I am a very traditional person when it comes to the holidays. I am going to try to post something about one of my family’s and Brett and my traditions during the coming week. To me, that’s what’s makes this season special.

My first tradition comes from my childhood and father. There’s no doubt that my love of decorating for Christmas was inherited from my father. We lived in the typical small 50s brick ranch in the country. Our home had a large picture window, as did most of these ranches. It also had a mantle the width of our living room with a huge mirror right above the fireplace. My dad would spend a whole Sunday decorating the window, mantle and mirror. The man was talented with that fake spray snow!

I have many fond memories of the windows and mirrors over the years. My dad loved to decorate the Christmas tree too. I also remember him being all too similar to the father in The Christmas Story movie. I can’t recall the exact words from the movie, but my dad would spew the obscenities that could be heard all the way down State Street when he worked with those old serial Christmas light strings.

The photo on this post was taken on my first Christmas in 1954 in front of our fireplace and mantle. I’m the sweet little baby being held my mother.