Monthly Archives: November 2010

Dear Santa

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Letter to SantaOne of my favorite holiday traditions is sitting down with my kids to write personalized letters to Santa. It is an activity the kids are excited to do, it gets us in the holiday spirit, and it is always an enlightening experience for all of us. Not only does Santa come away with some good ideas, my kids learn to identify needs vs. wants, to prioritize, and to set realistic expectations even as they ask for the moon.

There’s something about actually sitting and writing the list that forces them to decide what is really important to them and what they can do without. If they end up with a lot of things on the list, seeing it in writing helps them realize that Santa might not be able to fit it all in his sleigh, so it might be prudent to prioritize. Sometimes they surprise me with just one or two things. Sometimes they don’t have anything in mind and want Santa to surprise them. But once the letter goes in the mail, sorry, no changes allowed. That’s why you have to check it twice.

In our home, we also write a follow-up letter to Santa that we leave out on Christmas Eve along with a few chocolate chip cookies. It is a reminder to Santa about the first letter written and the multitude of requests. Santa then leaves a note back, commenting on the children’s shining moments through the year. Maybe that’s the Santa letter we love the most. It is not there when we go to bed, but is always there when we wake up in the morning. It brings the magic of Christmas to our children, for as long as Santa exists to them.

Thank your Thanksgiving hostess with a thank you note

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thank you cardsIf you’ve ever hosted Thanksgiving dinner for a group, large or small, you know how much planning, cleaning, shopping, prepping, baking, chopping, and basting goes into pulling it off. At the end of the day, of course, all that hard work is forgotten as you bask in the praise from your stuffed and contented guests. You are happy to make the effort because a successful Thanksgiving is not as much about the food as it is about being with your loved ones, catching up on each other’s news, playing games, watching football, and sharing the family traditions you’ve established over the years.

On those occasions when we are not hosting but attending as an invited guest, however, it’s important not to take your hostess’s efforts for granted, no matter how calm she appears or how many years she has “done” Thanksgiving. Aside from offering to bring something to the gathering and lending a hand while you’re there, another way to show your appreciation for the hospitality is to follow up with a handwritten thank you note.

Every hostess loves to hear that her gathering was as successful as she’d hoped it would be. A thank you card is doubly appreciated if the hostess is someone you speak to often, such as your mom, your sister, or your best friend. Often we neglect such social niceties with our closest relatives and friends, and those are the people who will most appreciate your honest and unexpected words of thanks. If you’re lucky, she just might share her recipe for that delicious pecan pie in return.

Oh Christmas Tree

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oh christmas treeIn our house, when the Christmas tree goes up, it has a magic effect on our family. Everything slows down. We sit. We stare at the tree. We talk. It draws us in and keeps us together.

When the kids were little, they slept under it. They hid things in it. They ate their after-school snacks next to it. They touched every ornament and picked their favorites. We swept up the shards and learned to hang the precious ones higher.

Amazingly, now that they are teenagers, the effect is no less hypnotic. They do their homework in the living room instead of holed up in their bedrooms. We light candles and build a fire in the fireplace, even on school nights. Hot chocolate, cider and eggnog flow freely, and without parental reproof. For one month of the year there is something in our house that is a bigger draw than the television or Facebook. What a joy! If only it lasted forever.

Decorating the tree with memories

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homemade reindeerIt’s here! It’s here! Time to trim the tree, put up the lights and hang up the ornaments! One of our favorite days of the year is the day we decorate our tree and spend time reliving the memories behind our beloved ornaments. My husband has an ornament he made when he was around five years old – a red painted clothespin decorated with white yarn, that we believe is supposed to be Rudolph. I have one that my Mom purchased in her native country, and l love to think about how she carried it home halfway around the world thirty years ago. We also have my son’s first handmade ornament, which he made in preschool that consists of a piece of yellow scotch tape with his name on it.

Every year we purchase a new ornament with the year marked on it, and these ornaments will no doubt become favorites for our kids when they’re older. But we also put other things on our tree that remind us of cherished times. We hang the cork from the bottle of champagne we drank the night we got engaged, a key from our first home, and the baby shoe that my son wore at his christening.

This year, before you go to the store to buy new ornaments, think about how to decorate your tree with things that remind you of those you love, special moments and things you’ve done. You’ll be surprised to find just how many things you already have in your home that would make wonderful memories to hang on your tree. We guarantee those ornaments will glow in the lights more brightly than the others.

Happy Thanksgiving from Pear Tree

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Dearest Customers,

Thank you so much for your support of Pear Tree Greetings. We are delighted that you chose our cards to share and connect with those you care about most. All year long we have seen every item you have created. Seeing your creations fuels us to continue to offer fabulous designs, great service and high quality, worthy of matching the joy you share in your lives.

We are so grateful for your business and want to say simply: Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Liwanag
President, Pear Tree Greetings