Merry day after Christmas to you all, but
especially to a young man who turned seven years old today!


Happy Birthday Eddy Otis!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas X, Y and Z

'Twas the night before Christmas
and all over the blog . . .
All the grandkids were reading
and drinking eggnog?

Okay, so I'm not as great a story poet as
Clement C. Moore. But if you read his
famous book tonight, you will find a Christmas "x"
near the very last page:
"But I heard him e_ _ _ _ _ _,
ere he drove out of sight,
Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night."
 

For a Christmas "y" sing this little song:
"_ _ _ better watch out;
_ _ _ better not cry;
Better not pout;

I'm telling _ _ _ why:

Santa Claus is comin' to town."

And last of all . . .
Once you are all snug in your bed with visions of
sugarplums dancing in your head, ask Mom

or Dad to put a sticker on the letter "Zzzzzzz".

Merry Christmas Eve!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas C

You all know you need to be asleep before Santa comes,
but in one boy's night before Christmas a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ was stirring!
(Sometimes it's just hard to get to sleep
 right, Zach?!)

 

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas A

You may admire my brand new nativity set as you

 sing "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head;
The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, _ _ _ _ _ _ on the hay."

Seasons singing!
Love, Grandma 

Find a Christmas G

Read some Christmas scriptures today in Luke 2:13-14 . . .

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude
of heavenly host praising God, and saying,
_ _ _ _ _ to God in the highest, and
 on earth peace, _ _ _ _ will toward men."

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

                                     

Find a Christmas L

After Russell the Sheep built Santa a
wondrous, magnificent new sleigh, Santa
invited Russell to fly with him "across land,
across oceans . . . through the magical
Northern _ _ _ _ _ _ !"

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas V

Once upon a time an 8-year-old girl named
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ wrote a letter to the editor of
a newspaper asking "Is there a Santa Claus?"

You can find the answer to her question by reading
Grandma's picture book . . . or by reading this story in
the "Mary Engelbreit Believe Christmas Treasury" . . .
or maybe you have even seen the cute TV special!

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas T

Once upon a time the toymaker, Uncle Drosselmeyer,
gave his niece, Marie, two dancing dolls and a nutcracker.
What did he give his nephew, Fritz?


Here's a hint:

_ _ _ soldiers!

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas K

Santa Claus is the world's number one toy expert.
No one in the whole world knows more about
_ _ _ _, toys and gifts than Santa Claus.

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas J

"Who hangs with the bow and the mistletoe?
_ _ _ _ _ _ bugs winging to and fro."

If you don't have a copy of Wade's book to read,
try singing the song that starts:
"Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh . . ."
and then you'll know the word-of-the-day when you
get to the "bells" part!

Seasons Readings and/or Singing!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas S

When you see today's post, then you can search
under your tree for a package that looks like this.

When you open the package that looks like this,
then you can look for the word-of-the-day:

"When the days in December reach twenty-four,
and the sweet smell of baking fills the house . . .

"Then hang your _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ where they can't
be missed and tuck your presents beneath the tree."

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas O

Sing a primary song that goes like this:

"Once within a lowly stable
where the sheep and the _ _ _ _ lay,
A loving mother laid her baby
In a manger filled with hay.

Mary was the mother there,
And the Christ that baby fair."

Seasons Singing!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas P

In Luke's Christmas book the Herdmans,
who are the absolutely worst kids in the
history of the world, decide to take part
in the town's Christmas _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas R

In "The Night Before Christmas" you can read about a
miniature sleigh and eight tiny _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid,
Donder and Blitzen . . . unless you would rather
sing a song about a red-nosed _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
named Rudolph.

Seasons readings and/or singing!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Q

In a book by Mary Engelbreit
Anne Estelle has written a super long wish list and
calls herself the _ _ _ _ _ of Christmas!

But if you must know, my wish list
(aka my "to-do-before-Christmas" list)
is way longer than Anne Estelle's list.

Seasons Readings from the
real _ _ _ _ _ of Christmas!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas I

What do snowman at Christmas do at night?

"The snow children play
Freeze tag or Red Rover,
Or climb in a stack
'Til they wobble right over.

The mothers lay out
All kinds of cold treats:
_ _ _ cream and snow cones
And dainty _ _ _ _ sweets.

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas B

When Barnaby _ _ _ _ got a piece of Mr. Willowby's

Christmas tree he said, "Jolly, by golly! . . .

Let's trim it with _ _ _ _ _ and honey rings,

Some _ _ _ _ _ _ _, and tinsel, and popcorn on strings."

Pick any "b" you want from Eddy's book selection and

Seasons Readings!

Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas H

Look in Brody's Christmas book to read
today's word-of-the-day . . .

"Every Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot . . .
But the Grinch,
Who lived just north of Who-ville,
Did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his _ _ _ _ _ was two sizes too small.

Seasons Readings!
Love,Grandma

Find a Christmas W

Gloomy Mr. Jonathan Toomey was a
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
who became a much happier man after he created
a nativity set for the widow McDowell and her son, Thomas.

If you don't have this book and can't figure out the
word-of-the-day, maybe you will need to visit me
and read my copy of this great Christmas book.

