? I’d used pipe cleaners and wrap them around the cube, like Forky’s arms in Toy Story 4.

I wasn’t thinking outside the icebox when I came up with this activity. Snowmen can be made out of anything from glass jars to fabric to tumbleweeds. Click here for twenty-five fun and easy snowman crafts. You could create a snowmen family with your own family.

Have yourself a merry Tuba Christmas

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 13 – Go to a Christmas concert. A fun one is Tuba Christmas. Tuba players join together and play free Christmas concerts. It is a great sound. A town nearby you may have a Tuba Christmas concert soon. 

You can also go see the Nutcracker or your school’s winter concert, but if you have never been to a Tuba Christmas event, I highly recommend it. You can find one in your area by going to their website and typing in your state.

Tuba Christmas has been happening for 46 years. The first Tuba Christmas was held at the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City. I bet the music sounded awesome bouncing off the skyscrapers.

When I was in college, I learned to play the tuba so I could participate in Tuba Christmas. My hubby has played the tuba since high school, and we both joined the event in 1994. Our concert was held outside and had about fifty tuba and baritone players. So cool.

I have been playing a different Christmas album each day in December. It’s a lot of fun to hear different performers sing familiar carols, but it doesn’t match hearing those songs played live. Take time to take in a concert this month with friends and family. It will brighten everyone’s holiday. Especially if it is tubas.

Not the fudgy kind

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 12 – Give someone the day off. Do they normally do the dishes? Tell them that they have the day off and do it for them. Whatever it may be, do it for them cheerfully so they feel like they can enjoy their day off.

In my Girl Scout Brownie and Junior Handbook, published in 1977, there is a story about two kids who wished they had a brownie in their house who would do all the chores so that their father, who was raising them, didn’t have to work so hard. The girl visited a wise old owl one evening to learn how to find a brownie, and he told her to go to the pond, turn around three times, and look in the water. When she did, she was to say the following words.

“Twist me and turn me and show me the elf,

I looked in the water and saw _____.”

Whatever she saw that rhymed with “elf” was her brownie. She only saw her own face, so she went back to the owl and complained. “All I saw was myself!”

The owl explained that the girl was the brownie and could do chores to help her father instead of being lazy. She didn’t want to be lazy, so she and her brother woke up early and did the chores. Their father was so glad that the brownies were back that the children didn’t tell him that they were the brownies.

This Brownie Story has many different renditions, but they all have the same message. It’s good to be helpful and not ask for anything in return.

Today, why not be a brownie for someone. Do their chores so they can have some time off to do something fun. You can tell them what you are going to do, or do it without them knowing. Either way, do it with joy so they can enjoy their time off guilt-free.

Don’t learn this from me

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 11 – Learn to say Merry Christmas in another language. Teach it to everyone you see.

By coincidence, this Friday’s Footle and Grok podcast* is about this topic. I had originally planned to say Merry Christmas in various languages. However, as you will hear, I quickly discover that I can’t speak any other languages, so I encourage my listeners to check out a YouTube video instead.

I’m suggesting the same thing here. Thanks to YouTube, you can learn how to say Merry Christmas in any language, even Klingon. (This is one of best videos I’ve seen while researching various translations.)

How many ways do you say Merry Christmas? I can say two, Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad. I’d love to hear what languages you know.

*You can listen to my podcast at www.footleandgrokpodcast.com (I FINALLY got it working). There are buttons that link to several podcast streaming sites if you want to subscribe. (It would be a lovely gift to me.)

A perfect combination

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 10 – Pop a big bowl of popcorn and join your loved ones for a showing of “A Miracle on 34th Street.” Only the original, black and white version, please.

I feel I’ve talked about Miracle on 34th Street a lot this season, so I won’t mention it again (but seriously, only watch the original, black and white version.) Instead, I’ll expand this idea. Pick your favorite Christmas movie and have a movie night with the family.

Perhaps you like White Christmas or It’s a Wonderful Life. I know a lot of people who love watching Elf. The movie doesn’t matter. What matters is hanging out with the family. In fact, why only have only one.

Back when I wrote this idea, I suggested popcorn, but enjoy whatever treat your family likes. Perhaps you could try a new recipe, like reindeer snacks. Make it earlier in the day with the kids, and then enjoy it with your movie.

There are dozens of reindeer snack recipes online. I’ve included two here. A savory one from Taste of Home and a sweet one from Dinner at the Zoo. I like my reindeer snacks sweet, and this one looks delicious.

You can also make your own reindeer snack recipe using ingredients that each family member likes. Whatever you choose to eat and watch, snacks and movies are the perfect combination.

If you have a favorite snack recipe, I’d love to try it out. You can also tell me about your favorite Christmas movie. Maybe I haven’t seen it yet.

Special can be big or little

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 9 – Do something special today to show someone you love them. It does not have to cost money and can be as simple as doing a chore for them that they usually do. Be creative.

If I were going to do something special for my hubby, I would give him a day of no nagging. I’m sure he would appreciate that, and it would be tough for me to do, so it would be special.

There are a lot of ways to show someone you love them. I’ve made a list of nine things for Day Nine, but I’m sure you can add to it.

Nine Lovely Gestures

  • Take them out to dinner at their favorite restaurant
  • Give them a day off from chores
  • Make them their favorite meal or dessert
  • Get their car an oil change or fill the gas tank
  • Give them a coupon book of activities you’ll do with them
  • Spend time together just talking with looking at your phone
  • Watch a movie that they want to watch
  • Give them a greeting card (bought or homemade) that tells them how much you love them

“I love those J-I-N-G-L-E bells”

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 8 – Today, wear jingle bells. Wear just one to show a little spirit and lots to show a TON of Christmas spirit.

I love bells, especially little tinkling ones. I wear them on my Santa hat. I wear them on bracelets. My cats wear them. They make a pleasant sound that makes me happy.

Researching the history of bells was interesting. Almost all the websites about bells talk about the history of church bells, the carillons that hang in bell towers. Starting around 400 AD, these bells were used to announce church services or warn of storms or invasions. I was more interested in smaller bells.

For that, I had to go back about 3,000 years to China. Their much smaller bells fit in their hands or hung in a row from a rod of bamboo, and they played them as musical instruments.

While the sound of small bells is appealing, large bells work better for spreading information. They can be tuned to sound melodious, but more importantly, the sound coming from a bell tower can be heard up to six miles away, thus making it an essential part of a community.

There were bells in towers before Christian churches, Romans used them as emergency warnings. It’s easy to imagine these bells ringing when a new emperor was born, or crowned since it was an important and urgent announcement. From there, bells could be used for joyful occasions, and they became standard in churches.

The next time you hear a cotillon ringing, remember that it is giving the same message it has been offering for eons. “Listen up! Something important is happening.”

You can celebrate Christmas by wearing small bells. That fun, tinkling sound will bring a smile to everyone around you. And if you are a fan of It’s a Wonderful Life, an angel will get its wings.

The wish is what’s important

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Day 7 – Today, wish everyone you see a Merry Christmas. Don’t forget children and animals.

Or wish everyone, “Happy Hanukkah.” Or “Happy Yule.” Or “Happy Bodhi Day.” There are so many religions in the world (I couldn’t even find a definite number), and most of them have an observance in December. Saying “Happy Holidays” isn’t ignoring Christmas. It’s just including the others.

I usually say “Merry Christmas,” but if you wish me “Happy Solstice” or “Happy Cat Herders Day,” I’ll gladly respond in kind. I like holidays, and I think more should be celebrated by everyone.