Christmas is my favorite holiday. I’m not admitting to anything officially, but I may start listening to Christmas song the day after Halloween and thanks to DVD’s and Netflix Christmas movies aren’t just for December any more. I love getting the old ornaments out and telling the kids they came from my Grandma and showing them their ornaments and telling them when they received (again just in case they forgot since last year). Telling them where the candy cane Santa and the Yule Log came from. I love the memories that tie the past to the present and hopefully will carry on into the future.

One memory I have from Christmas as a kid was the pine incense my mom would burn at Christmas. The incense sticks came in a clear plastic box and the holder looked like a miniature brass candle stick. I can close my eyes even now and smell it. When that was finally burning it was Christmas.

I remember going to the gift shop in town to get more incense sticks. Those sticks got harder and harder to find over the years as scented candles gained popularity. Thankfully there is a candle that’s very close to the original incense. It’s Yankee Candle’s Christmas Wreath. It’s amazing how a simple fragrance can take me back to being 8, 10, 16 and loving the tree, the lights and the music even then.

Don’t ask me what I got for gifts, I only remember a few. But I remember the cookies, wrapping the homemade caramel pieces in wax paper, our tradition Christmas Eve dinner and the new pajamas (so we looked good in the pictures). Carry on the traditions even if they seem simple, like Pillsbury cinnamon roll for breakfast on Christmas morning, those are the memories that last long after the gifts have been out grown.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours.