Tag: Christmas

This Christmas Be Watchful, Be Alert

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

Waiting is a big part of life and is certainly the story of our faith as well. So here we are, two thousand years removed from the grandiose-quaking and breath-taking moment of incarnation, and we are still waiting, not on the arrival of Jesus as a baby but as eternal King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Word made flesh, promising His words are trustworthy and true, brings about an important aspect of waiting: trust.

As we wait, we are tested in trust. The reason we are not good at waiting, perhaps is because we may not be so good at trusting. Waiting and trusting go hand in hand. Waiting calls on us to trust the promise that what we wait for will come to pass, and that the one who makes the promise is trustworthy and worthy of our waiting. This time reminds us that God’s promises are kept by the Holy Spirit. Advent reminds us that God’s promises are “enfleshed” in Jesus Christ. Advent reminds us that the future is secure and worth waiting for.

We are given these four weeks each year to get ready for the coming of Christ, but what does that mean? 


We know Jesus likely wasn’t born on December 25, but the world chose this day to celebrate His birth, and also chose a day, usually in April, to celebrate His resurrection.

While we may not know the exact dates, we can still celebrate His birth and resurrection with reverence, giving the Glory to God, His Son, Jesus, and His Holy Spirit.

This is not only a reminder and celebration of Christ’s birth, but offers a special focus on preparing for the second coming of Christ. There is a day coming when what God promised long ago, then “enfleshed” through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, will be brought to final completion and fulfillment. This is the waiting edge of before each Christmas.


For many people, this means checking off a list of presents we need to buy for family and friends. For some, it means going into debt.

What does this have to do with preparing for Christ?

For thousands of years the people prepared and watched for the Messiah. What were they looking for? Their idea of a Messiah was of a powerful king and so they missed the signs that pointed to Jesus. 

We, too, can miss the signs of the presence of Christ among us. Christmas celebrates the fact that Jesus came, lived his life as a model for us, died for us to save us from the punishment of our sins.

And then…Jesus rose from the dead so that we would know of our salvation and the love of God that promises forgiveness and the gift of eternal life. We can best prepare for Christmas by celebrating this reality every day. 

Advent is a time for us to think about this great gift and ask ourselves how we are preparing to meet Him when He comes again. If we put all our energies into shopping, we are missing the mark.

Just as we are Easter people, living with a sense of joy in our salvation, we are Christmas people, welcoming Christ into our world each day in the people we meet, in the circumstances where we find ourselves. 

In the story of the Fourth Wiseman, the hero falls behind in his search for the newborn king because he stops and helps people in need for thirty-three years and finally meets him at the foot of the cross on Calvary.

He then realizes that he has “met” Christ in all the people he helped over those years.

This Christmas season, let’s be alert and watchful and recognize the signs that Christ is among us.

Until that day comes, may our lives-lived in and lived out of the death and resurrection of Christ-be the living and breathing witness.


Gracious God, be with us as we begin our preparations to celebrate the birth of your Son, Jesus. Keep our focus on the true meaning of Christmas and be watchful so that we might recognize opportunities to find Christ in the faces of those who suffer from loneliness or depression and reach out to them with compassion and love. Amen.

____________________

In God We Trust

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How to Financially Survive Christmas This Year

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

Holiday season 2021 was better than 2020, but remained a tough year for retailers and other small business due to the pandemic.

In 2022, Black Friday sales hit some lows. More businesses are shuttering their doors. With continuing higher prices for fuel, energy, food and just about everything imaginable, it seems like the 2022 holiday season will also be challenging to most people.

I’m hearing from many, that some lessons were learned from the past two seasons.

🔹Many people are focusing more on the religious meaning of Christmas, rather than the socially engineered commercial aspect of the holidays.

🔹Jack and I are spending more time with our wonderful church family and community activities. Our attention is on the birth of Jesus Christ and the blessings from our Lord.

