Christmas Trees

This one is actually ours. 

And this little one sits on our porch. 

Beautiful. 

Who loves Christmas?!

This little guy*.

*2010 product of the marriage between J. Daniel Jones and Taryn M. Jones. All rights reserved. 

Christmas Lights

I love Christmas lights. If I had my way, I would have my house look something like this:

Every year, I make a point to go to Temple Square to see the lights there. 

Christmas lights are so wonderful that Coldplay wrote a song about them.

This year, we've used plenty of lights in our decoration. Observe: 

The front stairway.

The front of our house.

The banisters outside. 

My bedroom- my favorite part of the whole house

I am sitting on my bed now with all of the lights turned out besides these glowing white Christmas lights shining through my sheet curtain. I went to someone's house tonight who didn't have a single Christmas decoration up and I couldn't believe it. I tend to go overboard, as you'll see in following posts. Christmas lights are a must.

I also hope someday to have a house exactly like the one below. Ohhh, you think I'm kidding.  

Nope, definitely not kidding. 

Christmas Movies

... And the posts resume. 

Next up is a celebration of the best Christmas movies. We'll go in order from best to absolute best. 

We probably watched this about 95 times a week when we were kids. I can still sing the opening song word for word. 

Great movie. I like the original much more than any sequels.

Love this story, love the muppets... therefore I love this. 

Ohhh the nostalgia! The Bells and the Camels were my favorite. I would love to own this but I can't find it anywhere! 

I love this sweet story. The Santa in this movie is INCREDIBLE.

I have this edited and it is one of my favorite movies that I own. Parts are super sad, parts absolute triumphant, parts are sweet and parts are downright hilarious. I love it. 

Easily one of my all-time favorite movies, not just Christmas movies. It does not get funnier (or more quotable) than this.

Oh. Makes me cry every year. I watch it Christmas Eve and just bask in Jimmy Stewart's wonderfulness. 

An honorable mention goes to these movies. Even though they aren't explicitly about Christmas, their Christmas scenes are simply delightful. 

Meg Ryan singing the Jingle Bells/ Sleigh Ride medley in the car. "Horses, horses, horses..."

The Callahan's decorated house, the Christmas day proposal...

Frank singing "the hooorn, the hoorn, it sounds so forlorn" at the Christmas Party, Kathleen putting up Christmas lights in the shop, love this movie. 

I know other favorites include Christmas Vacation and White Christmas but I haven't seen either of those so I have a goal to watch them this year. Any other must-sees I'm missing?

Note/ warning: if any of you even think of suggesting I put "Nightmare Before Christmas" or "A Christmas Story" on this list, I will personally come to wherever you are and deliver a swift kick to your shin. Those movie titles are swear words on Lizzie's blog, especially that first one (which I can't bring myself to say again) and I hate them both... which is weird because they are some of my brother Danny's favorite movies of all time. I don't get it either...

Back to my parents' future

Weirdest thing... I actually found a video of my parents 35 years in the future. Don't ask me how, I'm not allowed to tell you... but I'll let you watch it. You'll be pleased to know that in 35 years my dad will still find himself hilarious and my mom will still eat sunflower seeds. Oh, and neither of them will have figured out the webcam.



PS- I know this has nothing to do with Christmas but Christmas posts are coming. Sorry, got a little backed up there.

Cabin Christmasing

The day after Christmas, we load up the cars, put chains on the wheels and head up to the Jones family cabin just past Park City. It is my favorite place on earth. 

We shut ourselves away up there for a week or so. We spend our time reading, watching movies, playing games, doing puzzles, competing with Just Dance on the Wii, and basically just having some great family time. 

Every year, we get quite a bit of snow up there, but nothing like last year. Observe:

This was taken in 2008- this is the deck covered with snow.

Same deck last Christmas. The weight of this snow actually broke the deck. Thank goodness for home-owner insurance. 

wall of snow

can you see my arm?

We have cabin pajamas. They have moose on them. They are footie pajamas. You are jealous. 

