Journey Through Christmases Past - A Family in Transition

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! I'm writing to you late today because work has been consuming my time lately. It is all good. I am blessed. 

How are you doing on your holiday preparations task list? You can find the 2025 list here. Christmas is only 207 days away, and it always creeps up on us before we know it. 

Life transitions have been on my mind a lot lately. I've gotten to a place in life where I watch parents trying to grocery shop, eat out, or do other tasks that are so much easier without little ones in tow. You can see the exhaustion--and sometimes frustration--on their faces. It makes me feel wistful over the days that passed so quickly with our own children. 

This week, I'm sharing some family memories from the years gone by.

Sister friends

Christmas parties

Our little dancers

Carving the turkey

Our oldest

Siblings and our daughter-in-law

Husband and the nephew

Our girls

Father, son (my husband), and grandson (our nephew)

Sisters and friends

The grandparents (my in-laws)

Decorating the tree 

Son, daughter-in-law, nephew

Our pretty girls

The family at the Christmas bazaar

Our son the goofball

Christmas at the brother-in-law's

Christmas 2021 horsing around

Our baby and the family's baby (our nephew)

Our son and his girlfriend

Our girls

Our baby and me

Our girls and their feline children

Son-in-law, the girls, and our nephew (tallest of the family)

Theo chilling after Christmas dinner

Hope you've enjoyed a glimpse into some of our past Christmases. The 2020s have brought about a lot of changes:

• Loss of my father-in-law (2020)
• Loss of our daughter-in-law (2022)
• Loss of my mother-in-law (2023)
• Loss of our cat Giggles (2025)
• Our oldest daughter got married and moved into her own house (2025)
• Loss of our cat Boots (2026)
• Our youngest graduated from college and is planning a move to her new job out of state (2026)

Gone are the days of a house filled with laughter, chaos, and the patter of little feet. We have gone from a house of five furry ones to a house of three. As we hope a new generation of family--and maybe furry beasts--will one day grace this home, we look fondly upon those days of raising kids and are proud of the adults they have become. 

Journey through Christmases Past - Red, White & Blue Christmas

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Hope you are having a blessed Memorial Day weekend. It is cold and rainy here, but the garden can always use a boost from Mother Nature. Tuesday is supposed to be sunny and about 80 degrees, so we should see some nice growth after two days of rain. 

If we look at the calendar, there are 214 days left until Christmas 2026. That is so crazy to me. Didn't we just take down our Christmas trees? 

This week's Journey through Christmases Past honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation, like one of our former high school classmates, Captain John W. Maloney, by featuring the red, white, and blue Christmas palette that...

• Became popular during World Wars I and II,
• Inspired the rise of Americana decor throughout the 1940s - 1960s,
• Picked up again for the country's bicentennial in 1976, 
• And still can be found in homes today.

As we mentioned in this post about the influence of World War II on Christmas decor, Christmas in America changed during wartime. Though Edward Hibberd Johnson first decorated his tree with electric red, white, and blue bulbs in the 1880s (see here), during wartime, decorating with these colors became a sign of patriotism for families at home. Families hung Service Flags in their windows. Paper garlands and flag-themed ribbons became popular. 

Photo credit: The National WWI Museum and Memorial

The notion of peace, already connected with Christmas, took on new significance. 

Photo credit: Getty Images

The government even encouraged citizens to shop early to boost the economy.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Though glass ornaments had typically been imported from Germany, during World Wars I and II, they were crafted by local artisans. 

Post-World War II America continued to embrace patriotic displays for national holidays--Independence Day and Armistice Day (now known as Veterans Day). But blue lights, silver tinsel paired with red ornaments, and Shiny Bright ornaments in patriotic hues brought these colors into Christmas. 

If you had any doubt that these colors worked for the Christmas holiday, check out this video of Jesse Rogers singing his 1952 single, "Red, White and Blue Christmas," with the Saddle Riders.

As we headed into the 1970s, America's Bicentennial was on the horizon. A thing Retro Renovation called "Bicentennial Chic" was popular, as seen in these photos of mid-70s Ethan Allen home furnishings and decor. 

Hallmark released Bicentennial commemorative ornaments that year.

And the movie, Young Pioneers Christmas, written by Blanche Hanalis (Little House on the Prairie) and based on a novel by Rose Wilder Lane (daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder and influential American libertarian), aired in December. 

Today, red, white, and blue continue to be seen at Christmastime. Home Depot and Walmart offer a slim Christmas tree in patriotic hues for sale. Etsy artisans, Target, and Amazon offer patriotic ornaments, and Farmhouse-inspired patriotic Christmas tree ideas are found online. 

So, here's to the red, white, and blue! 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas 1885

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Welcome back! Thanks for sticking with me as we enjoyed time with our family. As of today, there are 222 days left until Christmas 2026. Yikes! It seems like the older I get, the faster time flies. Speaking of time, let's journey back to 1885 to see what the world and Christmas holidays were like. 

The year opens with the Battle of Abu Klea and the Battle of Abu Kru in the Sudan, where British forces fought the Mahdists. The Mahdists would later attack the city of Khartoum, capturing it and killing British General Charles Gordon. 

In February, the Washington Monument was dedicated, and Mark Twain published The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Then in March, Grover Cleveland was inaugurated, making him the first Democrat elected since the Civil War. And over the summer, Civil War General and former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant passed away.