🔹We have learned others are toning down the gift gifting and spending quality time with loved ones. Some are rightfully concerned about holiday shopping while others have already began limited buying early.

We have all seen the Christmas season creeping in early on Halloween, but this can actually help some people spread out the gift buying over a longer period of time. We much prefer using a planned budget instead of depending on credit cards and suffering depression in January when the bills pile in.

🔹Throughout the year, or as early as possible, it’s a good idea to save $10 to $25 a paycheck. It can add up nicely when it’s time to buy gifts (or make them). With 26 paychecks in a year that’s around $500 when black Friday hits after Thanksgiving.

However, few of us can escape the realities of a harsh economic and political climate today, not to mention the increased hardships (jobless, out of business, or health, for instance) we’ve endured.

It’s a good idea to rethink our spending strategies. Besides just setting aside money from each paycheck, there are other ways to find money to put aside. Some people set up a separate savings account just for gift giving.

Here are some additional ideas some may deem helpful:

Choose a gift of something useful and customized for the individual. This year spend less, but provide more value. A book (instead of a toy or game), health food or supplements (rather than a fruit cake), or something needed (helpful household items versus nonessential decorative ones).

Cutting Down on Eating Out. Lunches out with coworkers can be dropped for one day of the week. At $6 to $12 a day, that adds up to, in a month $24 to $40+ that can be instead put into a gift savings jar.

Reduce Your TV Service. We haven’t had any such service in over four years and absolutely love it: No fake news, social engineering or propaganda has been wonderful. Our time is spent simply living, traveling and experiencing (rather than having). It’s far more meaningful.

Those television ads will have you believing the whole point of Christmas is to spend tons of money on food, shopping and dining out.

Instead of going cold turkey, you can drop down your TV subscription to basic service for a few months or the summer and sock away the savings. This is also handy if you are coming to the end of a promo and can’t get another one; drop down in service for a few months and then pick up the new promos coming out later. You could save considerable money each month and it’s not that hard.

Limit the Coffee/Donut/Sweets/Soda Budget. I remain amazed at the drive thru queues at coffee shops in the morning. This wouldn’t be a lot of money set aside but if you buy a $5+ drink and reduce it by one cup a week, you have an extra $20-$30 to put into savings for gifts.

By making some simple changes to your budget NOW, you can plan to have a terrific Christmas. There are plenty of other ways to save money. Just look at what you are currently spending on any one item and try to reduce it by a few dollars each week. Those dollars add up quickly.

If you aren’t willing to cut back at all, there are a couple of ways to bring in extra money and set that aside for gifts as well.

Consider practical: a good book, health products, a favorite snack.

Save Change. I’ve always been a fan of rounding up in the checkbook and by the end of the month there’s a good $15-$25 higher in the bank than my checkbook shows. That extra money goes to savings without a thought. And add into that any change I get throughout the year, there’s around $250-350 dollars that I didn’t even have to cut back for.

Do you really NEED it? Selling off items around the house (some people I know find stuff on the curb for trash pickup and regularly make more than a few extra bucks). Keep the fees to a minimum and try selling the items off through Craigslist first. The idea is to collect it all in a closet and then have yourself a grand yard sale over a warm weekend.

______________________

In God We Trust

____________________

Thanks for supporting independent true journalism with a small tip. Dodie & Jack

Dodie & Jack

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American History Related to Today

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

We believe that history – both knowledge of the past and the practice of researching and making sense of what happened in the past – is crucially important to the well being of individuals, communities, and the future of our nation.

“If you don’t know history, then you don’t know anything. You are a leaf that doesn’t know it is part of a tree.” –MICHAEL CRICHTON

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“A generation which ignores history has no past — and no future.” — ROBERT A HEINLEIN

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“It had long come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.” –LEONARDO DA VINCI

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____________________

In God We Trust

Thanks for supporting independent true journalism with a small tip. Dodie & Jack

We are thankful to our incredible sponsors!

Please Support These American Owned Businesses

___________________________

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CLICK HERE for GOOD HEALTH!

