23 Dec 2009

Christmas Greetings

Christmas is nie. The presents are wrapped and the bags are packed. There's even tinsel on the car. We'll be off on holidays in just a few more hours, and there is a palpable frisson of excitement in the air.

We're like big kids at Christmas. All of us. Even mature grown-up Daddy has been known to sport an elf's hat during some days in December. It's great.

The wonder for us begins the moment the 1st December arrives and the wreath resumes its place on our front door. The tree comes next. Finally it is time for the books. Always the books in Our Peaceful Home.

Our Basket of Delights.

You can see many of them in my sidebar. Just over there to your left, see? I've reviewed some of them as well. I hope you've enjoyed your peek into our Christmas reading. There are so many beautiful books out there.

Tomorrow we'll read Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from St. Nicholas. It will be The Night Before Christmas after all. At night when Jemimah is all tucked up in bed we'll sing I'll Telephone and Tell Old Mr Santa Claus. Anybody remember that song from Primary School days? Its singing remains a necessary part of Christmas Eve tradition in the our Peaceful Home, and in my siblings' as well.

Christmas Day we eat. All day. We do not read, we do not sing. We do laugh though, and we eat, and we talk, and we eat, and we watch the kids - of all ages - open their presents and we eat and we have fun. It is a great day. Too great to interrupt by reading.

Until the evening of course. Then we read. We always read at night. Every night. Even Christmas night. Besides, by night time on Christmas night we generally have stomach aches. From all that eating. Or maybe from not reading. I don't know which, but one of the two doesn't agree with us. Probably the lack of books, but the eating may have a bit of an effect.

Then we go to bed.

To sleep off the stomach ache.

After a final read of Wenceslas by Geraldine McCaughrean on Boxing Day, our Christmas reading is over and our Basket of Delights will go back into storage for another 11 months. So many wonderful Living Books, made all the more special by their once a year seasonality.

I love Christmas. I love Books. Can you tell?

I can't help but think that it is this excitement that makes Christmas such a precious, wonderful, magical time in our lives. Jemimah can't help to feel the excitement building.

Reading books is like that too. I am excited about books. I want Jemimah to feel that excitement about them too. And you know, I think she does.

The love of reading is such a precious thing to pass on to our children, a lifelong legacy of so much pleasure and delight. As this old year passes into the new, won't you make this your new Year's resolution - if it's not already - to read more to your children? Your kids are never too old to be read to.

Make sure they have access to loads of Living Books to read to themselves as well. Books that will touch their hearts and their minds and their imaginations. A love of reading will give them pleasure for their whole lives. Future success too, if you believe the literacy experts.

Don't you want that for your children? I know I want it for mine.

I hope you've enjoyed the beautiful Australian Christmas themed pictures accompanying this post. They're by Marg Towt, and illustrate the book Bush Christmas by Jo Monie. Look out for it!

A Merry Christmas and a Blessed, Happy, Healthy and Joyful New Year to all of you, my dear friends. I'll see you again soon.

16 comments:

  1. Merry Christmas, Jeanne, and family!!

    I loved those pictures. They are beautiful!

    You are so inspiring. Yes, I want my kids to love books, and I am so thankful that they do already, down to the littlest one. I'm so glad that things like that are contagious - just like the Christmas spirit!

    God bless you, friend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. All those wonderful books! Oh my!
    Merry Christmas to you as well!
    Leanne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy Christmas, Jeanne!

    And to inspire you: I had 3 dyslexics. One was really, really bad. Even into High School I had to read a lot of his work to him but he loved to be read to. Always. Now he is a chronic reader. It took a long time & for him the journey wasn't easy but he gets so much pleasure from his choice of books now. {Fantasy reader; some mothers...eh?]

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cool, Ganeida, I love stories like that!

    Happy Christmas Girls.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Merry Christmas Jeanne and thank you for inspiring us with yoru love of books...it is very contagious and I love it! So hopefully that love will pass on to my children also!

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Merry Christmas, Jeanne, and to all of you as we tend to meet up here!

    Maybe you can rest the books on your bellies after all that eating!

    I got Max "The Kingdom Series" by Chuck Black for Christmas. I'm pretty sure he'll want to read them on his own but we still snuggle up for many reads. I haven't read them yet and can't wait.

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love christmas too, I'm like a little kid and I so share your love of books!!! My son has caught the bug off me and I have to make him put books down when I need him to do other things, little Bethy already enjoys her books too and of course they're both getting some new books for christmas!! I love reading about the books your family enjoys :-)

    Have a great christmas!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Jeanne,
    Wishing you and your family a Blessed Christmas too! Sorry I've been quiet here lately, I have been keeping up through my reader though!!
    I love the illustrations, they are great! Have a wonderful holiday.
    Rachael.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Jeanne,
    Wishing you and your family a wonderful and blessed Christmas.

    I love books, and so do our children, and I agree with you - they do have to be "living books".

    Blessings,
    Jillian

    ReplyDelete
  10. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

    Thanks for all the peeks into those books. Your blog is a gift that is new most days of the year. Thanks for the blessing.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks, Sylvia. Merry Christmas to you and your family as well. Thank you for your support!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Merry Christmas to you all!
    LXXX

    ReplyDelete
  13. Merry Christmas, Jeanne! Just reading about all your book recommendations is like opening gifts. Have a blessed holiday with your family!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful pictures! I'd add to your basket the "Christmas Cat" by Tasha Tudor and several others! Have a safe trip and a lovely Christmas! "Talk" to you again in January!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thanks for popping by and leaving me your lovely message.

    I pray you have a wonderful Christmas with your family as we celebrate Jesus' birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Have a wonderful Christmas!!! My kids will be getting some wonderful books for Christmas this year. I gave my son one early...he read it all in two days and my daugther then read it in one day. lol. They are off of school, so they are reading like crazy. :) Living books are some fo the best things we can give our kids...I agree!

    ReplyDelete

I'd love you to leave me a message. Tell me what you like - and what you don't. Just remember that this is what we do in our family - it doesn't have to be what you do in yours...