how to believe in Santa Claus

I just found out Christmas in July exists on the Hallmark channel, and I'm really sad I missed it.

I love Hallmark Christmas movies!  They're romantic comedies minus the one scene, plus Christmas!  They're so fun to watch (and make fun of).  Every Christmas, Dish lets us have the Hallmark channel for a month, so I record as many as I can and watch them throughout the year.  Now that I've just about finished watching all the ones on our DVR, I've decided to share with you...

14 Things I've Learned from Hallmark Christmas Movies

1. If a man grows up to look like Santa Claus, he can get a job at Hallmark or Lifetime.

2. "Washed up" seems too harsh a phrase... but all washed up actors/actresses can also get jobs at Hallmark or Lifetime.

3. Up also shows Christmas movies.  They're not as good.  

4. All kids with a divorced or dead parent just want their remaining parent to be happy.  They will be happy with almost anyone you choose to marry.

5. If you go on vacation and like it there, the best choice is to quit your job (or get fired) and get a new one in your vacation city at a corner store.

6. Corner stores can be saved from bankruptcy by creating an online presence.  This success will most likely come overnight.

7. Progress is bad.

8. Business people are workaholics and evil.  Most of them grew up not celebrating Christmas because their parents were also workaholics.  None of them believe in Santa (or the Spirit of Christmas).  

9. Small-town people are wonderful and have good priorities.  They grew up celebrating every single aspect of Christmas.  All of them believe in Santa (or the Spirit of Christmas).  

10. (Except for the one person in the small town who didn't get what s/he asked Santa for - a dead parent to come back to life, or a boyfriend - when they were six)

11. It only takes between two hours and two days to fall in love.

12. Love often starts as hate.

13. People who were friend-zoned in high school usually wait twenty years to get married... to the person who friend-zoned them!  Sometimes it takes that long to realize you loved your high school best friend all along.

14. It always snows on Christmas.

15. Put the word "Christmas" with any word, and it's probably already a movie.  The Christmas Secret, A Christmas Wish, The Christmas Shepherd, A Cookie Cutter Christmas, Christmas Lodge, A Christmas Visitor, The Christmas Blessing, The Christmas Heart, Summertime Christmas, The Christmas Choir, Christmas Miracle, The Christmas Card, Christmas Grace... I could go on and on.

Also, a lot of the Young Women in my ward love Hallmark Christmas movies, and it made Girls Camp really fun.  "Oh!  I know that one!  Is that the one where the girl's stuck in a snow globe??"

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“Who could ever learn to love a beast?”

Beauty and the Beast

"angels round about you"

photo source

About a month ago, I got a phone call.  "Hello, Alison?  We would like to include [your foster kids] on our Angel Tree.  Can you email me their interests and clothes sizes?"

Last week, we received the gifts.

Tonight, we went through them to see what the kids got (all the gifts were wrapped, so we had no idea) and decide who would give them what.  (What's from Santa, what's from us, what can they give each other...)  

All I have to say is, I never knew I would one day be the recipient of Angel Tree gifts and had no idea what to expect, but I was completely blown away.  I almost cried several times tonight going through those gifts.  People are so generous and kind.  I felt the need to write them a letter but don't - won't - know who to give it to, so I'm giving it to you.  If you have ever donated money, participated in Angel Tree, or taken food to a canned food drive, this is for you.  If you haven't ever done anything like that, I encourage you to try it sometime.   

Dear angel who picked my angels off a tree,

I wish I could give you a hug.  You have no idea how much we think of you.  Going through the gifts you bought my children tonight, I was amazed by your kindness.  You didn't give the bare minimum or focus on needs.  You went above and beyond.  You bought her clothes, but not just any clothes.  You bought adorable clothes in her favorite color that she will l.o.v.e.  You read that he likes football and Nerf, so you got him a Nerf football.  Then when you saw that he also needed a long-sleeved shirt, you got him one with a gigantic football on it.  You saw that each loves stuffed animals (how did you happen to get both *our* kids?) and got the same one for each but with different hats.  Do your kids forget which toys are theirs, too?  YOU SHOP AT NORDSTROM and got them more than one outfit each. You gave him a Lego set he's going to die for, and it wasn't five dollars.  How did you know that her favorite thing to play is grocery shopping + cooking?  I didn't even think to write it on her tag.  You didn't pick something up at the dollar store or settle for a t-shirt.  You are so kind.  Maybe you knew what to get because you understand what it's like to need at Christmastime.  No matter who you are, you truly are an angel.  I will never forget you.  

Love, 

Our whole family

"...Not all angels are from the other side of the veil.  Some of them we walk with and talk with - here, now, every day.  Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."  - Jeffrey R. Holland

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Stories give you a way to see things.  A way to understand the events of your life.

Even if you don’t realize it while you’re hearing the tale.

Icefall

"Adoration of the Shepherds," by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622

Merry Christmas!

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"Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign - Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

2 Nephi 17:14

"All children, except one, grow up."

Joel got me this beautiful leather-bound copy of Peter Pan for Christmas, and I love it.  The copy, but also the story.  I learned the "true" story when I was younger and my dad read it to us at bedtime.  I loved it then, and I love it now.  If you've never read it, you should check it out.  J.M. Barrie's writing style is fantastical in a way that seems like it should be real.  It reminds me of other fairytale recorders / writers, like Hans Christian Andersen or Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.  

