Monday's Musings - Holiday Traditions Part 1

I LOVE the upcoming Christmas

Holidays. I love the way people seem so much nicer and giving during the Holidays.  I love the Holiday music and I love the smell of Christmas!  I begin planning months and months in advance.  There are several reasons for this.

First - I try (and I use this word loosely) to pay cash for Christmas gifts.  If I start early enough I do not feel the strain to charge as much as I get closer to the Christmas.

Also - I am a collector...each year I add to several of my Holiday Collections.

 

 

I love to collect Santa Claus figurines.  I have over 60 of them now but I think that my favorite has to be my University of Alabama - Houndstooth Santa Claus!

 

 

 

I also add a new Christmas CD to my Christmas collection.  I have everything from Trans Siberian Orchestra to Alabama to "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"  This year's selection it going to go down in history as one of my most favorites:

 

 

 

 

  In August I order my Christmas with Southern Living Holiday book.  I started collecting the Christmas with Southern Living books in 1981 - the first year that it was ever published and have one for each year since!

 

 

 

 

 

Each year when I receive my new book I rush to read it and my mind is filled with all the wonderful treats that I want to cook and new decorating ideas!

 

Do you have any special Christmas Traditions?