The Magic of Christmas Eve

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 20 Comments

  Christmas magic is silent. You don’t hear it — you feel it, you know it, you believe it. ~Kevin Alan Milne One of the times when that magic is so real, especially for kids, is on Christmas Eve. I do remember feeling that magic, that anticipation, that feeling of wonder. Do you? The picture is of my family’s tree …

Do You Remember Counting Off the Days Until Christmas?

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 19 Comments

Do you remember when you were a kid and you counted the days off until Christmas? You always knew exactly how many there were to go. Fourteen, thirteen, twelve and on. Well, I had to count them off on the calendar, but now there are ten days until Christmas Eve when many families will be gathering to enjoy the holiday …

Christmas Tree Memories

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 12 Comments

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things — not the great occasions — give off the greatest glow of happiness. –Bob Hope Do you have your Christmas tree up and decorated? I don’t. Yet. I will. Soon. Tomorrow I’ll get the ornaments out of the attic and maybe drag up my tree from the basement. …

A Christmas Memory – Mom’s Crackerjacks

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 32 Comments

I hope you all had a blessed and joyful Christmas Day. My family is coming tomorrow to celebrate and so you can imagine how I’ve been as busy as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. But it’s a good busy as I get ready to have all my children and grandchildren home for Christmas. While Christmas …

Have Your Christmas Tree Up Yet?

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 23 Comments

My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? –Bob Hope I’m guessing most of you do have up your Christmas tree, but I’m confessing that I don’t. But when I do get it up this weekend, I hope, it …

Jocie Interviews Her Dad about Christmas when He Was a Kid

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, Heart of Hollyhill 6 Comments

December 21, 1966 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Christmas is almost here, and I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait. I love Christmas. So many fun things happening, not to mention not having to go to school for almost two weeks! Since I had some time on my hand and I love Christmas, I asked …

The Best Gifts Are Wrapped in Love

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 5 Comments

  A gift consists not in what is done or given, but in the intention of the giver or doer. ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca The stories some of you sent me of special Christmas memories has been a gift to me. Some of the stories made me smile. Some brought a tear. But the thing that connects many of the stories …

The Most Memorable Gifts for All the Right Reasons

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, One Writer's Journal 2 Comments

“All those cliches, those things you hear about having a baby and motherhood—all of them are true. And all of them are the most beautiful things you will ever experience.” —Penelope Cruz On Christmas after the birth of my first grandchild twenty plus years ago, I had her father set her down on the floor in front of the Christmas tree …

Remembering Christmas Morning 1964

Ann H GabhartAnn's Posts, Heart of Hollyhill 4 Comments

Christmas Week 1965 Jocie Brook here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Christmas is almost here. I don’t see how Christmas 1965 can top Christmas 1964, but maybe it will. I guess I’ll have to wait and see. You can read all about that Christmas 1964 and more in the book Summer of Joy. I know, it seems a little weird to have …

Christmas Wrapped in Love

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Do you remember when it took what felt like two months for the week of Christmas to pass? The hours on Christmas Eve surely had 120 minutes each. The anticipation of Christmas was something so real you could taste it as easily as you could taste that piece of chocolate fudge you sneaked from your mother’s stash of Christmas candy. …