Christmas Traditions: Making It Our Own

Before I get started on today’s post, I would like to thank everyone who came out to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation Toy Drive sponsored by Detroit Mom Bloggers. It was great to see some familiar faces (Mom, Dad, Uncle Gary), and it was also fantastic to meet some new people (Scott and Lauren from MOBIBO).



Speaking of MOBIBO, be sure to click on the MOBIBO banner because for every downloaded app because they will donate .25 cents to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation. This app is so great because not only does it tell you of the great deals going on around you, it *pays* you when you click on the adds. (Think along the lines of a mobile billboard). Check it out! Thursday is the last day!



And now on with the show . . .



I love Christmas. I love all the traditions as a kid and now passing them on to The Babes. They like a lot of the traditions that I introduced to them: Christmas cookies, decorating the tree, singing Christmas songs, watching Christmas movies.



Some are fiercely rejected. And by some, I guess I mean just one: Santa. Thomas and Marie are totally and completely scared of Santa. A lot of parents use visiting Santa as leverage for good behavior. Not me. Why just the other day, I told Thomas that if he didn’t stop crying for candy (after the cookies I just gave him), maybe we should go visit Santa and talk about healthy choices. He eventually stopped because meeting Santa face to face was not worth the fight for candy.



And Thomas loves candy more than anything else in the whole entire world.



So instead of sitting on some strange and scary man’s lap, we write letters to Santa and put them in the big, red mailbox at Macy’s. Then we look at Santa and his display on the first floor safely from the second floor of the mall and *maybe* wave to him. If they are feeling especially brave, that is. We did this last year, and it worked out really well this year, too.



I am all for traditions, but I think it’s important to be flexible and respect Thomas’s and Marie’s fears. If forcing them to sit on Santa’s lap is going to be traumatizing, I rather skip it. There’s enough drama with the holidays without creating it, no?



What traditions do you modify in your holiday celebrations?

Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation SNOWPILE Toy Drive

I hope everyone is having a great Friday! I would like to extend an invitation to join us for the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation SNOWPILE Toy Drive hosted by Detroit Mom Bloggers. I have also been working with this foundation through MOBIBO, which is an incredible app that notifies you of deals going on in stores around you on your smart phone (kind of like a mobile billboard).



SNOWPILE is a program that gives presents to kids and teens who are hospitalized during the holidays.



Stop on in at Panera Bread in the Target plaza on the corner of Auburn and Rochester in Rochester Hills with a new, unwrapped toy. The address is 2921 Rochester Rd. It’s on Saturday, December 10th from 9-12, and I’ll be there from 10:30 – 11:45.



Hope to see you there!

Counting Your Blessings

Before I get down to my Thanksgiving post, I want to explain the new MOBIBO Download to Donate widget I have on my blog. If you are live in the Metro Detroit area, please check it out. For every download of the free app, MOBIBO will donate 25 cents to Turning Point, Macomb County’s Shelter for Abused Women and Children’s from now until November 30th . Besides helping a good cause, MOBIBO is an awesome app. As you drive around, it notifies you of deals going on in the stores around you. If you click on the ad, MOBIBO credits your account 25 cents which then will be transferred into your PayPal account. Seriously?! How cool is that?! Now go check it out. This post will still be here waiting for you!



Also, if you missed it, here is this week’s post from the Macomb Patch.



Now on with the show!

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Thanksgiving is just days away. I consider it the official kickoff to The Holiday Season. I love The Holiday Season, but the politics of this wonderful time of the year Drive. Me. Insane. I feel worn down and overwhelmed and the next thing you know, I am crying because there is no more peppermint mocha creamer in the house.


The unofficial start of the season was kicked off with my Mom, Mother-In-Law, and Marie as we went to see the production of White Christmas (thanks, Dad, for the free tickets)! I left the show feeling two things:

1. I miss tap dancing. How I wish to put on a pair of those shoes and tap out the rhythm of the beat with delicate, tinkling taps!

2. The line from the song Count Your Blessings totally got me thinking:

If you're worried and you can’t sleep,
just count your blessings instead of sheep
and you'll fall asleep counting your blessings

A free show with tap dancing *and* inspiration to focus on my blessings? It was much more than I bargained for.

So here is the list I will be thinking of instead of sheep. I feel grateful:

For the ones who inspire me to be best version of myself because I want to set a good example for The Babes.


For the ones have shown me that I do have more love and patience than I ever thought I did.


For the ones that have shown me that it is more important to practice that love and patience rather than crush a unique spirit.


For the ones that love me just the way I am and never try to change me.


For the ones that have taught me the pureness of unconditional love.


For the ones that have taught me that patience, time, and a good heart can overcome even the most misguided good intentions.


For the ones that have helped me rediscover myself as we connect over topics that usually make me feel alienated.


For the ones that have taught me about understanding and forgiveness.


For the ones that have made it a challenge to trust instincts and be true to myself.


For the ones that have shown me the beauty of a reciprocal friendship.



I am grateful for each of these blessings because I feel that theyhave made me a better person who in turn, is able to be better to those around me.



Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!