This is Papa Jones in his natural habitat. 

I love to bundle up and sit outside to watch this.

I get a ton of reading done. 

There you have it. I love the time we spend up there. Probably some of my favorite family memories are from our time at the cabin.

Gus and Cleo

I realize I neglected to post on the 6th. Things have been busy. So I doubled up and you get two posts today, one of Children's books and one on Gus and Cleo.

Now who are Gus and Cleo, you ask? They are the Jones family elves. I'm not sure if you're aware but certain families have elves assigned to look after them all year and report back to Santa on how they're doing. Gus and Cleo were our elves.

I realize now that I haven't ever asked my parents who came up with this idea but it was nothing short of brilliant. Gus and Cleo almost felt like members of our families. I remember drawing pictures of them and wondering what they looked like. I imagined Cleo as a beautiful elf with long blonde hair and pretty lips and I imagined Gus with tousled brown hair and a snub nose with laughing eyes.

My parents had an old-school voice recorder (big fatty silver brick) that you could speed up or slow down during the playback. They would record their voices leaving us a message from Gus and Cleo and then turn the dial to fast for the playback so we heard this chimpmunk-esque voices talking to us and about us. Sometimes my mom or dad would "hide" the tape recorder behind a couch cushion and "catch" Gus and Cleo in the middle of a conversation. We would listen, fascinated.

My mom would sneak into our rooms at night and put new Christmas socks on our feet as we slept. That was a sign that Gus and Cleo had visited. We'd leave them treats before bed and I remember sitting straight up and tearing into the family room to see if they had eaten our treats. They'd write us notes in scrawling handwriting telling us that we were being good and that Santa was happy. Sometimes they left us treats. There wasn't much that made me more excited than a treat from Gus and Cleo. And boy did I ever want to be on my best behavior, knowing that Gus and Cleo were around. I remember threatening my siblings when I felt they were being unfair or mean. "Gus and Cleo can see you, Danny."

I remember being so concerned about whether or not Gus and Cleo were Mormon. I remember a serious talk I had with my brother Danny during which we decided they had to be Mormon because if they watched us all the time, then they came to church with us every Sunday.

My dad is a master story-teller. When I was little, I had this fear of wolves. He started telling us stories of Japuska, Wonder Dog of the North (dad, how do you spell that?) who was half dog, half wolf. I think he single-handedly inspired my sister Kathy's long-time obsession with wolves. Anyway, he wrote several stories about Gus and Cleo's background. Gus and Cleo were pretty close with my parents and would talk about their history often. Gus once worked as a snow-shoveler in the North Pole. He shoveled the front walks for all the other elves. One Christmas there was an incredible blizzard and Santa's sleigh was completely stuck. It was Gus who shoveled him out. My dad would write up these stories and then come into our rooms at night to tell them to us. We were completely enthralled. I could imagine everything in my head.

This is one of my favorite Christmas memories, I can't wait to have my own kids so they can get to know Gus and Cleo.

Favorite Christmas Books for Kids

Beautiful story, beautiful illustrations. 

He wrote my childhood favorite Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Hilarious. My mom got this for me for Christmas one yer. 

Amazing illustration and a darling explanation of all things Santa.

I mostly love him because he writes about Italy. 

My nephew's favorite and so, by default, it's aw. 

The Christmas version, also awesome. 

Probably my absolute favorite.

A given. Incredible. I wish there were more just like it.


Any other suggestions?

Children at Christmas

I love children around Christmastime. They get so excited about the littlest things and I think it is hysterical. Their perspective is always really funny.

I wish he was mine... look at that face. 

There is something special about kids during the holidays. They seem to understand a lot of things we simply don't. You have GOT to watch the video below if you're interested in seeing adorable children with adorable accents acting out the Christmas story adorably. I love the star the best and the little girl that says that Jesus has two daddies.


My parents were always really good at making Christmas hilariously fun for me and my siblings. We had some great Christmas traditions I'll explain more about another day. I remember loving Christmas as a child.