For Information

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History, Texas, Pioneers, Genealogy

From award-winning Texas author Cynthia Leal Massey.

_________________________

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God Bless, Jack & Dodie Dennis

Sending the Good Word of Jesus Christ Around the World This Year

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

My son Jack remembers doing this at his grandfather, Pastor John Osborne’s church at Lake Buchanan, Texas some years ago.

“It is a good memory because we were gifting and sharing the Word of Jesus Christ with children around the world who may have never had the opportunity,” Jack recalls. “Plus it is good to experience and share goodness in this tough world.”

Today, we are proud of Dodie because she is sharing duties of organizing this annual outreach box packing event at First Baptist Church of Medina nestled in the beautiful Texas Hill Country.

  • Dodie Dennis

Led by Jo Walters, with Dodie, the small community is pitching in to help. Even the Medina Library is donating age appropriate books for the boxes.

In the summer of 1993, Samaritan’s Purse President Franklin Graham received a call from a man in England asking if he’d be willing to fill shoeboxes with gifts for children in war-torn Bosnia. Franklin agreed, but figured Christmas was months away. He forgot about the promise until he received a call back around Thanksgiving asking about the gifts.

Franklin asked his friend, the late Pastor Ross Rhoads of Calvary Church of Charlotte to see if he could help with the need. A Sunday shortly afterward, Pastor Rhoads demonstrated for his congregation how to fill a shoebox with simple gifts and encouraged them to include a letter to the child as well. Within weeks, the church had 11,000 shoeboxes lining their hallways.

Due to their generosity and additional gifts from Canada, Samaritan’s Purse sent 28,000 shoebox gifts to children in the Balkans that Christmas.

Through these gifts, they communicated to children and their families what the angel said to the shepherds about Jesus’ birth: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” 
(Luke 2:10, ESV).

Every year since, Samaritan’s Purse has collected shoebox gifts filled with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items for children around the world. Since 1993, more than 198 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God’s love.

Tens of thousands of volunteers from local churches around the world partner to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ at festive outreach events where children are surprised with these shoebox gifts.

Over the years they trained over 1.5 million volunteers from these congregations to teach The Greatest Journey, our dynamic follow-up discipleship course for shoebox recipients.

Since 2009, 30.9 million children have enrolled in this 12-lesson program to learn how to follow Christ and share Him with others. More than 14.9 million of these boys and girls have made a decision to accept Jesus as their Savior during the course. Many are now praying for and sharing their faith with family and friends. As a result of this ever-expanding witness, new churches are starting and communities are being transformed!

In 2021 alone, more than 10.5 million Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts were collected throughout Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In God We Trust

Thanks for supporting independent true journalism with a small tip. Dodie & Jack

We are thankful to our incredible sponsors!

Please Support These American Owned Businesses

___________________________

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History, Texas, Pioneers, Genealogy

From award-winning Texas author Cynthia Leal Massey.

_________________________

CLICK: PARK LANE by Rebecca Taylor

QUIZ–What Do These Photos Have in Common?

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

What began in 1893 became a huge tradition reflecting the hopes and wishes of many Americans.

Spanning the years 1910 through 1994, photos from this collection consisted of seasonal influence and tradition.

Baby Boomers will be more apt to guess what these pictures all have in common. Can you?

Long before there was an Amazon or Etsy or even a dot.com, America had a Sears catalogue…or “Wish Book.”

In God We Trust

Thanks for supporting independent true journalism with a small tip. Dodie & Jack

We are thankful to our incredible sponsors!

Please Support These American Owned Businesses

___________________________

Get Your Natural Vitamins A & D from the Sea!

CLICK HERE for GOOD HEALTH!

For Information

Now Available CLICK Here!

History, Texas, Pioneers, Genealogy

From award-winning Texas author Cynthia Leal Massey.

_________________________

CLICK: PARK LANE by Rebecca Taylor

Wise and Frugal Ideas For Christmas This Year

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie
Have a Jolly, Holly, Frugal Christmas!

