Salute to Spouses Blog

We're excited to be blogging about the latest topics in military life. We want to keep you informed on topics such as current events, education, career advice, etc. Feel free to post comments or questions to any of our entries.
Mele Kalikimaka!

Seongtanjeol jal bonaeyo!

Froehliche Weihnachten ! 
I'd Miilad Said Oua Sana Saida!

Over the years our Army family has been able to celebrate the holidays around the world. Sure, it stinks to be far from family but learning the cherished holiday traditions of another land is a gift I would never trade.

In Germany we oooh’d and aaah’d over the gorgeous, handcrafted decorations made by artisans there.

In Kuwait we explored their calendar of holidays, which different greatly from ours. We were thankful to experience the gentle culture for ourselves rather than through the lens of biased media reports.

This year, my kids are basking in the glow of a bright Hawaiian Christmas complete with swaying palm trees. We visited the local tree farm in flip flops, hung our stockings in the breeze on the back porch and will spend Christmas day on the warm, white sands.

Please join our contributors as they recall their favorite holiday moments over the years.

Wherever the holidays find you this year, I wish you joy, peace and happiness.

From our family to yours, Happy Holidays,

Allison

 

One of my favorite Christmas memories is that of the second Christmas with my sweet soldier. We were making our first Christmas dinner together. He wanted to try his hand at deep frying a turkey. He read online. He artfully measured the oil and he skillfully dipped that turkey into the oil. It became a "group project" because I was filming the whole process for insurance purposes. The turkey was delicious and became a staple of the Young Family Christmas. Any time our sweet soldier is home for the holidays, we deep fry a turkey! Merry Christmas and Strength and CourageSarah B. Young, Deployment Soundtrack

When I was a curious 9-year-old on the "Santa Borderline," my father staged a wonderful video setup on Christmas Eve. While my brother and I were asleep, my dad's best friend, dressed in a beautiful Santa suit delivered our gifts in huge burlap bags. Back in 1984, video editing consisted of turning the camera on and off to make Santa "disappear" and "reappear" in the doorway. The kicker: my parents followed him outside and taped him as he drove away on a huge, green John Deere tractor. We got to watch the whole thing on VHS tape in the morning! Truly the best Christmas memory made in rural Northeast Georgia! Samantha Carroll, contributor

Christmas of 1991 is by far the best Christmas I’ve ever had. My whole family spent the weekend at my grandparents’ house. My cousins, sister and I got to help my grandfather pick out the tree and decorate it until all you could see was a colorful creation. Christmas music played on the stereo while the food was being prepared. There was the joy and love of family all around. This is what Christmas is all about. I only had one gift on my list and that was a 10-speed bike, a red one at that. On Christmas Eve we were allowed to open one gift of our choice. I didn’t see the bike so I assumed I didn’t get it. Another pair of PJ’s and socks is what was going through my head. Then I heard the back door open and there was my red 10-speed bike! It was the greatest moment of my life. Not only did I get the bike, my grandparents got all of their grandchildren tickets to Disneyland! Instead of getting one great gift, I got two!   - Kira Hooper, The College Spouse

My favorite Christmas memory is from two years ago. My husband had returned home from Afghanistan a couple weeks before Christmas and met our 2-month-old son for the first time. On Christmas Eve we went to mass and I watched my husband hold our son while we sang "Silent Night." It was the end of the service and the church was lit with candlelight. For months, I wished and prayed for our family to be complete and I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and peace watching my boys together. There was no better gift.  Ann Marie Dombrowski, Homefront Spouse

 

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