Parisian Phoenix Publishing

On Tuesday, Parisian Phoenix joined other Made in the Lehigh Valley vendors attending the Friends of Pete networking event/holiday party in Fogelsville, Pa. Of course, between that and the recent cold and snow, I am pondering books and the holidays. In our house, I always encouraged the reading of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. I have the 1982 version, which I remember as a treat from the Scholastic Book Fair in school. The cover and publication date was when I was in elementary school, so the recollection may be correct.

I have a memory of watching it on television, and we lived in the valley along the river which means it had to be on network television because we did not have cable until my middle school/high school years. This was a bit before the movie released last year.

Like many members of Generation X, my family had its socio-economic and personal challenges— maybe that’s why I loved the Herdmans so much. I could see myself in some of the story, especially since my mother exposed me to religion but never participated herself. If she hadn’t sent me to Protestant church services every Sunday, I might have been the child learning the Christian significance for the first time.

The Herdmans reminded me of my blessings, that it was okay to not have what the other families had, and that we can come together to forge a path.

What are your holiday favorite books and films?

We’ve all heard the arguments for whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Do you have an unorthodox Christmas favorite? Eva Parry swears by The Ref— because nothing says Christmas like Denis Leary and Kevin Spacey. I’ve included some clips below. Be sure to notice the older woman, that’s Glynnis Johns, who played the young Suffragette in Mary Poppins.

Dinner

A Giant Cross

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

We always enjoyed the original cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Darrell Parry drew a picture of me as the Grinch to poke fun at my December moods.

There are many Christmas traditions I like— hosting (I cooked Christmas dinner for my stepmother’s family of 20+ for about seven years, and I love an intimate Christmas party to tree a tree); holiday music (our family distributed a music CD for years instead of a Christmas card, and it featured a few carols by our daughter, much to her chagrin); and the small gestures of kindness among friends and strangers.

But the pressure also gets to me— the expectations of getting certain places at certain times; the deadlines, everywhere, people needing both items and projects before the end of the year or a gathering; balancing the gift-giving for thoughtfulness and economy and equity; and not forgetting anyone or anything.

These days, my circle of family and friends has gotten smaller, allowing me to scale back on obligations and focus on the most important parts of life. My Christmas season has more pagan traditions. And it all involves a lot of books!