Be Honest With Your Finances

The first step is to be completely honest with your financial situation at the moment. You aren’t looking for handouts. You just want a dose of empathy and maybe a hug.

Just like everyone else, you want to give your family the world and shower them with gifts.

However, the center of Christmas is about our Savior, Jesus Christ, and coming together as a family and spending time with one another. You don’t need money for that.

Decide on a frugal Christmas budget and stick to it.

Christmas in Boerne, Texas
Church we were married at.

With gift exchanges, you don’t need to go out and buy a brand new present. This is a chance to find something in your house that will make a great gift for someone else.

Here are various types of gift exchanges that cost little or no money:

  • White elephant gift exchange
  • $5 gift exchanges
  • Unused item gift exchange
  • Cookie exchange
  • Used toy, puzzle or book exchange
  • Coffee mug exchange
  • Charity donation exchange
  • Craft supply gift exchange
  • Dollar Store finds gift exchange
  • Fabulously fashionable clothing exchange
  • Dropped that hobby gift exchange

There are just a few ideas on how you can get creative with holding gift exchanges. Not everything must be expensive to be an awesome winner!

Buy In Bulk And Divide Up For Gifts

A frugal trait is buying things in bulk to save money. When the holidays roll-around, this is where you use your DIY skills to come up with frugal Christmas gifts.

Treat bags

If you find a lot of people on your list to buy small gifts for, you can create nice packages of presents to give. Typically, these holiday gifts are ideal for teachers, neighbors, co-workers or other special people that you want to wish a Merry Christmas.

For example, you can buy scented candles in bulk and wrap a beautiful bow on the glass jar. That is an easy way to divide them up for multiple gifts.

Another idea is to buy Christmas treat bags and divide up assorted miniature candies to quickly put together many small presents.

Talk to your families about the idea of only giving gifts to the kids, not the adults.

Frugal Christmas gifts for adults

1. Socks

No you won’t get any awards for creativity. But it is almost guaranteed the recipient will use this gift.

2. Workout clothing

3. Books

Cookbooks and inspirational books are great choices. 

4. A nice pen and journal

5. Bath bombs and soap.

6. Insulated coffee mug.

Holiday lights tour

🔹Bundle up the kids in the car and go for a family drive when it gets dark. Drive your neighborhood or find out the best neighborhoods in your city and go for a festive drive.

🔹Make a holiday letter and send it to family with important highlights from the past year.

🔹Attend a local Christmas event: parade, lights, Church or other holiday happenings.

🔹Get Christmas coloring books and color with your family.

🔹Decorate the Christmas tree.

Secret Santa

🔹Have each family member draw a name and only give a gift to that one person.

🔹Make mason jar cookie mixes to gift.

Forgo wrapping paper altogether

🔹Just wrap gifts with some ribbon or a bow.

Reuse Christmas wrapping and Christmas gift bags.

Make a coupon book for gifts

🔹From cooking a special meal to a foot massage to experiences out.

Write a list of what you are grateful for

🔹This is a great exercise any time of the year but especially at Christmas when there can be excess. It’s a good reminder of how lucky the majority of us are.

Learn to make candles with your children

🔹This is a fun activity and could also be a homemade Christmas gift.

Buy Christmas lights from a dollar store and hang them from your outside trees.

Write a letter to Santa

🔹Mail it to Santa Claus 325 S. Santa Claus Lane North Pole, Alaska 99705

Have a puzzle day

🔹Get a puzzle that’s challenging enough for the whole family but easy enough that the little ones can participate.

Have a Christmas pajama day

🔹Stay in pajamas the whole day on a Saturday or Sunday

Make homemade Christmas ornaments.

Cookie swap.

Go Christmas caroling.

Watch Christmas movies.

