Are you feeling festive this season? It has been five years since I posted about the theme “festive.” Let’s go back in time for a moment.
“Christmas will always be, as long as we stand, heart-to-heart and hand-in-hand.” –Dr. Seuss (from How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
Remembering Holiday Festivities of December 2018
We hosted a Japanese exchange student for one week in December five years ago. The students were part of a cultural and educational exchange program hosted by a nearby church/private school for grades K-12. During the day, these students engaged in school and holiday activities.
The program also hosted several evening events, including visiting local festive neighborhood light displays. Our exchange student celebrates Christmas with her family, but only the retail stores in Japan have decorations up for the season. She got a kick out of seeing the neighborhood Christmas lights, the interior home decor, and hearing Christmas music.
December 2018 was quite festive in many ways!
We also participated in our first Jingle Bell Walk and Pup Crawl. I fondly remember our good friend and his dog (who still live in NorCal), and of course, little Aero!
“One of the most enduring friendships in history; dogs and their people, people and their dogs.” ~ Terry Kay
The following week our neighbors got married in their backyard (next door to our Sacramento home). It was quite festive for a small ceremony. No photographer was on hand, so I happily stepped in and captured this winning shot of the happy couple. I surprised them with a canvas print of the image.
Outdoor Festivities of Today
“There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.” – Bob Phillips
The Stevens County Fire District No. 1 traditionally escorts Santa and his sleigh through the neighborhood streets during the first two weeks of December, a much-anticipated and enduring tradition! After two years of living here, we finally saw them in action. They stopped right in front of our house! We felt as giddy as kids when he passed out the candy canes!
Yes, there is snow here this winter, thankfully not as much as last winter (so far). Which makes outdoor decorating a little easier.
Deer decor seems to be a popular theme with other neighbors, too.
Do we have to be children again to feel festive?
“Above all, never let age extinguish the fire of your inner child.” – S. Ajna
“You’ll never be bored when you try something new. There’s really no limit to what you can do!” – Dr. Seuss
Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week
Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.
Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders
The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.
- Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
- Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
- Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
- Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
- Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
- I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.
This Week’s Featured Bloggers
Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers, poets, artists, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their FESTIVE photos. I add these all week as new links are posted.
- YOUR BLOG’S NAME GOES HERE…
- The 59 Club
- Always Write
- Babsje Heron
- Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
- Deb’s World
- The Dog Lady’s Den
- Graham’s Island
- Hugh’s Views and News
- Light Words
- Loving Life
- Natalie the Explorer
- The New 3 Rs
- Picture Retirement
- Stevie Turner
- Tanka Tuesday (Colleen Chesebro)
- This is Another Story
- Tranature
- Travels and Trifles
- Travel with Me
- Walkin’ Writin’ Wit And Whimsy
- Woolly Muses
- Working on Exploring
This is my last Sunday Stills challenge until December 31, when I publish my annual Year-in-Review post, sharing my favorite images of 2023. If the festive holidays find you too busy to post anything that week, the theme is also open from January 7 through January 12. I will share your links during those two weeks.
Please visit my Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Page for details.
- Dec 17 FESTIVE
- Dec 24 No Challenge—Merry Christmas!
- Dec 31-Jan 7 2023 Year in Review
What’s festive in your life as you prepare for the holidays?
Please enjoy a wonderful Christmas and holiday season from our house to yours!
Merry Christmas to you all!
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