I Will Honour Christmas In My Heart

I will honour Christmas in my heart,
and try to keep it all the year.
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.
I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!

~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Church, Christmas Celebrations and Tablescapes, 2022









 

 Welcome to my Christmas Blog, A Debbie-Dabble Christmas!!

 I am so happy you decided to stop by my Christmas Blog!!

  Every room in our townhouse has a different Christmas Theme and Color Scheme!!
 
 I prove that you do not have to live in a large home to have several Trees, over 20, in all shapes and sizes!!

The majority of my Christmas decorations are placed in the same room every year and I know that this is not what most Decorator's care for but to me, it like seeing old friends again when I decorate each year for Christmas as many of my decorations were gifts from family and friends........... 

I do try to add a few new things and change up things a bit but for the most part, these decorations are part of my Christmas Traditions and bring back a lot of treasured memories.....


I am now posting 3 times a week !!!
 
 I will be posting on TUESDAY, THURSDAY and SATURDAY
 

  As always, click on each picture if you would like to enlarge it....


Today, I will be sharing some Christmas Celebrations, Tablescapes and our Church decorated for Christmas!! 

 

 Joe and I wish you all a very HAPPY and HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!!!!


Many Blessings in 2023!!

I will be doing my annual One Little Word post sometime in January....


In my last post, I shared my Face book friend Mary Jane's home decorated for Christmas!!!

 


 

 

 

 Click HERE if you missed that post....

I want to Thank Dee, over at Grammy's Grid, for choosing my post, Living Room Christmas Vignettes, as one of her features from the last Unlimited Link Up Party!!


 Thanks so much, Dee!!

Please stop by and link up to this charming party!!!


So far, it has been a wonderfully busy Christmas Season and it is not over yet!!!!

 I started off the Christmas celebrations for our family of 5 with this tablesscape for Christmas Eve....

 


In the center of the table is a package of Polish Oplatki....


Unfortunately, this is a Tradition that we no longer keep as my sons can not stand the taste of the Oplatki and refused to eat it a long time ago.....

 
So I place a package on the table as a remembrance of the traditions that Joe and I both grew up with....
 
You can read about this Polish Tradition HERE....


The Manger scene in the center of the table was bought in J.C. Penney's several years ago....





You can see there is a scene on all 4 sides....
 
I bought the dishes a few years ago in Dollar General....




I used my gold flatware and crystal Long Champ stemware...


  In addition to serving the Tradition of whole potatoes with butter and a side dish of mushrooms like my Mother did, Pierogies are a must as part of the Polish Tradition for Christmas Eve Holy Supper or Wigilia, which is usually a meatless dinner....

 

 I bought my pierogies at a local place, Pierce Deli, which have home made ones and all I had to do was boil them for about 3 minutes and added the butter and onions....


We buy our Seafood for Christmas Eve Holy Supper at a local seafood distributor and store, Valley Seafood......


Scallops and shrimp

 
And chicken fingers for Joey, who does not eat fish, even though it is supposed to be a meatless Dinner.....


Tartar and cocktail sauce.....

And this was all that was left from the seafood and chicken!!!

I have it down to a science that I do not have left overs....

I write everything down in my Christmas Planner so I know how much to buy each year....

Of course our sweet Grand Pups were the center of attention....

Especially in their pretty Christmas dresses!!!

 LOL!!

They do love their Uncle Joey!!


 And Jim and Danielle wore matching Christmas Sweaters as a Joke!!!


 I guess when you work in retail like they do there are times when you really do Hate Christmas....

Like on Christmas Eve Morning when Jim had to unload a truck at Target in 1 degree.....

Miss Faye on G Pop's lap checking if there is any food left...


 Miss Azumi wanted a seat at the table too...

And then in her Mama's lap!

 

 Santa brought them new toys to have at Mimi and G Pop's house....


 And when it was time to go home they had to have their jean jackets put on because it was 10 degrees....

 



 In addition to the toys Santa left for the pups, their Mom and Dad also received these presents fromt he pups!!




 
Christmas Day morning started with us going to Mass for the first time in many years on Christmas Day.....

Having to working either the Eve or the Day night of the Holiday along with changes in Mass times because of Christmas and then the Pandemic, made it impossible for me to go to Mass on Christmas Day for quite a long time....

