Rob’s Megaphone » Blog Archive » This is how I kick start my Christmas spirit.

20 Nov, 2008

This is how I kick start my Christmas spirit.

Posted by: robertstevenson In: Thoughts| music

T minus 35 days and counting . . .

Call me sentimental, but I love holiday traditions.

And seeing TSO each year has become a holiday tradition for my boys and me. Tonight we watched Trans Siberian Orchestra videos on YouTube for about an hour in preparation for our next TSO roadtrip/pilgrimage extravaganza next week. Thus beginning, at least in my family, the official start of glad tiding (aren’t all tidings glad?) and yule cheer (or Ya’ll cheer – here in SC).

The video below was the choice my boys made for me to post here. So here’s their gift to you.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGrhzCgy_bg]

If you’d like, share your traditional kickoff for the holiday season. Unless you tell me otherwise, I’ll post them along with your web url below. By the way, I know some say happy holidays, but I prefer Merry Christmas. And this time of year, when somebody wishes me a Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or Happy Ramadan, I wish them a Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, or Happy Ramadan right back.

Tags: christmas, extravaganza, hanukkah, holiday, kwanzaa, orchestra, pilgrimage, ramadan, siberian, tradition, trans, youtube

10 Responses to "This is how I kick start my Christmas spirit."

1 | Outside My Brain

November 21st, 2008 at 4:20 am

Robert,

Your boys have great taste! That is a wonderful song. I was wondering if y’all had run across this one in your YouTube preparations for next week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmgf60CI_ks

Have a wonderful day!
Bradley

Follow Me: twitter.com/OutsideMyBrain

2 | rainforestrobin

November 21st, 2008 at 4:42 pm

Oh Rob, this is one of the most moving things I’ve ever heard. I have tears in my eyes. Tears of joy. …and that your dear boys picked this makes it even more precious. They have beautiful souls to pick something like this.

I grew up with very special Christmases. My mother was very much into decorating and with all six of us kids. We often made decoration and we also kept decorations year after year. Every Christmas we’d all go to the attic with Mom and haul out the boxes and oooh and aaah over the decorations like it was the first time we ever saw them. We baked and decorated Christmas cookies with Mom, and we’d all decorate the tree while listening to Christmas music, And we hung hung stockings and left food for Santa. It was truly a magical time. And one year my Dad turned Christmas into the 12 days of Christmas and we would sing that song every night (and laugh and get silly doing it) and Mom made little mince tarts and we even had a candle that burned down for each day. Then we got to open one present each night…they weren’t expensive presents but it was fun. As kids we often found that hard (not to open them all at once. And yet it was also fun because when everyone else had ended Christmas we were still celebrating. Years later I looked back with great joy on that tradition that Dad started. It was magical and meaningful.

I am deeply moved all that you are doing as a single parent for your boys. I feel great respect for you and am so happy for them and you.

Hugs,
Robin

3 | mike

November 22nd, 2008 at 11:49 pm

Hi Rob! I start here by playing some Christmas music CDs we have. After Thanksgiving we start finding the decorations for the Christmas tree which are in a million boxes not labeled in the garage. ha.

November 26th, 2008 at 10:56 am

Rob, thank you for posting this. I love the Trans Siberian Orchestra and listen to them every year. The town where I live has kicked off the season by decorating the square downtown as they do every year. You can read about it on my Dancing With Daisy blog here:
http://dancingwithdaisy.blogspot.com/2008/11/christmas-on-square.html

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to you and your boys!

5 | RMI

November 27th, 2008 at 7:28 am

Thanks boys for choosing something so beautiful. You have just reminded me of my hopes and wishes for this Christmas. I just want to be in my home, with my son, enjoying Christmas.

I ve had some lonely Christmas times, but this year I want to spend time enjoying what I have and not worrying about what I don’t have.

I’m racked with guilt for not trying to please everyone this time around. Why does this time of year have to be so difficult for so many people?

You have given me the inspriration I need to start the festive season. This weekend has to be the one to climb into the loft and dust down the Christmas decorations!! I don’t want a special Christmas, just a normal one like it used to be, with smiles and laughter. RMI x

December 1st, 2008 at 2:58 pm

Very nice. Merry Christmas!

7 | A Dexter Macaldo

December 2nd, 2008 at 6:49 pm

Awesome!

A Mery Christmas to u

8 | OutsideMyBrain

December 8th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

Robert,

I just wanted to come back by this post and let you know that you and your boys have forever attached yourselves, in my mind, to this song. We listen to 103.7fm here in Dallas, which plays non-stop Christmas songs until New Years Day starting the week of Thanksgiving. Everytime this song comes on, I am reminded of you and your boys and it puts a smile on my face.

Thanks for being a great friend here on the internet. Hopefully someday we’ll have the chance to meet!

Have a wonderful week,
Bradley
@OutsideMyBrain

9 | Outside My Brain

December 19th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

Rob,

I wanted to come back by and let you know that I have been thinking about you and your boys alot this Christmas season. You see, every time this song comes on the radio now, I think of you. You have created a permanent link in my mind to this song and it’s leaking over to all TBO songs. lol.

It’s a good thing because you are a wonderful friend! It’s amazing how the brain works, but the thought of you and your boys enjoying an evening of YouTube search brings a smile to my face every time I hear this song now.

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas holiday. Enjoy the time off, and enjoy every minute that you have with those boys. They are truly a wonderful gift you have recieved from above.

Take care,
Bradley
@OutsideMyBrain

10 | nysoccermike

January 17th, 2009 at 9:52 pm

Did everyone have a nice Christmas?

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Hi! I'm Dr. Rob. I'm a father of two wonderful sons, a mass communications professor, and a blogger. Through Rob's Megaphone, my hope is to inform and entertain. Hope you get a chance to view my previous posts in the "Categories" menu below. Drop me a line if you have any feedback. Thanks a bunch!

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