in the lane snow is glistening...

my neighborhood is pretty close knit. once a month some of the women get together for what we call movie night. our friend kay (who was born and raised in london) is the host. she is a fabulous host at that. each months movie has a drink associated with the season and or movie itself - always makes things more fun. it has proven to be so much fun and has earned me the opportunity to watch movies i may not have seen. at the end of the evening we usually vote for what movie will be aired on the following month. last night our movie group got together for a movie /christmas evening. in the spirit of the season we even did a yankee swap. the movie being shown was it’s a wonderful life. a holiday classic for sure. one in the group had never seen it (she grew up in india) it was a treat. as we were watching the movie i remembered reading on martas blog about a grand ritual in her home, referred to as the george bailey award. they would buy a few copies of it's a wonderful life, wrap them in christmas paper, cast their vote for influential people who had made a difference in their lives that year. then during december, on blustery snowy nights, they’d hop in their van and drop by the home of the lucky (and most surprised) recipients. they would carol at their door before awarding them a video of their own with an explanation of the tradition. she says she has never forgotten the people who won the awards over the years and their random acts of (consistent) kindness that often went unrewarded throughout the other months. the best part about this ritual she says was sitting around the table each year, thinking of the george's in her life; i bet you could easily make a list of george's that have touched your life this year. i think this would be a fantastic christmas tradition and remind us what christmas is all about. love and kisses to you.