I was thrilled when the Pandemic came along and churches started to Live Stream their Masses, especially at Christmas...

But this year, our new Pastor kept the only Mass we have for Christmas Day at 9:15 am which is our normal time for Sunday Mass and that allowed me enough time to come home and put the turkey in the oven for 3:30 pm Dinner.....

Since it was a Balmy 12 degrees on Christmas Day morning, I wore my 3rd Christmas sweater.....



I was not smiling because I could not get my one cameras to work....

You may remember my faux fur coat I showed you a few posts back....


Well, since it is reversible, I flipped it so the fur would keep me nice and warm in the frigid weather we were having....

Yes, 2 for the price of one!!

And I only paid $100 several years ago in Burlington for it!!!


Now I want to share how beautiful our church, Saint Maria Goretti, looked......

When you walk into the vestibule the 3 Wise Men are to the right....


They will be placed inside the church on Epiphany, The Feast of the 3 Kings, which is on January 6th and is the official end of the Christmas Season in the Catholic Church....

An Angel harkens the Birth of the New born King....


This is the Grotto of Saint Maria Goretti outside the church.....

This is the small chapel where daily Masses are celebrated....

A Banner before you walk into the Church.....

A Christmas Tree is to the left....

And then you walk into the Church itself....

Our church was built a little over 50 years ago.....

A prism on the wall caused by sunshine coming through the stained glass window...










The Christ Child lays on a bed of white roses....

After Mass, we came home and I threw this 5.7 pound turkey breast in the oven.....

I also made 3 rings of turkey kielbasi, one for dinner and one each for my sons to take home....

I boil and then fry the kielbasi....

 
I also made a ring of cheese kielbasi!

On Saturday, I made my Dad's Sausage Filling....

And a 3 pound boneless ham....

I also served mashed potatoes with turkey gravy and corn.....

I set this more whimsical tablescape for Christmas Day Dinner...

I bought these dessert plates in Dollar General this year.....



I was originally going to use them for my Table at this coming year's Harvest Tea at our Church but I changed my mind....

I used a tablecloth with red cardinals on it to symbolize those in our family who are no longer with us in person but in spirit, they are present.....

I used my gold flatware again....

And my vintage Libbey Gold Leaf glassware...

In the center is a Snow Man I made from tin cans.....





Not too much in the center of the table because as my son Joey always says, you have to have room for the Food!!!

Once again, the Grand Pups stole the show on Christmas Day with their new Christmas sweaters!!!!

FelizNavi DOG!!!!

Still playing and chewing on the new toys Santa brought them!!







I guess all the Christmas celebrations was just too much for them!!!



They fell fast asleep!!!

I had ONE SMALL PIECE of turkey left after Dinner!!!
 
Now was that good planning or what????
 

I did have some ham left over so I made Hot Ham and Cheese Sliders on Monday for Dinner....

I used potato Slider buns instead of the Hawaiian Buns which all the recipes call for and Spicy Brown Mustard instead of Dijon....

We liked them better....

We had them with the Turkey Bone Broth Soup I made from the bones of our Thanksgiving and Christmas Day Turkey Breasts....

I put it in mason jars which makes it easier for my sons to take some home!

On Tuesday, I set a fun tablescape for a pizza party as my Nieces were coming to visit!!!

 



 
Christmas paper plates from Sam's Club for the Pizza.....


 
The pretty runner was given to me by Trish, who owns the house next door, when her SO's parents passed away and they cleaned out their home....





We enjoyed a wonderful visit with my Niece Renae and Great Nieces Cortney, Caitlin and Carly!!!!

So much so that I forgot to take pictures!!

 

 On Thursday, we celebrated our oldest son Joey's 41st Birthday!!

Of course I had to set a whimsical tablescape for that!!!





Joey loved dinosaurs when he was a child so I used the same Dynomite plates I used for our son Jim's Birthday in the beginning of December.......



And Penguin glasses!!



We are really not into Baked Goods or having dessert after Dinner but we do like Ice Cream so we get Ice Cream cakes....


It is hard for me to think that I have a 41 year old son when I feel better and younger than I have in many years.....

And the Pups looked pretty in their new pink sweaters for Joey's Birthday celebration!!!!

Our DIL Danielle talking to Joe....

 

 Azumi is her Mama's pup!!

 

 While Faye is her Daddy's pup!



