May Your Christmas STILL Be Merry and Bright

How many of us remember our parents or grandparents starting their stories with when I was young…, right before telling us about some hardships they had to endure growing up to show how easy the newer generations have it or reminisce about the good old days.  I have now reached an age where I find myself reminiscing about those good old days where when the Christmas season rolled around, people were a little nicer as they are filled with the Christmas spirit, a time when Black Friday did not even have a name but was just the Day after Thanksgiving shopping.  It was a time that I loved going to the mall to admire the decorations and people held doors open for you instead of trying to push you through them so they can trample you over like the Running of the Bulls of Pamploma for that cheap TV. 

Times have changed and yes, I admit that in ways I have to change with it but what I refuse to do is lose my Christmas spirit.  My Black Friday shopping these days consist of a visit to Home Depot or Orchards Hardware to pick out my tree to decorate while listening to Christmas music on KOIT. 

I now shop for gifts online and just wait for it to be delivered right to my door where I have placed a goodie box of sweets to hopefully brighten up the day of an overworked and underappreciated delivery person. 

Just like the previous years, instead of joining the hordes of people fighting over the last cheap thing, I spend my weekends with those who take the time to stop, slow down, and enjoy the beautiful holiday decorations and lights Around the Bay and Away for free. 

 

Starting right after Thanksgiving with the Fairmont Gingerbread House and Westin Sugar Castles - http://aroundthebayandaway.blogspot.com/2017/12/christmas-in-san-francisco.html, I have since followed up with what has now become a tradition, Christmas at Apple Farm http://cookwithzee.blogspot.com/2014/12/apple-farm-you-had-me-at-pie.html

 

 

 

with a detour to Christmas in the Park - http://aroundthebayandaway.blogspot.com/2016/12/christmas-in-park.html on the way back

 

 

 

followed by Deacon Dave’s Christmas Lights in Livermore just two days later, both a new discovery just last year. 

 

 

I have already hit up two of my favorite Christmas Tree Lanes - http://aroundthebayandaway.blogspot.com/2016/12/christmas-tree-lanes-bay-area.html, Thompson Street in Alameda

and Chestnut Lit Houses in South San Francisco

and experienced something new with Holidays in Downtown Yountville - https://yountville.com/events/holidays-in-yountville/ complete with free horse carriage rides until tomorrow (12/16) that may hopefully become a new favorite of mine.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surrounding myself with people who at that moment at least embody the Christmas Spirit, I still smile when I think of the little girl that bounded out of her car 2 years ago at the Chestnut Lit Houses and yelled “This is so cute!!  Oh my God, I am so excited!!”  Those are still my thoughts exactly.  Here is wishing that your Christmas Season can still be Merry and Bright!