In the spring of 1885, the magazine Good Housekeeping was founded in Holyoke, Massachusetts, less than half an hour from where we live. I was today years old when I learned this bit of history. The spring also saw the completion of the first skyscraper in Chicago and the arrival of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. 

Heading into fall, the Georgia Institute of Technology was founded in Atlanta, and the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed. The end of the year brought with it the completion of the first practical gasoline-fueled automobile, thanks to Karl/Carl Benz, and the first successful appendectomy was performed in Iowa. 

By 1885, Christmas was widely celebrated in the United States, the United Kingdom, and most of Europe. Homes were decorated with Christmas trees and greenery, and gifts ranged from toys to practical needs to small luxuries. Stores, like those featured in this December 23, 1885 edition of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, were open evenings until Christmas and featured sales (the more things change, the more they stay the same). Families and friends would gather around to eat roast goose and turkey, indulge in plum puddings, mince pies, and fruitcakes, and play games, tell stories, or carol. 

While still a deeply religious holiday, Santa Claus had become a well-established icon of American culture after the 1823 publication of the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" by Clement Clarke Moore. The " right jolly old elf" appeared in publications such as Harper's Weekly.

Through the triumphs and trials of 1885, the glow of Christmas joy shone brightly across the world, bringing with it a message of peace and hope. 

More Family Time

 This is what the holidays remind me of: gathering with family to celebrate the good times. 

Pinning Ceremony

Mother's Day breakfast

Morning after graduation breakfast

Graduation

Family Time

One of the best things about the holidays is spending time with family. Christmas Year Round is taking a break from its weekly post so that we can prepare for our trip to see our daughter graduate from college. Look for a new post next Sunday. 

Journey Through Christmases Past - Christmas in the United States

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! Well, at least for the next 45 minutes or so. We are back from our visit to Wilmington, NC. Let me tell you, it is way warmer down there than it is up here. I had to dig out my sleeveless tops and shorts. Here, I was cold in my light jacket.

For this week's Journey through Christmases Past post, I thought it would be neat to chat about Christmas in the United States. What was the first state to recognize it as a legal holiday? How about the last one? Which state banned the holiday? About when was it recognized by all 50 states? And when did Christmas become a federal holiday? 

Somehow, I thought that first question would have an easy answer. Many online sources cite Alabama as being the first state in the Union to declare Christmas a legal holiday. Then I read this article that said there are no records to support that statement. I also discovered this YouTube video debunking that theory. Then this article claimed that Louisiana and Arkansas declared Christmas a legal holiday in 1831. So, while we might not be sure, it happened in some state in the 1830s. 

The last state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday was Oklahoma, which happened the same year it became a state, 1907. 

My lovely home state of Massachusetts was the one that banned Christmas in 1659. They didn't declare Christmas a legal holiday until 1856.

Then, in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant declared Christmas a federal holiday, a move that might have been an effort to unite a country still in the midst of Reconstruction after the Civil War. When Alaska and Hawaii joined the nation in 1959, they followed the federal precedent, making Christmas a legal holiday in all 50 states. 

Journey through Christmases Past - Christmas Traditions

 

Welcome to our newest feature, Journey through Christmases Past. This series is a nostalgic celebration of the holidays we all remember...

• The history and traditions of the holiday.
• The décor that filled our homes.
• The toys that defined each decade.
• The television and movie shows that brightened the season.
• The outfits we adored (and the ones we definitely didn’t).

Along the way, I’ll sprinkle in a few of my own Christmas memories. So settle in with a cup of your favorite hot beverage and join me on a journey through Christmases past.

Happy Sunday! Well, at least for a little while more. We are 250 days away from Christmas! Doesn't it seem like we just celebrated? 

This week, as we journey through Christmases from the past, I thought it might be interesting to talk about traditions.

When 4RV Publishing released the second edition of my book, A Christmas Kindness, we added material for readers, including Christmas traditions from around the world. Readers can learn about:

• Letters that children in the United Kingdom write to Father Christmas. 
• The Christmas Eve party in Argentina with large dinners, fireworks, and special lit balloons floating through the air. 
• Children in Greece traveling from house to house singing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve. 

Growing up, we always knew Christmas was coming when my mother pulled the books out of the shelves in the living room and added her Christmas village. My sister and I were trying to find one online because it was unique. Then she rearranged the furniture to make room for the Christmas tree. Shiny Brite ornaments, Bradford Tinsel Garland, the flocked Santa, and the Christopher Radko bird ornaments dotted the branches of our artificial tree, which I think always had colored lights. 

Mom ordered from the Sears Wish Book and hid presents under her bed. She must have wrapped them after we went to bed, because I don't ever recall seeing her wrap gifts. We hung our stockings on a fake cardboard fireplace, and later on the lower bookshelf. 

One of the few photos I have of my childhood home on Christmas morning

Our bedrooms were at the opposite end of our apartment from our parents' room, so my middle sister and I would sneak into our oldest sister's room to play cards or listen to music before waking our parents. Once we were allowed to wake them, the first thing we did was sing Happy Birthday to baby Jesus. Then we opened gifts, cleaned up the remnants of torn paper and bows, and prepared for the extended family to arrive for dinner. 

What are some traditions you recall from your childhood Christmases?