So, a question for you. When does the Christmas season officially start? I mean, for you. Because it all starts at a different point for each of us. Is it an event? A favorite recipe? Getting the Christmas tree? I’m just curious what makes it “officially” Christmas for you.

Thought I’d take a couple minutes to share A Few of My Favorite Things from last week. (I hear you loud and clear Julie Andrews. Pipe down. No raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens. Not today.)

I’ve really enjoyed working on Christmas “projects” this week – Vanilla Bean Maple Syrup especially. If you want to try your hand at it, you’ll have just enough time for it to “cure” before Christmas. (If you don’t dilly-dally.) http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1156

Had fun playing with this Christmas tree wax seal for the attached gift cards. Love how this seal turned out. It would make a beautiful seal for Christmas cards too. You’ll find this wax seal and many other beautiful ones on Amazon.com. (You’ll need sealing wax too.)  http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Tree-Seal-Stamp-Sealing/dp/B00A3NXBF0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418591926&sr=8-1&keywords=christmas+tree+wax+seal

I loaned my beloved An Orange for Frankie book to a friend last week . She returned it to my porch, with the above. Wow! So gorgeous. Love it! Still haven’t heard the story of where it came from. And exactly what it is. Looks like a pear shaped lemorange to me. (Fill us in, Jen. I’m dying to know.)

Went out to the mailbox and found this beautiful box on the porch. (My porch has been an exciting place this week!)

Take a peek inside. What a gorgeous gift from our neighbors! 

Check out the amazing apples. I now have more compassion for Eve. I could never have resisted these either.

And the pears! Aren’t they lovely? If they last, we’ll have them with Christmas breakfast. One for each of us.  (Thank you, generous friends.)

If you’re still looking for a last minute gift to order for someone special, a gift box from Harry & David is such a special treat to receive. (I know.)  http://www.harryanddavid.com Their presentation is always beautiful.

A dear friend I hadn’t connected with for several years came to tea. And brought this Harney & Sons White Christmas Tea with her. We had a cup and caught up. The tea was absolutely wonderful, the company even better.

Each year I participate in a handmade ornament exchange. It’s always the first week in December. There are several ornament exchange circles going on simultaneously. These are the fun ornaments I received. (How ’bout that peacock?)

Here’s the ornament I gave out. Easy instructions here: http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=1856

The ornament exchange is just one facet of a fundraiser benefit for New Life Home, a local faith-based drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for women and their children. A group of us meet together in a local home for appetizers, the ornament exchange and to collect anonymous monetary donations for New Life. Then we caravan a few minutes away to New Life Home and throw a Christmas party (desserts and coffee) for the staff and residents. They in turn share individual stories with us about how their lives are changing for the better. And that’s the moment when my Christmas season officially begins: when I hear the inspiring stories of hope, faith and change from courageous women at New Life Home each year. (So much generous participation, we were able to raise $1250 this year.) What a great evening. http://www.newlifehome.org

After the New Life party, I came home to find a box on the kitchen counter from my cousin. (Someone must have toted it in from that magical porch.) She sent us homemade Christmas treats. Also this box of  junket! Ha! I got such a kick out of this. You know why if you read my Junket Is Nice post.  http://throughherlookingglass.com/?p=543   I talk big, but I still haven’t made or tasted junket. But that’s all about to change, thanks to you, cousin.

So these are just A Few of My Favorite Things so far this Christmas season. How ’bout you? What are your favorite Christmas things? And when does your Christmas season officially start?

Inquiring minds want to know. Please share below!

(I know, a poet.)

The post A Few of My Favorite Things appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

“Mommy, why aren’t you reading?”

“Mommy” (staring very hard at close range) “are your eyes wet?”

“Mommy, why are you stopping again?”

“Mommy, there are tears running down your cheek.”

Questions and observations from my boys at nearly every teary reading of An Orange for Frankie since 2006.

An Orange for Frankie by Allie Taylor

I adore this children’s Christmas picture book. And I want to tell you about it so you can share it with your children and grandchildren this Christmas. Every Christmas season I love choosing a new Christmas picture book for our family. We’ve amassed quite a collection now. But An Orange for Frankie is my all time favorite. Patricia Polacco is an amazing children’s author. She’s right up there with Jan Brett in my book.

An Orange for Frankie is a true and poignant story about a real family, the Stowells, who lived in Michigan in the 1800’s. Frankie was the author’s great uncle, the youngest of nine children. Not a wealthy family, the Stowells generously cooked a daily breakfast for the hobos that gathered behind their home at the train station each morning. One frosty morning, little Frankie is deeply moved that one of the old hobos is shivering in the cold. He runs to his room, retrieving his prized Christmas sweater knitted by sister Stella.

Secretly, he gifts the sweater to the old man.

As Christmas approaches, there is great excitement in the Stowell household as they prepare. Pa has driven a several day trip with the horse and buggy to get supplies and the prized Christmas oranges for the mantelpiece. The oranges are the highlight of Christmas for the children. But it’s Christmas Eve, and Pa’s still not home yet. Heavy snow could mean no oranges for Christmas, and even worse… no Pa!

Patricia Polacco writes:

“Every time I peel an orange and inhale the scent of it and feel the mist that sprays from its skin, I think of a very special Christmas and a flaxen-haired boy who lived many years before I was ever born.

That boy was Frankie, my grandmother’s youngest brother.

Whenever my grandmother spoke of him, her eyes would soften and I could feel how much she loved him. He was the youngest boy of nine children in the Stowell family. My grandmother Stella was the oldest, and felt that she had helped raise them all.

Frankie was the heart of the household – especially at Christmas. That was when the whole family came together to celebrate and gather boughs of greens to put on the mantel. Then they placed apples, dried flowers, cookies and nuts in the green, and finally, as the crowning touch, the oranges. Nine of them! One for each of the children born to the Stowell clan. Precious rare oranges that their father had driven horse and buggy all the way to Lansing to fetch back home for Christmas.”

My eyes are glistening now, a lump in my throat. (And I’m only on the second page.) Because I know about the precious oranges gotten at great sacrifice by Pa in the snowstorm. And I know that one orange of nine gets lost by a dear little boy who plays the angel in the Christmas pageant on Christmas Eve. And I know that orange is never found. And furthermore, I know that the rest of the Stowell family demonstrate love and grace in a beautiful, tangible and unforgettable way. The generous, tender hearts of Frankie and his family live on, a legacy for us all.

I’m a wreck now. Really. A growing pile of tissues by my keyboard. Because I’m so overcome by the grace, kindness and love in this book. And I also know what happens to their dear little Frankie the following year.

Please get this book and share it with your family. How about reading it at Christmas breakfast? It will bring joy and delight in your home, and give your family a beautifully different perspective on Christmas this year. http://www.amazon.com/Orange-Frankie-Patricia-Polacco/dp/039924302X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417689723&sr=1-1&keywords=an+orange+for+frankie

 An Orange for Frankie

 What is your family’s favorite Christmas picture book?  Please comment below and tell us about it!

The post An Orange for Frankie appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.