Christmas Caroling memories

Growing up in  Parchment,MI  in the late 1960's, early '70's, I remember that a large group of us neighborhood kids used to get together and go around to houses in the neighborhood and go Christmas caroling.

I'm not talking about a local church organizing the singing, I'm talking just a bunch of kids from the neighborhood would get together and go around singing. We all went to different churches, and, at least in my own case,lol....weren't necessarily in the choirs at our churches or schools. We just liked singing Christmas carols, I guess?

I can't remember who started it, why we started, or how many years we did it...but I do know that my little sister (10 years younger) says she still remembers going with us. I remember that there was always a lady at one house who would insist that we have divinity candy when we were done singing, which I despised then and still do to this day, but always took a piece to be polite.

Thought about that today, so went on a YouTube search for some of the songs we used to sing....a capella, of course, since that's how we used to sing:) bundled up against the cold, and I don't remember us having sheet music to read, either, we just sang the Christmas carols by heart, because we all knew them.

So, here's a short set of Christmas carols for you to enjoy:)

Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Joy to the World

O Little Town of Bethlehem

Silent Night

and ending with, always my favorite
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

(and a pic of two of my siblings on the back porch of our house'back in the day')

(Update: my sis mentioned in the comments the Christmas play we did, so I'm adding the picture for that,too)

we made our own costumes, and did a version of the Christmas story at a local nursing home, I believe.

Uncle Ken's retirement party

Went to  Ken's surprise retirement dinner last night, it was a lovely night of family and friends all joining together.
It would be nice to see pictures, wouldn't it?
However, since the batteries in the camera were 'exhausted' before Ken ever arrived,
and since the batteries I had brought just in case that happened Didn't Work,either!
I'm left sharing a nice picture of the table, at the place where we ate

(actually, Kyle and April took some pics with their cell phones, after my camera batteries tanked....I'm just...Ahem!....waiting for them to Send them to me,hint!)

Kevin and Brian both said some very nice things about, and to, their Dad.
One of the things they both mentioned was how much their Dad's example of how to Be a father, and a Christian, had affected Them.

And it occurred to me, sitting there later when we were laughing at old family favorites "one hen, two ducks.." and "in the little red schoolhouse"...etc.

That it went back to Grandad

and all the stories I had heard about how 'silly' he could be, and yet also all of his children have always talked about what a good father, and Christian, he was....and so many of the qualities that the 'boys' were mentioning about their father, were passed down from Grandad.

And that made me wonder what Grandad's father had been like? because, I'll be honest,when I look at This picture I have of my great-grandparents? the word 'goofy and silly' doesn't spring to mind, when you look at my great-grandfather,lol.

and yet.....he shaped what Grandad became, just as Grandad shaped the man Ken became, the man we were helping to celebrate welcoming the next phase of his life last evening :)

and so, come to think of it...it's kind of cool, to have that picture of the long table stretching out....kind of an analogy of the links to our past, and our future, all sitting together at that table last night.

Enjoy your retirement,Ken!

Decorating finished:)

yes, we even decorated the dogs,lol....as you can see, they were less than thrilled.

starting to get the Christmas spirit!!:)

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas:)

While we're decorating today, wanted to share one of my favorite Christmas songs.....