Snuggle up with your family and play favorite nostalgic or new Christmas movies. Favorites that come to mind are A Charlie Brown Christmas, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

Finding Money for Christmas Gifts in 2021 and Beyond

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

Holiday season 2020 was a tough year for retailers and other small business due to the pandemic. In 2021, Black Friday sales hit some all-time lows. With the higher prices for fuel, energy, food and just about everything imaginable, it seems like the 2021 holiday season will be challenging to most people.

Some of us are rightfully concerned about holiday gift giving while others have already begun their buying early. We have all seen the Christmas season creeping in early on Halloween, but this can actually help some people spread out the gift buying over a longer period of time. We much prefer using a planned budget instead of depending on credit cards and suffering depression in January when the bills pile in.

Throughout the year, or as early as possible, it’s a good idea to save $10 to $25 a paycheck. It can add up nicely when it’s time to buy gifts (or make them). With 26 paychecks in a year that’s around $500 when black Friday hits after Thanksgiving.

However, few of us can escape the realities of a harsh economic and political climate today, not to mention the increased hardships (jobless, out of business, or health, for instance) we’ve endured.

It’s a good idea to rethink our spending strategies. Besides just setting aside money from each paycheck, there are other ways to find money to put aside. Some people set up a separate savings account just for gift giving.

Here are some additional ideas some may deem helpful:

🔹Choose a gift of something useful and customized for the individual. This year spend less, but provide more value. A book (instead of a toy or game), health food or supplements (rather than a fruit cake), or something needed (helpful household items versus nonessential decorative ones).

🔹Cutting Down on Eating Out. Lunches out with coworkers can be dropped for one day of the week. At $6 to $12 a day, that adds up to, in a month $24 to $40+ that can be instead put into a gift savings jar.

🔹Reduce Your TV Service. We haven’t had any such service in over three years and absolutely love it: No fake news, social engineering or propaganda has been wonderful. Our time is spent simply living, traveling and experiencing (rather than having). It’s far more meaningful.

Those television ads will have you believing the whole point of Christmas is to spend tons of money on food, shopping and dining out.

Instead of going cold turkey, you can drop down your TV subscription to basic service for a few months or the summer and sock away the savings. This is also handy if you are coming to the end of a promo and can’t get another one; drop down in service for a few months and then pick up the new promos coming out later. You could save considerable money each month and it’s not that hard.

🔹Limit the Coffee/Donut/Sweets/Soda Budget. I remain amazed at the drive thru queues at coffee shops in the morning. This wouldn’t be a lot of money set aside but if you buy a $5+ drink and reduce it by one cup a week, you have an extra $20-$30 to put into savings for gifts.

By making some simple changes to your budget NOW, you can plan to have a terrific Christmas. There are plenty of other ways to save money. Just look at what you are currently spending on any one item and try to reduce it by a few dollars each week. Those dollars add up quickly.

If you aren’t willing to cut back at all, there are a couple of ways to bring in extra money and set that aside for gifts as well.

Consider practical: a good book, health products, a favorite snack.

🔹Save Change. I’ve always been a fan of rounding up in the checkbook and by the end of the month there’s a good $15-$25 higher in the bank than my checkbook shows. That extra money goes to savings without a thought. And add into that any change I get throughout the year, there’s around $250-350 dollars that I didn’t even have to cut back for.

🔹Do you really NEED it? Selling off items around the house (some people I know find stuff on the curb for trash pickup and regularly make more than a few extra bucks). Keep the fees to a minimum and try selling the items off through Craigslist first. The idea is to collect it all in a closet and then have yourself a grand yard sale over a warm weekend.

______________________

Please Support These American Owned Businesses

___________________________

Get Your Natural Vitamins A & D from the Sea!

CLICK HERE for GOOD HEALTH!

___________________________

Now Available CLICK Here!
From award-winning Texas author Cynthia Leal Massey.

Was Christmas Being Faucified?

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

Liberal sheep now have the blessing of Dr. Anthony Fauci to hold gatherings with family and friends on Christmas 2021. However, Fauci says Americans should tell their Christmas guests to show their papers.

