That night we picked out our movie, made our popcorn and settled on the couch to enjoy the rewards of our first purchase. Well, to say the least, the popcorn was horrible. Through the next weeks, we tried different variations of making the popcorn but to no avail. We soon came to the conclusion that this was a bad purchase, but the popcorn maker still held a special place in my heart....it was afterall, our FIRST purchase together! So, we pushed it to the back of the cupboards and forgot about it.December rolled around and in an effort to put the popcorn popper to good use, we decided to create the tradition of stringing popcorn (made with the beloved little device) and cranberries for our Christmas tree. We would make our own garland and watch "It's a Wonderful Life." It was perfect! In the end, we watched a great
movie, created a new tradition AND saved the popcorn maker from uncertain death.
And so the tradition became. We continued it until Aidan was born. We have yet to string the popcorn since Aidan's birth and consequently our tree has been lacking the garland since our move to the new house.
Yesterday afternoon, Aidan asked my parents if he could stay the night. They, of course, said yes. Immediately, the popcorn maker drifted into my mind. This was going to be the night! Paul and I enjoyed a quiet dinner out and then headed home to string our garland. We had watched "It's a Wonderful Life" just last week, on a night that Aidan fell asleep early because he was ill. So we decided to watch "Grumpy Old Men" instead. It didn't matter, it was still fun to have our tradition back and enjoy the peaceful house, with only the dog snoring at our feet.
3 comments:
Hey Jenny!
This is a great tradition. It is one my mom has done for as long as I can remember. In fact, I think trees look funny without it! My mom also started keeping the garland from year to year. I know it sounds weird, but when they take it off the tree she just put it in a bag and puts it with the other Christmas stuff. You really can't tell the difference. That way she doesn't have to make it every year! Just though I would share!
Nicole (Charles's wife, just in case you were wondering :-)
What an awesome tradition (and reason to store the popcorn popper in your cupboard guilt-free). I'm glad you and Paul have decided to do it as a "couples" tradition - that's really special!
I'm loving the blog posts!
Thanks, Nicole! I'll have to try storing this years garland. We usually feed the birds with it, but we'll have to try your storing solution. What a time saver!
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