Monthly Archives: December 2009

It's a Heart-in-Hand Christmas

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Suburban Farmgirl Paula Spencer

[Previous Suburban Farmgirl, October 2009 – October 2010]

Have you ever seen the motif of a heart nestled inside the palm of a hand? I love this little image because it captures my heritage so well: I come from a line of women whose hearts lived in their hands. At Christmas, especially, their handiwork fills my house.

A couple of posts ago I wrote about Christmas decorations. Last night we trimmed the tree! Almost every ornament is handmade by 1) These amazing women in my family, 2) My kids (I once wrote a column in praise of clever teachers, Brownie leaders, and Sunday school teachers and the wonderful ornament crafts they think up!) or 3) Other craftspeople (whose ornaments I’ve bought as souvenirs or received as gifts).

Uh, notice my own name is absent from that list?! I can’t make anything! How is it that some people just miss out on the crafty gene?

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Memories And Grogg

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Ranch Farmgirl Shery Jespersen

Keepers of Christmas generally have a rich store of memories to draw upon when they build a new Christmas each year. We hold on to family traditions that grow more and more precious with the passage of time. Cherished are the memories we fondly recall, bits & pieces of Christmas past … loved ones who are no longer with us, special gifts you gave and received, and very likely one particularly brilliant memory that for some reason wears a crown in your Christmas memories book.

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An Old-fashioned Christmas for an Old-Fashioned Girl

Posted on December 9, 2009 by Rural Farmgirl René Groom

[Previous Rural Farmgirl, April 2009 – May 2010]

I am just an old-fashioned girl that is for sure, especially around the holidays. I love sloshing through the snow to find the perfect tree, taking sleigh rides, driving around viewing all the lighted homes, and sitting around the fireplace drinking hot chocolate.

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A Doll's Christmas

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Suburban Farmgirl Paula Spencer

[Previous Suburban Farmgirl, October 2009 – October 2010]

So I have to ask: Are there any dolls on your Christmas-buying or -making list this year? I’m wondering because — as I troll websites and ogle, as I do every year, things I might have wish-listed as a girl – I’ve realized that my very favorite present to give this time of year is… a doll.

Yep, dolls!

Admittedly it’s not the kind of gift you can give everybody (or most anybody!) on your list. And — big sigh — my three girls are outgrowing their doll years. But when you have the right recipient, and (this is key) you’re a “doll girl” yourself, like me – why there’s nothing more fun to give.

Dolls can be so much to a girl: Confidant, role model, co-conspirator, pal, loved one to nurture, loved one to nurture you. It’s a real shame kids think they want to abandon them earlier and earlier.

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Let the Decking of the Halls Begin!

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Suburban Farmgirl Paula Spencer

[Previous Suburban Farmgirl, October 2009 – October 2010]

So do you have your Christmas tree yet? Where did it, or will it, come from? Chopped down in your backyard? Picked out after an outing in the woods or to a tree farm in the country? Bought at a local farmer’s market or — as is the bane (I mean convenience) of us Suburban Farmgirls — plucked from the nearest corner lot that sprouted last week the day after Thanksgiving?

(Hard to imagine there are any farmgirls out there who go for an artificial tree — are there??)

Welcome to December, that season I wait all year for… yet which inevitably sneaks up on me way too suddenly, just the same. There I was, perfectly content in the whole cornucopias-and-crunchy-leaves groove of the last holiday when, overnight, my pumpkin-and-brown color scheme is all wrong wrong wrong!

When do you typically make the pilgrims-to-Santas switch?

Big Christmas Smile in my Santa Claus suit!