Fauci said only vaccinated Americans can feel comfortable and enjoy dinners and gatherings within the home this Christmas.

“People should, if they invite people over their home, essentially ask, and maybe require that people show evidence that they are vaccinated,”

In October, on CBS News “Face The Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked Fauci if “we can gather for Christmas, or it’s just too soon to tell.”

“You know Margaret, it’s just too soon to tell,” Fauci responded. “We’ve just got to concentrate on continuing to get those numbers down and not try to jump ahead by weeks or months and say what we’re going to do at a particular time.”

“Let’s focus like a laser on continuing to get those cases down,” he blabbed on. “And we can do it by people getting vaccinated and also, in the situation where boosters are appropriate, to get people boosted.”

His propaganda is being met with more public dissection.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be listening to Scrooge Fauci,” Senator Rand Paul observed on Twitter. “I know I won’t be.

“Fauci has lost all credibility with the American people,” Rep. Elise Stefanik from New York, stated. “We aren’t waiting on his permission to celebrate Christmas together.”

Quickly branded a Scrooge—among other things—Fauci quickly changed his tune.

“I will be spending Christmas with my family,” Fauci told CNN. “I encourage people, particularly the vaccinated people who are protected, to have a good, normal Christmas with your family.”

___________________________

Please Support These American Owned Businesses

___________________________

Get Your Natural Vitamins A & D from the Sea!

CLICK HERE for GOOD HEALTH!

___________________________

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From award-winning Texas author Cynthia Leal Massey.

My Sister Has COVID and Loves Christmas so This is For Her

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she watches Christmas movies in January, February, March, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. I don’t know why she doesn’t watch them in April. There is just something about April that causes her not to watch them.

I suspect it’s because she devotes her April to listening to David Cassidy of the Partridge Family singing his 1970 hit, I Think I Love You over and over and over and over again.

My sister and me.

Our Mother once told me she suspected it was because David Cassidy’s birthday was April 12th. I’m not going to tell you what our Father said about it because it might hurt her feelings…and who wants to hurt their sister’s feelings in December, so close to Christmas time, especially if they have COVID.

Yes, it’s true. Bobbi and her husband, Perry both tested positive for COVID-19 last week. When I called to check on her yesterday, she was too busy to stay on the phone. Perry and her were putting a train track together around their Christmas tree. No one has time to talk with their favorite and one-and-only sibling when there’s a miniature train to erect.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she starts preparing for the next one at midnight each December 26th.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she doesn’t sing The Twelve Days of Christmas like most people. She sings The Three Hundred and Sixtyfive Days of Christmas. Except on Leap Years, when she bellows out The Three Hundred and Sixtysix Days of Christmas. Her Advent Calender is even 365 days.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that a large portion of her garage and storage shed is dedicated to interior and exterior decorations. That’s for the decorations she doesn’t leave up all year.

My little sister loves Christmas so much my parents had to beg the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy and Cupid to come by our house because they were so jealous.

My little sister loves Christmas so much she plays Christmas music beginning on St. Patrick’s Day.

My little sister loves Christmas music so much she has more Christmas music than I do Elvis Presley recordings…and I have them all.

My little sister loves Christmas so much she infuses peppermint in every dessert and drink she consumes from Halloween through January 3rd, her birthday. Peppermint is a major food group in their pantry.

Bobbi & Perry with her good friend.

