As my friends and I were talking about over on Twitter today, this year, we will all be looking to build meaning into Christmas. Though the motivating factor is mostly financial, it serves as a great reminder to us all that the holidays are about deeper, more meaningful things. We spoke quite a lot about our families and wanting to find a way to enjoy the time we could spend with each other, as many of us can only visit for either Christmas or Thanksgiving (some are even combining it to make it Christgiving!).
Lots of creative and amazing suggestions came from the group about making gifts, photo books, drawing names…I suggested creating a coupon book that entitles the redeemer to various household chores, nights on the town, etc. But I also think there are ways that we can plan special activities for our time together to make it more meaningful…and really, that’s one of the best gifts of all.
So today, I am sharing a couple of ideas that I think are incredibly fun and center around the fireplace. These are sure to create meaning and memories for years to come.
In American history, fireplaces were considered the heart of a home. In addition to serving to warm the house, these huge walk-in style fireplaces were used to cook meals, heat the bath water, heat the water to clean clothes and so on. No house could exist without it. Now, we more often use our fireplaces for comfort and additional heat. Very few homes are entirely heated by fireplaces. And, we have stopped cooking in them, almost entirely.
My suggestion to you is to bring back fireplace cooking! Yes, that sounds strange at first, but remember the song that
starts “chestnuts roasting on an open fire”? Um, hello…your fireplace is an open fire! In fact, there are chestnut roasting pans and popcorn pans for fireplaces and those items can be ordered from specialty websites and catalogs.
But I suggest something even more simple. How about grabbing graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows and making smores? The camping section of your local all purpose store has long metal forks that can be used to roast the marshmallows. Have the family sit together in front of the fireplace while listening to Christmas carols…doesn’t get much better than that. You can make hot dogs in the same way…fun on a cold Saturday afternoon!
And, one of my favorite things to do is to clean potatoes, use a bit of vegetable oil on the skins and some salt, wrap tightly in tin foil, and bury them in the coals UNDER the grate of the fire. True it is not as hands on as the smores, but it is so much fun to eat! And it tastes absolutely out of this world…plus, you are getting double the energy bang for your buck for the fireplace.
I am sure you will have your own ideas about how to make the holidays meaningful…I would love to hear about them!
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