Friday, November 21, 2014

Snow is falling hard in my hometown...

YES, snow is falling hard in my hometown of Buffalo, New York. Our oldest child has the distinction of being a Blizzard of '77 baby. Where we lived in Buffalo we would have been largely unaffected by this mass of snow as are most of our family and friends.



The folks of Buffalo come from sturdy stock.  They have become use to snow before Thanksgiving.  The last year that my family lived in Buffalo the rain turned into snow on Mother's Day - in MAY!!! My husband and I relocated first to New Jersey for 26 years and now have settled into an even warmer climate - Florida!

In tribute to the people of Buffalo and their perseverance amidst adversity,KIDZ BOOKS is offering this beautiful hardcover copy of An Otis Christmas for just $6! Just like in Buffalo, there is a terrible snowstorm but in this case it is on Christmas Eve. A heartwarming tale for the holidays - or a snowstorm.


Thursday, November 13, 2014

Making Holiday Memories and Traditions

I am the baby of the family - and I do mean BABY! My sister is 14 years older than I am and my brother is 12 years older than me. You could say that growing up I had two sets of parents. I guess that was a good thing since my dad died when I was only 11.
To welcome the Christmas season we ALWAYS had an  advent calendar. When I married and left home my mom continued the tradition and the end of November we always had an advent calendar to begin opening on December 1st. My mom passed away 20 years ago and my sister has continued this tradition by sending an advent calendar to our home. Our children have all left home and you guessed it, they too, look forward to receiving this familiar family tradition in the mail.
When our youngest, David, was living in a house with a bunch of guys they all looked forward to opening it up each day. Of course David had to first tell them that you didn't open all the numbers at once! So our tradition has spread.
And if you would like to start a new holiday tradition with your family, this years advent calendar (from our collective homes) is available right here  at KIDZ BOOKS for you to purchase.
This is truly an interactive calendar. Once you pop out the number, a tiny present appears that you then place on the tree. What a great way for youngsters to learn number sequencing while seeing how many days are left before Christmas.