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Uu

One of my favorite Christmas books is an alphabet book!
(Big surprise, huh?) Look on the page after
"T is for tinsel that hangs from the tree . . ."
and before the page
"V is for village with windows aglow . . ."

to find the letter that is for
"_ _ _ _ _ _ and aunts at the door,
Bringing kisses and cousins and presents galore."

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Ee

Does this look familiar?
Well, it should because you all made this nativity set for me
last Christmas. Pieces of it were on this very blog during
last December along with words of "The Nativity Song".
So sing that song to find the word-of-today!

"This is the season beloved of the year,
Sing a rhyme; Christmas time soon will be here.
Tell the true story of Jesus' birth,

When as a baby, he came to the _ _ _ _ _."
Happy Singing!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Ff

If you want to lift over 50 _ _ _ flaps instead of just
reading a book, check out one of Owen's favorite books!

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Dd

Cats singing "Jingle Bells" . . . angels flying

in circles . . . mice making Christmas pies . . .

and dancing snowmen "people" were all part of

Emily's _ _ _ _ _ in Nash's Christmas book!

Seasons Readings!

Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Mm

"'Twas a night still and starry
and all through the house,
not a creature was stirring . . .
just one little _ _ _ _ _."

Find today's word-of-the-day in
Parker's Christmas book!

Seasons Readings!
Love, Grandma

Find a Christmas Nn

Welcome to the Amazing Merry Christmas (not summer)

Reading Race and Candy Countdown!

Just like last summer, I challenge you to read (or sing)

something for every letter of the alphabet. Each day until

Christmas I will give you a clue to a word you can find

in one of your Christmas picture books. Once you read the

story or sing the song, write the word on a sticker and place

it on your countdown container. Then instead of waiting until

the end of summer for a silly candy trophy, you can pick a

sweet treat out of your countdown container!

So on this first day of December, your first assignment is to

gather together all the Christmas books your family owns.

Read your favorite story or sing a song about a man in a

big red suit who has several different names.

One song can be found on page 129 of a red

Mary Engelbreit book called "Believe Christmas Treasury"

"Jolly Old St. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

lean your ear this way!

Don't you tell a single soul

what I'm going to say;

Christmas Eve is coming soon;

now you dear old man,

Whisper what you'll bring to me;

tell me if you can."

Seasons Readings (or singing)

Love, Grandma

Pp is for Parker

Can you believe that this cute little baby boy is already
turning two years old today!

Happy Birthday "Two Cutie"!
Love, Grandma

B is for Birthday Boys

Two cute boys I know were born on the very same

day . . . except a few years apart!

One cute boy is turning three years old today!

 

 

 

And the other handsome boy is turning 9 years old today!

Happy Birthday Nash and Brody!

Love, Grandma

 

Rr is for Ryan

Someone we all know in southern Utah turns six years old today!

Happy Birthday Ryan!
Love, Grandma

And the winners of the Amazing Summer Reading Race are . . .

about to get one of these amazing summer reading race trophies!

Thank you for reading with me this summer from A to Z.

Love, Grandma

Reading Y-Z's

Oh me, oh my . . . Why we're nearly at the end of the road

of the amazing summer reading racetrack.

Maybe you would like to read:

"You are Special" by Max Lucado

my "Yankee Doodle America" alphabet book

"The Year of the Book" by Andrea Cheng

"A Year with Friends" by John Seven

or "The ABC's of Yoga for Kids" by

Teresa Anne Power

Some zany "Z" titles:

"Zap! a Brief History of Television"

"Zap! I'm a Mind Reader"-- one title in a series called

"The Zack Files" by Dan Greenburg

"A Zeal of Zebras--an Alphabet of Collective Nouns"

"Zelda and Ivy"--two fabulous fox sisters

in a book by Laura McGee Kvasnosky

"Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin" by Lloyd Moss

"ZooZical" by Judy Sierra

and the zaniest of all:

"Z is for Moose" by Kelly Bingham

This may be the end of the alphabet . . .
but the actual reading race does not end until
the end of August. You all still have time to
win an amazing summer reading race trophy
(even if all you read is one book, Zach!)

Happy Summer Reading!
Love, Grandma

Reading X

Did you read any of the favorite books of your cousins this summer?
If so, put an "X" by the title . . . or rather put an "x"
on your amazing summer reading racetrack.

 

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" books by Jeff Kinney
are favorites of both Brody and Coltin.

   

Any "Series of Unfortunate Events" books
by Lemony Snicket are favorites of Eddy.

"Harry Potter" books by J.K. Rowling
 are Jack's favorites.

A "Pete the Cat" book happened to be on top of
the book basket the day Lindsay picked her favorite
book . . . but according to her Mom, every time
they go to the library Lindsay finds a new "favorite" book!

Luke likes the "Fly Guy" books by Tedd Arnold.

Nash likes the board book "Peek-a-Who?"

Owen's favorite board book is "10 Trick-or-Treaters".

Parker liked a "Duck and Goose" board book on this particular day.

Ryan's favorite book is "Buzz's Big Mission"--
from the Disney Pixar Storybook Library.

Wade loves legos and his "Amazing ABC" lego book.

And Zach doesn't like reading much,
but does like "The Unwanteds" series by Lisa McMann.

Happy "X marks the spot"!
Love, Grandma