My little sister loves Christmas so much a closet is dedicated to overflowing festive accessories and ugly Christmas sweaters.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she literally dreams of a white Christmas every night in December. But she lives near San Antonio, Texas and it never snows on Christmas there.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that, despite it being 87 degrees in the foot of the Texas Hill Country, she will turn on the air conditioning and watch a Yule log burn on her television.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that when you visit during the holidays it looks like Santa’s Workshop exploded.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that her home smells like Mrs. Claus’ Bakery…a block away before arriving.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that no one really knows how many Christmas Trees are on their property and in their home.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that Santa hats, reindeer antlers, ties with snowflakes on them, Christmas light earrings, fuzzy socks that are lined with red and green designs— all of these things and more— are required clothing to wear throughout the final quarter of the year. She thinks Business Casual means a full-on elf costume.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that many times she takes her summer vacation to Disney World for the annual Christmas celebrations throughout their theme parks. This started when their daughter Jessica was an infant over three decades ago.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she’s good friends with Santa Claus. Seriously. Ever since she was a toddler, there was not even a hint of apprehension or fear approaching Jolly Saint Nick at grocery stores, shopping malls or Christmas festival.

I heard him many times call her by name even before she sat on his lap, or yell and wave at her from the top of a Christmas parade sleigh float. They are truly friends.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she knows where all the best Christmas lights are. She doesn’t settle for the best inflatable snowman and twinkling lights in the neighborhood. Bobbi knows where all the most amazing and spectacular displays are in the region…and will drive across the state of Texas if necessary to see them.

My little sister loves Christmas so much that she knows the real reason for Christmas.

God Bless Perry, Bobbi and Jessica Shipman this Christmas Season and Always.

Walt Disney World Offers Magical Traditions for Christmas 2020 Season

Posted on by Texans Jack & Dodie

A reimagined holiday celebration will begin Nov. 6, 2020, at Walt Disney World Resort, with the four theme parks, Disney Springs and Disney resort hotels decked for the season.

Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will reimagine its holiday celebration this year. From Nov. 6 to Dec. 30, when night falls at Magic Kingdom Park, projection effects will transform Cinderella Castle with a kaleidoscope of holiday-themed designs. (David Roark, photographer)

Through Dec. 30, guests will discover seasonal food and drinks at The Most Magical Place on Earth, as well as special merchandise and enchanting new entertainment experiences.

When night falls at Magic Kingdom Park, projection effects will transform Cinderella Castle with a kaleidoscope of designs, including a whimsical Christmas sweater and a regal overlay of red, green and gold ornamentation.

Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., will reimagine its holiday celebration this year. From Nov. 6 to Dec. 30, the resort’s four theme parks and Disney Springs will be decked with festive décor and offer special merchandise, enchanting new experiences and seasonal food and drinks. (Matt Stroshane, photographer)

The iconic castle will provide the perfect colorful background for guests seeking a magical holiday portrait.

Highlights from the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays will begin Nov. 27. Holiday kitchens will return around the World Showcase promenade, offering favorite dishes such as Slow-roasted Turkey with Stuffing at the American Holiday Table. 

Other highlights for the upcoming holiday season at Walt Disney World include:

  • At Magic Kingdom, characters synonymous with the season – including gingerbread men and elves – will join Disney characters in cavalcades through the park. On Main Street, U.S.A., toy soldiers will march with the Main Street Philharmonic as they bring musical cheer for all to hear.
  • Favorite Disney characters dressed in their holiday finest will appear in festive flotillas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, holiday promenades at EPCOT and merry motorcades at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
  • At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Minnie Mouse will host a yuletide dining experience at Hollywood & Vine, inviting some of her best pals – including Santa Goofy – to join the fun.
  • Inside World ShowPlace at EPCOT, JOYFUL! will take guests on a musical journey of holiday music, while Voices of Liberty will use their eight-part harmonies to share songs of the season at the America Gardens Theatre.
  • Elaborately decorated Christmas trees will spring up throughout Disney Springs, and a magical snowfall will occur within Town Center, West Side and The Landing. In addition, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar will transform into Jock Lindsey’s Holiday Bar with delightful décor and a limited-time menu of festive favorites.
  • Disney resort hotels will deck their halls for the holidays, including iconic Christmas trees in lobbies and other festive flourishes.
  • Santa Claus will wave to guests as he makes pop-up appearances at each park, as well as Disney Springs. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, for example, he will sail down Discovery River on a special flotilla.