---

John's [Neverland], for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it..., while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it.

Christmas break

Well, I'm back from Christmas break!  And it was most excellent.  So excellent, in fact, that I never even broke out the camera.  Sometimes life is too good to take pictures.  As a result, I have none of...

- coincidentally sitting right in front of one of my best friends and his sister on the flight home
- any of the tasty food we ate (including homemade pizza, macaroni and cheese, Cafe Río, sausage rolls, wheat chili with cornbread, etc.)
- the excitement that was Christmas Day
- my entire family being together!
- driving around the hometown that I love
- seeing a best friend for the first time (in real life) in way too long
- playing the newest Harry Potter SceneIt? and being pleasantly surprised by the challenge
- playing Minute To Win It and watching people do crazy and difficult stunts
- playing Nertz, a family classic
- Rachel's 16th (!) birthday
- Joel in his new footie pajamas :)
- Dad's new surround sound system
- scanning my great-grandma's recipes to put into a family history book
- Michael, Kelli, Rachel, Joel, and I running after Brooke and Jon's car as they left - twice
- having dinner with my fourth grade teacher
- surprise meeting with one of my great friends/seminary teachers and his wife
- seeing another of my seminary teachers that I love
- going through boxes of my old things and finding some real treasures
- playing air hockey and soundly whipping Joel's booty (hey, I need one game I can beat him in! :)
- etc.

Such a fun break! and a much-needed one.  It was so nice to be home - and not just the house part of home, but the city and family parts, too.  A huge shout-out to Joel for letting me be home for almost two weeks and to my parents for doing so much for all of us while we were there!  It was an excellent Christmas :)

why I love Christmas music

from sxc.hu, taken by Milan Vasic

I have been listening to Christmas music a little bit lately,

and watching a couple Christmas movies.

This has been met with dismay by several people, seeing as it just barely was Halloween.

Allow me to explain my logic.

At Christmas time, we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Because of that, it's no wonder that during December, people are so cheery and willing to serve each other.  I believe the Spirit is so strong during Christmas because people are more open to receive it.

It's also no wonder, to me, that because they are celebrating Someone so wonderful,

Christmas songs bring the Spirit and comfort and peace into my home.

Why should I discontinue my celebration of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ - 

just because it isn't the right month?

I especially like to listen to Christmas music when I'm stressed or need some extra concentration,

like right now, while working on homework.

I need peace to be able to concentrate, and listening to Christmas music gives me that peace.

I don't want to deny myself that gift.

Granted, 

I also listen to non-religious Christmas music.

It reminds me of the Christmas season, when everyone is so happy.

So I guess mostly the reason that I'm listening to it as well as spiritual Christmas music

is because it's fun + thinking about Christmas makes me happy. :)

Don't worry.

In my early/year-round celebration of Christmas,

I also am ecstatic for Thanksgiving and gave a huge shout-out to Halloween.

Just because Christmas is so awesome doesn't mean I'm skipping the others! :)

the age-old Christmas question -

Who tells scary ghost stories on Christmas?

Dear Santa,

Please push play on this video and scroll down while listening to see pictures of what I want for Christmas. 

a really cute pygmy hippo

another really cute pygmy hippo - the size of a puppy!

"Most sincerely yours - especially on this holiday season - 

Your Pal, who's been very, very, very, very, very good all this whole year long, 

Alison 'I'm not kidding about how good I've been' MJ

P.S.  I really have been good.  Please believe me, Santa, please!  Please and thank you.  I've practically been an angel." 

P.P.S. Name that movie! and Merry Christmas!

Christmas songs

I love Christmas songs!  I have been listening to them almost exclusively since before Thanksgiving.  I like pretty much every Christmas song.  Some exceptions: Santa Baby (I always think of when Hope was singing it in show choir in high school and the choir teacher told them to sing it to their dads.... WEIRD); Baby, It's Cold Outside; the weird version of Deck the Halls that I have that Carrie and Joel hate.  I love the Carpenter Christmas album. It's so Christmas-y!  And Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You" is a must-play.  "Joy to the World" from The Preacher's Wife makes me wish I were black.  Bing Crosby, Faith Hill, Polar Express, David Archuleta, and Darlene Love ("It's a Marshmallow World") also have some great ones.  This is the one, besides "Marshmallow World," that I really love right now, introduced to me by Nick Walter.  Enjoy!

And just for fun...

stockings

here

One of the current topics of discussion on blogs I read right now is new stocking styles.  I think it's more fun when everyone has their own stocking that never changes than to make/buy new stockings every year to match the decorations in your house.

tears

As you know, I read quite a few crafting/sewing blogs.  Since it's the Christmas season, there have been a lot of posts lately about fun homemade presents to give, homemade Christmas tree ornaments, and fun ways to wrap presents.  In the past two days, I have seen several ways to decorate your house (wrapping presents, making wreaths...) using pages from old books.

That makes me want to cry.

I can hardly imagine tearing pages even out of some of my textbooks, let alone old and pretty books, to do something as worthless as wrap a present with them.

About me: Books are special and not to have their pages torn out, especially on purpose.