Joe checking out Joey's $30 winner on a Lottery ticket from Jim and Danielle.....

And Joey scratched off a $5 winner on a ticket from us!!


He was thrilled as he is like me and does not buy Lottery Tickets....


 Next up on Friday was a visit from my good friend Anne Marie!!

I set a simple table to sit down and have a few goodies....

 

 

 

The new crystal glasses match the "plaid" in my gold place mats....


I will tell you more about them in my next post....


We had a wonderful afternoon, visiting and catching up and it was so good to see her after her recent health issues.....

If you would like to see Anne Marie's home decorated for Christmas this year, please click HERE!!!

Again, we had such an enjoyable time, I forgot to take pictures.....


Whew!!!

It has been a busy but wonderful week full of visits from family and friends!!!

Now why would I even think of taking down my Christmas decorations right after Christmas Day like some people do?????

I personally do not understand why people rush the most wonderful Holiday of the year away like that.....

I will start to convert the Den over to Winter decor on maybe Tuesday but the rest of the house will remain decorated for Christmas until January 6th, the fest of the 3 Kings, which is the official end of the Christmas Season!!!


On TUESDAY,  in my next post, I will be sharing After Christmas Buys, Gifts and a few Crafts that I have done for Christmas that I have not shared yet....




Along with 2 more tablescapes for New Year's Eve and Day Dinners......

So I hope you will stop by to visit again on TUESDAY!!!!

Stay safe, healthy and most of all, HAPPY!!

Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!

If you do not have a blog, PLEASE  give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment.  If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......


 I am linking up to these parties:

 

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9 comments:

  1. Lowcarb team memberDecember 31, 2022 at 8:03 PM

    Thank you for all the lovely photographs.
    Wishing you a Happy New Year.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Louca por porcelanaJanuary 1, 2023 at 4:14 PM

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wonderful Christmas vignettes. Love seeing your beautiful church. Blessings.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JeanieJanuary 2, 2023 at 9:57 AM

    Beautiful tables, delicious foods, Christmas everywhere! It looks like a wonderful and long celebration. Happiness to you in the new year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Linda BakerJanuary 2, 2023 at 2:52 PM

    Hey Debbie,
    Everything in this post warms my 💗 heart...from enjoying your lovely church, to all the special table settings and food, and entertaining your precious family and friends...plus seeing the grandpups in their "holiday finery"...such a nice visit. 💖 Thank you!
    You've probably talked about this in earlier posts, but could you please tell me about choosing a word for the New Year? I'm not familiar with the idea.
    Also the turkey broth looks so "rich" in those jars. How is it used, as a soup base?
    I loved reading about the Polish tradition of Oplatki. And you look terrific!
    Blessings, Linda

    ReplyDelete
  5. Debbie-Dabble Blog and A Debbie-Dabble ChristmasJanuary 3, 2023 at 3:45 PM

    Linda,
    Thanks so much for stopping by again!!! Glad you enjoyed the post...It was a good Holiday season for us to say the least..The One Little Word thing is something I have done for over a decade now...You choose a Word to focus on for the whole year....Mine last year was Thrive...Here is a link to that post...
    https://debbie-dabbleblog.blogspot.com/2022/01/my-one-little-word-theme-and-goal-for.html
    I add noddles to the turkey broth and we eat it as a soup...I make it just like my Dad taught me how to do...I only gained 1 pound where i normally gain about 10 at a minimum over the Holidays so i am happy with that but now I am back on my journey to lose more weight....Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year, my friend!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

    ReplyDelete
  6. Carol BentonJanuary 5, 2023 at 5:58 PM

    Your Christmas table settings look great! Also, the grandpups look so cute in their holiday finery. Thank you for sharing this post in the Talent-Sharing Tuesdays Link-Up 47.
    Carol
    www.scribblingboomer.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dee | GrammysGrid.comJanuary 6, 2023 at 12:25 AM

    Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 97. Shared.

    ReplyDelete
  8. PaulaShort January 6, 2023 at 10:32 AM

    Happy New Year Debbie! Oh my goodness the pups are precious.
    Visiting today from Unlimited Linky #17

    ReplyDelete
  9. Southern SunflowersJanuary 10, 2023 at 3:55 PM

    Your Dollar General plates and the paper plates from Sam's Club are so cute. I like the adorable dog ornaments, too. Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty!

    ReplyDelete

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