Ilona's Christmas and Winter Lenses

Ranked #2,138 in Squidoo Community, #197,270 overall

Get Ready for Lots of Christmas Celebrating

I love Christmas enough to think about it in June... or July ... or just about anytime. Complain about Christmas starting too soon? Not me. Every year I promise - and my husband with me, that we will start early to keep from getting caught up in the rush, but I think October is just not early enough. So I am collecting the new Christmas lenses that I want to develop right here all in one place. No losing lenses, the way I lose those early Christmas purchases. Ever done that?

Collections of Christmas cookies, Advent traditions, Christmas menus.... they will all find a home on this index, right at my fingertips. I can't stand how organized I feel right now! And it is all shared with you, my friends. How cool is that?

With occasional puns, too...

My Christmas Tradition Pages

...out on the web...

Advent Blog
Every year I make daily devotionals for Advent
Loving Christmas
My portal to the Christmas site
Christmas in Ohio
How we celebrate Christmas in the Heartland
Christmas Traditions
My original pages of a cozy Christmas celebration

Christmas

Decorate and Celebrate

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Christmas Traditions

all about celebrating Christmas

All over the world, people are celebrating Christmas with their many customs and traditions. Don't you love to see what other countries do to celebrate this holiday we hold in common? I do.

A Hungarian Christmas

A Scottish Christmas

German Brides Tree

A Swedish Christmas

Swedish Wheat Weaving

I Love Winter, and part of the reason is because that is when we have the Christmas holiday. There are other reasons to love this season, as well.

Grandma Moses was known for her many winter scene paintings. You might enjoy both her folk style and her Yankee attitude.
Grandma Moses and Success
Grandmas Moses Paints Holidays

Advent Calenders

a fun tradiiton

Celebrating Advent can keep you and your family centered in what is often a melee of busy schedules. My grandmother always sent us a beautiful German made paper Advent calender every year. In recent years my family has had fun with a little Advent "village" with little doors that open up to reveal a secret treat. The kids take turns opening "their" door on rotating days. And they are all teens and young adults now!

At Christmas we all become little children- or should!
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Swedish candles brighten the dark nights

Liljeholmens White Kanalljus Taper Candles 8" - 30-pak - Sweden

Amazon Price: (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

They are the best quality, and that makes such a difference in how they burn.

"They use stearin which has a vegetable base and produces an extremely clean and slow burning candle. In addition, these are totally dripless because of the built-in drain channels that reuse and burn the stearin."

Sing a-long Christmas Tunes

Track Artist Album  
I'll Be Home for Christmas Rascal Flatts Unwrapped - EP
Tennessee Christmas Amy Grant Amy Grant Christmas: The Complete Collection
Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) Amy Grant Amy Grant Christmas: The Complete Collection
What Child Is This? (Live) Hillsong Live Celebrating Christmas (Live)
Silent Night (Live) Hillsong Live Jesus Christmas (Live)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Live) Hillsong Live Celebrating Christmas (Live)
Carol of the Bells Maranatha! Christmas Top 40 Christmas
Come On Ring Those Bells The Maranatha! Singers Top 25 Kids' Christmas Songs (Split Tracks)
Angels We Have Heard On High Maranatha! Christmas Top 40 Christmas

Christmas Foods

including Christmas cookies

My Christmas TableI absolutely love Christmas foods. Too much, so. They are full of sugar and butter, and spices, they are rich and luxurious and found within every store, on magazine pages, and on practically every media outlet. Blogs overflow with posts about them. With pictures! Our dieting doesn't stand a chance.

However, did you know that Advent season, the one leading up to the Christmas feast, was one of fasting, much like Lenten season? Yes, it is true and we would gain much less weight over the month of December if we observed it that way. But I doubt if any of us will go quite that far in our Advent observances.

Here are lenses on all that wonderful Christmas food. Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming features. Yum!

Yes, Christmas cookies count as "food", they have fruit and nuts in them, don't they?

Food for the Holidays

Menus, Recipes, and Tips

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Gingerbread House

Need a Quick, Fun Idea?

Skate over to the Gingerbread Christmas Theme Lens, while you are at it.

Create-a-treat Gingerbread House Kit, Deluxe Model, (Decorative Outer Case As Seen in Picture)

Amazon Price: (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

My children and I had fun putting together a quick gingerbread house from a kit. It was a quick project and looked festive- plus we all had lots of fun!

Christmas Gift Ideas

for your favorite people

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Christmas Gifts for Women

Random Lenses for Gift Ideas

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Decorate for the Holidays

Fun Stuff

Featuring Winter

and other winter themes

Some people love winter, and Christmas is not the only holiday during the months when the cold winds blow. Here are lenses related to winter in some way or another....

winter snows postcard
winter snows

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Thanksgiving Lenses

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Swarovski Society Annual Piece Now Available!  Save up to 20% on Unique Gifts at RedEnvelope Free shipping on all Chamilia orders

Best Squidoo Christmas

from other lensmasters

Three featured at a time, from a growing list of extra special Christmas pages.

Scandinavian Folk Dance Christmas Party invitation
Scandinavian Folk Dance Christmas Party

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Get Ready For Christmas on Squidoo

I wish you a Merry Christmas

...and a happy year all year!

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Valentine's Day Lenses

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by

Ilona1

I love Christmas, and only a little after I started writing about gardening... I began to set down all my favorite traditions for the Christmas... more »

Feeling creative? Create a Lens!

Advent Blog 

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Advent Calender 

Byers Choice Christmas House Advent Calendar

Amazon Price: $76.00 (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now

Christmas candles 

100% Beeswax Candles - Set of 4 - 8" Advent Tapers

Amazon Price: $18.00 (as of 06/02/2012)Buy Now