Wednesday, December 10, 2025

It’s Hodgepodge with Joyce!

1. Do you struggle with the commercialization of the holiday season? What helps you keep your focus when the season’s busyness and commercialism start to take over? 

I do. When my kids were young, I felt strongly that they receive some gifts of things they needed/practical things. I was very worried about them being spoiled and especially grandparents giving them too much. They always got a new toothbrush, new underwear, new socks, and I liked the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read”. They always got clothing, too. I never felt like we went overboard. We always included some surprises, though, because surprises are very important to me. Tom was a big help with ideas and shopping.

Planning for special non-material things helps me. I like to think of the time off, the time at home, movies we enjoy, events we can attend, and things like that.

2. What’s one small thing you want to savor before the year ends? 

I just want to savor the time I have with the people I love. That gets to be less and less as your kids get older. I am hoping for some quality time with both of my kids at the same time and with my extended family.

The decor is everywhere this year and I love it! The gym tree:

3. December 9th is National Christmas Card Day. Do you still send Christmas cards? If so does yours include a photo or is it a more traditional card, or maybe homemade? How do you feel about the tradition of exchanging cards at the holidays? If Hanukkah is the holiday you celebrate in December do you send cards to mark the occasion? 

We did a photo card for many years. It either had just the kids or the whole family. Most years it was just a picture I took or photos we had taken throughout the year. There were two years that we did professional family photos. It was a lot of work to mail them out but I also enjoyed it.

I do miss the tradition of receiving and sending them. We only get about 10 now. And remember that I sent my kids’ quotes for years along with the photo card! Click on the red font if you missed that post. I have more to do a follow up. I do feel like Facebook took some of the fun away from receiving those photo cards.

And, I have framed all of our cards throughout the years. This collection is really special to me!

One of our card photos:

The last one we sent:

I believe this was 2019 right before 2020 and you-know-what.

I think it would be really funny to send one of Tom and Eddie Otis this year – hugging.

4. What’s your least favorite holiday related task? What’s your favorite? 

I really don’t enjoy putting ornaments on the tree. I enjoy wrapping, baking, planning for shopping and then doing the shopping.

5. Let’s do a little holiday this or that? 

  • shopping or wrapping – shopping is more fun but I like wrapping, too.
  • baking or decorating- baking is more fun to me.
  • eggnog or wassail – I like both but wassail is better.
  • real tree or artificial – we used my parents’ old artificial tree for about 20 years and then we switched to a pre-lit tree.
  • turkey or ham – turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas
  • white lights or colored lights – white but I do like seeing colored lights, too
  • ugly sweaters or matching pjs – we have never done matching pjs
  • peppermint or cinnamon – both but peppermint more for December
  • presents Christmas Eve or presents Christmas Day – we always had to wait until Day when I was a child. I started pjs on Eve with my kids

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My mom was very big on Christmas cards.

Here is one:

She kept doing photo cards of her travels with my dad and pictures of all the grandkids. She even wrote a poem each year. She thought it was horrible when I stopped sending them! I like that she did this.

Here was one she did when she only had two grandchildren – my kids:

“We whisk you a Happy New Year” – pretty sure they were fighting over the whisk.

This one was funny – she had all the grandkids pout:

Molly’s first or second card:

One of Kate’s cards – her daughter Nora exhausted from shopping at Target:

Also, I have a confession…I collected braggy Christmas newsletters and then liked to perform/read them aloud. One year my sisters and I wrote our own newsletter from our family as a joke.

I even asked friends to give me really good ones. One was three pages long – single spaced.

I got such a kick out of this slip of paper addendum:

“While the information provided in our newsletter was correct, it was outdated by the influence of _____’s recovery from her bout with food poisoning. Because the time available for mailing has been further reduced, a new newsletter is not possible. At this point ____ is essentially recovered.”

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like sharing your food poisoning that got left out of the newsletter.

I also like the use of the third person in the newsletters. Who wrote it? The dog?

Amy

32 thoughts on “Hodgepodge”

  1. I love that your mom was really consistent with sending cards and wrote poems and used puns. We ¨whisk¨ you a Merry Christmas. I love it and the creativity! I also love that you´ve framed your Christmas cards. We did a photo card for years as well. I really like your one from 2019. I wonder how quickly I could put one together and possibly still send some this year? Anyway, enjoyed reading your answers. Have a great day!

