Holiday Movies
· A Charlie Brown Christmas
· Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1938 version with Reginald Owen)
· It Happened on 5th Avenue
· O. Henry’s Full House (Cop & Anthem, Clarion Call, Last Leaf, Gift of Magi, Ransom of Red Chief)
· Room For One More (Carey Grant & Betsy Drake)
· A Christmas Story (red ryder BB gun is my Snoopy Sno Cone Maker – refer to 12/7/10 entry)
· Rick Steve’s European Christmas (I have an incurable travel bug so I live vicariously through Rick)
TCM Greatest Classic Holiday Films has a four set DVD that includes: (1) A Christmas Carol; (2) It Happened on 5th Avenue; (3) Christmas in Connecticut; and (4) Shop Around the Corner.
Holiday Music
· Vince Guaraldi’s soundtrack “A Charlie Brown Christmas”
· Lifetime Music presents “Christmas Belles”
· Celine Dion’s “O Holy Night”
· London Philharmonic Handel’s Messiah Hallelujah Chorus
· Whitney Houston’s “Do You Hear What I Hear”
Warm & Fuzzy Moments
· First snow of the season
· The smell of hot apple cider and roasted nuts
· Watching the nieces and nephews shake presents under the tree like they’re still toddlers
· Playing Rummikub or Scattergories with the family
· Receiving Christmas cards ( I keep them for years)
Being Happy Being Single
Sometimes I treat myself to a birthday/Christmas gift. It’s a special treat (milestone, birthday). It is usually a nice one of a kind piece of jewelry. My designers of choice are John/Christine Designs. I met John/Christine in 2005 at the One of a Kind Art Show at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Other designers acted like they couldn’t be bothered. John/Christine not only fussed over me, but told me the piece I was looking at did not compliment my skin. John went in his case an pulled out “baby” – a natural pink pearl that sparkled against my brown skin. He sketched a design on the spot and by my birthday, baby was mine. The craftsmanship was superb. They told me how to care for baby and insure her. The following year, baby needed matching earrings. Again, he said wait until he could find the right pearls. John educates you on the stones, where they came from, when to purchase, when to hold off, buy before gold goes up. It wasn’t long before our business relationship became one of friendship. Every summer, I would trek to the suburban art fairs to see John & Christine, see new pieces and find out how things were in their lives. It then became a tradition that every December I brought my nieces to the One of a Kind Art Show. When I brought my nieces to the booth, they indulged them the same way they treated me when we first met. John & Christine are like family. We send each other Christmas cards, check on each other during natural disaster. If you are looking for a special piece, contact them. Traditional, classic, modern – check them out. http://www.johnchristinedesigns.com/
Ronda is an attorney, writer, and entrepreneur. She is a contributing writer for the Huffington Post. Originally from Chicago, she has lived in Los Angeles and New York. She loves to travel and is passionate about education equity, especially for first generation college students.