I read a quote the other day that said, “Every Christmas will be different-not better, not worse, just different. You’ll be older. They’ll be older. The magic will shift. Soak it in, because this version of Christmas only happens once.” I felt that SO hard. This Christmas was… Different. Different than last year, different than any year in the past and probably different from any Christmas’ moving forward. It really made me think, about what memories we hold onto.
This Christmas felt rushed. The Kids got out of school on the 20th and I finally tested negative from Covid on December 22. Leaving us 3 days to fit in all the Christmas fun! Lol Not! But that’s just it, we talked to our Kids, now tween/teenagers about what special things make Christmas, Christmas. Spoiler alert, it’s not presents, or copious amounts of baking, or even a horse drawn sleigh ride. Nope, the things our Kids said were nonnegotiables were family Xmas movie, family light hunt, and playing a family board game. Thank goodness because there were a lot of factors against us this holiday season. No snow! Covid! And, a cancellation of our Christmas Eve dinner reservations without being notified! That’s right, I made a reservation at Earls for Christmas Eve! We have never gone out for dinner on Christmas Eve before lol I thought it would be a fun change! I even paid extra to sit in their holiday Wonderland. I received 2 email confirmations and a text message confirming our reservation, December 24 at 4:30 PM! At 4:20 on December 24 we arrived at Earls and the doors were, locked! CLOSED at 4pm on the door. A few staff sat inside staring at us. Staring at a family who doesn’t have Christmas Eve dinner. Of course, nothing in town was open and just then I got a bing and an email alert saying that my reservations had been canceled. Wow. Thanks! We ended up at the only restaurant open, The White Spot! For those of you that don’t have a White Spot I would compare it to, Perkins or Denny’s. My family spent Christmas Eve dinner at The White Spot lol and the Kids loved it! And we had a blast! And this will be the story that we will all remember! Not that we had a mediocre dinner in a “holiday wonderland” on Christmas Eve dinner but having a fun holiday dinner that we can all laugh about later.
Not better, not worse, just different. My Dad flew to Winnipeg to spend Christmas with my Brother and my Niece for the first time! My Brother had his Mom and his Dad at his Christmas morning PLUS with his Daughter for the first time in almost 50 years! I am so happy for him! However, that meant I didn’t see 1 of my immediate family members for the first time ever at Christmas! Unfortunately, my Sister and her family came down with Covid over the holidays and were unable to attend Christmas dinner as well! Different! HBear is getting older and asked if her boyfriend could attend Christmas dinner… Different lol.
I have had 45 Christmases and every single one has left a lasting impression on my heart. No matter how your Christmas was, it was Christmas 2024. There are no do overs, it is now just a memory. Merry Christmas AND Happy Hanukah I hope everyone made the most of it and had a wonderful holiday.
What a year for HoneyBears & SydneyBeans! 2024 was a year of learning and growing with the blog as it was my first complete year using this new format and blog host. I have adjusted, tweaked and worked out most of the kinks over the past 12 months but would love to hear your input! Let me know what you like, or what you don’t like or if you’re having trouble reading it on your phone or would prefer a different font! Let me know!
I am an Amazon Affiliate and I want to thank everyone who uses my link below for all your Amazon shopping needs. I was able to use the small commission that I received this year to pay the annual fee for my NEW blog site!!!
Having a new site has definitely had its ups and downs. While I love being able to print my recipes, individual recipe blocks take more time to edit and construct. Thankfully, Ninja has become my blog chef! While my MS has made my focus and balance difficult for me to work in the kitchen, Ninja has taken over cooking duties while I do most of the baking, plan meals, shop for them, prep them, and edit all the pictures and videos Ninja takes while preparing our delicious meals. It’s a system, I didn’t say it was great, but we are working on it lol! Thank you Ninja for making my passion project, YOUR passion project. I love you SO much, how much is so? Much much more than you’ll ever know.
This year, I definitely noticed a trend to my viewership. The posts that get the most views are my Weekly Meal Plans, my Book Recommendations and the posts when I get real about my MS. My annual post about my Mom’s Anniversary always hits a lot of viewers hearts and you guys sure do like Ninja’s cocktails!
This year all my views were reset to 0. Starting on a new platform after a decade has been humbling. It has been REALLY interesting to see which old posts from 2010 or 2021 really skyrocket in views now that everything has been reset and I can see all my new viewers over the past year. I’ve been at this for over 10 years and this year, struggling with a new platform and getting my past followers to resubscribe and follow after the big change has been difficult, but with your help, HoneyBears & SydneyBeans can continue to grow! Please share! Subscribe! Help me… Help you! Lol
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Thank you SO much for a GREAT year! Click the post titles below to revisit YOUR 10 favourites posts from 2024!
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #410: Christmas Hangover. This week, we get together after a busy week of holiday cheer! Topics: new mixer, Christmas Eve, Earls vs White Spot, Xmas lights, Hallmark, hockey pools, Reindeer Games, Geocaching, SOW, & the New Year.
How can so much happen in just 1 short week?? We had our Annual Raclette Dinner, finished wrapping, finished my antiviral pills, decorated the tree, finished our advent calendars, opened up our Christmas Eve box from Maynard, went to the white spot for Christmas Eve. Dinner, saw an amazing light show on our Christmas light hunt, played Christmas games, watched Christmas movies and then let Santa know we were ready for him with sparklers on the balcony!
Christmas! One day of the year but SO many pictures!!! This year Dad was in Winnipeg spending Christmas with my Bro and PrettyP, my Sis and her family were down with Covid and this was only my second Christmas ever without MY family. So grateful to have been able to spend the holidays HEALTHY with my MIL and FIL, Ninja and the Kids. It was a wonderful day.
The days after Christmas were spent recovering, HBear played D&D with her friends, SBean went tubing with her Besty up at Apex, I prepped for January, and SBean tried out her new Jenna Rae Bakes cookbook!
This weekend we had our annual Castle Christmas and 2nd annual Reindeer Games with our nieces! We went geocaching, picked up Papa from the airport, played fun games, watched movies, had a sleepover, had a delicious brunch and then opened up presents! I am grateful to have had such a wonderful weekend of celebration with family.