    Like

    Reply

  2. I think the commercialism is so much harder to fight when the kids are little… I remember my boys comparing their gifts to what their friends got too and often being disappointed when someone they knew got a new 4 wheeler or the latest tech gadget that cost hundreds of dollars. It actually became such a relief and so much easier to celebrate once we began homeschooling (though I suspect our gifts were then ones other parents had to try and explain away). It’s really hard to explain vastly different price point gifts when “Santa makes them so he could bring us all the same!” We have almost all the same this or that answers but I don’t even know what wassail is actually and eggnog is just gross so I’d be a neither for that one.

    Like

    Reply

  3. Bwahahahahahaha!!! Those newsletters! How funny that you’d collect and read them – such a good idea and also, the food poisoning story. OMG. I am still on the fence with cards, kinda want to but who knows. I like a newsletter because I love updates on what’s happening with everyone.

    My parents always did a group photo with the grandkids and used that for their card. Now that my dad is gone, my mom had been trying to get just the kids but now they’re all moving and not here at the same time so it’s hard for her to do. Times change!

    xo,

    Kellyann

    Like

    Reply

    1. Maybe your mom could do a collage like my 2019 card of all the grandkids and put a caption on what they are doing now? I like the newsletter to see what everyone is doing, too, but not 3 pages and not a super braggy one!

      Like

      Reply

  4. I LOVE all of your photo cards. That is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season and we always do send a photo card. I struggle with the commercialization too. Wishing you the warmest holiday season!

    Like

    Reply

  5. Love seeing all the Christmas cards…you all have a great sense of humor. The pouting one…lol! I loved when you shared what your boys said…too perfect. My mom has one friend who seems so perfect and sends a letter with all the accolades of her children, daughter in law and grandkids…I always tell her to keep it so I can read it and roll my eyes. It’s a tradition at this point 🤣

    Like

    Reply

  6. I agree how Facebook/social media has changed the way we send cards. I still enjoy getting a card though, but I don’t send them anymore. Yes, so many of our answers are similar! I think we are all savoring our kids being at home this year.

    Like

    Reply

  7. I loved seeing the old Christmas card photos! I would also cherish that collection you have. I think it would be hilarious to send out a funny adult one; I have friends who do that every year, and I always laugh when I get it in the mail. Please do one of Tom with EO! I love that you perform those letters…how fun and funny that must be! I know what you mean, and have gotten super long (braggy) letters like that, but that addendum? Too funny! Merry Wednesday to you!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I feel the same, wanting to spend time with loved one’s before the year ends. I totally get that about the kids getting older and having less time with them.
    I only send a couple of Christmas cards out now and that is mainly for the older people in my family. The cards in the frames are such a lovely idea and how special!
    I love buying the gifts for everyone but I hate wrapping them. The wrapping is on my to do list this week.
    Aww! Those Christmas cards are wonderful!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Collecting and keeping the Christmas newsletters and doing dramatic readings of them – ha ha! Wish I had thought of that! I love your idea of a photo card of Tom and EO hugging! I do not love decorating the tree but I especially do not like taking all of the decorations down and putting them away. The house always seems so hollow and empty afterwards.

    Like

    Reply

    1. I guess it sounds kind of mean but I don’t mean it that way! I will try to get a photo and see what I can do something about “wishing you all the love of the holidays” and them hugging? Taking it down feels like a fresh start to me though! I want fresh, clean, white lights in January. Then I want plants everywhere!

      Like

      Reply

  10. I just got a Christmas letter from a friend’s dog : ) I love it! I think you should definitely send a picture of your hubs and his best bud. People would get a kick out of it. I enjoy all the decor everywhere we go too. It amps up the festive feel of the season. We had very similar this or that answers. Everyone gets a mix of practical and fun for Christmas. I remember as a kid being happy to get some of those practical gifts. I bought Tottenham socks for my grandsons and I know they will love them. Have a great day!

    Like

    Reply

  11. We’ve received a few newsletters over the years that were hilarious! One of our friends writes a funny quiz about their family members each year and that is the newsletter. I still love sending and receiving Christmas cards.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  14. Hilarious, the dramatic reading of the newsletters is so up my alley! I often do these type performances for my husband based on NextDoor posts. Can’t wait to tell him about the addendum, why would they think anyone cared? And I loved seeing your Mom’s old cards, so special to have all of them.

    Like

    Reply

  15. I remember the era of long, typed letters. We did that for a few years. I’m glad I’m not the only one who is not receiving many cards these days. 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  16. I love all the clever holiday cards sent over the years! I tried to write clever holiday newsletters to send out just so they didn’t sound braggy. LOL Spending time with family is the very best part of the holidays. Loved reading your answers – happy holidays!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to hsbreton1 Cancel reply