Danny is now 29, I am 26, Kathy is 23. We are so little here.

I know I just posted this picture, but it is seriously cute. Johnny is almost 19 now. 

Matching pajamas. Awesome. 

 Anyway, kids are hilarious. I think there is a reason we have them act out the nativity every year. Further proof:



You should also watch this and this.

Christmas Music

Note: I think my dad will like this post most of all. He loves Christmas Music more than anyone I know.

One of my favorite parts of of the holidays is Christmas music. I have been known to unabashedly listen to certain Christmas songs year-round. Some of the most beautiful and expressive songs ever written about Christ are Christmas songs... so why should we only sing them one month a year? I know some of you are vehemently opposed to that idea so I won't force it, but during Christmastime is there anything better than decorating your house while the Pandora Mannheim Steamroller Holiday channel plays in the background? I submit that there is not.

I'll admit, some of the more commercial Christmas music is awful. Absolutely painful. And they seem to be utterly inescapable. It seems that the world thinks that there are only 20 Christmas songs in existence so these are covered and rearranged and provoke nausea every year. These songs include but are not limited to the following:


Wonderful Christmas Time- John Lennon
So This Is Christmas -Paul McCartney
(note, ex-Beatles members are responsible for these first two... the Beatles should lose all credibility for this reason)
Last Christmas- Wham!
Christmas Time Is Here- A Charlie Brown Christmas
Jingle Bell Rock- Bobby Helms
Santa Baby- Eartha Kitt
All I Want For Christmas Is You- Mariah Carey

And finally, the all-time worst Christmas song in the history of EVER... the song that makes me want to scream and cry and drive my car off a cliff just so I don't have to listen to it...

Christmas Shoes- someone who deserves a lifetime prison sentence

BUT HEY.

This is supposed to be about the stuff I love. So let's get into that, shall we?

My favorite Christmas songs are MANY, but here are a few definite favorites:

Some Children See Him
What Child Is This
Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel
Pat-A-Pan
In the Bleak Mid-Winter
Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing
Good Christian Men Rejoice

ANYTHING that the Cambridge Singers do and pretty much anything from Mannheim Steamroller.

My absolute favorite Christmas Song is Oh Come All Ye Faithful. It actually is probably my favorite hymn in the hymn book besides How Firm A Foundation. I would like both sung at my funeral. And wedding.... as we walk out of the temple. And all of my children's births. And all of my birthday parties.



I'd also like to share another of my favorite Christmas songs, Infant Lowly, Infant Holy. We used to sing it in Primary, though it was called Stars Were Gleaming. This song is incredibly sweet.


Okay, I know Pie Jesu isn't necessarily a Christmas song, but it is about Christ and this version is sung by Sissel, who is ridiculous. Seriously, I cannot imagine a more perfect  voice for this song or a more perfect voice for Christmas music in general. I could listen to her clear, beautiful voice all day. She came and performed with the Choir while I was on my mission, which is so sad. I would have loved to see her; this woman is incredible.


But I have to end with the single most exquisite performance I've ever heard (hands down), which just happened to be at a Christmas Concert. In 2005, Renee Fleming came as the guest performer with the Tabernacle Choir for their Christmas program. I still remember where I was sitting in the conference center when I heard this (second to last row in the very back of the highest balcony on the farthest right side) and remember that I just cried as I listened. Steve Snell was sitting next to me. He can attest. I have yet to hear anything that beautiful. This song is also on my list of absolute favorite Christmas songs. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming:

Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux

I used to go to the Nutcracker for my birthday with my mom when we lived in Chicago. I remember the little white fur coat I used to wear to the show, complete with a little white muff. It is another of my favorite memories from Christmas as a child.

Last year, I went to the Nutcracker in Salt Lake for the first time in several years. I loved it. I don't understand ballet very well and probably don't appreciate it the way that I should, but I will say that during this number I was absolutely mesmerized. The music is absolutely gorgeous. It took me a while to find a pair of dancers on youtube that I actually liked and these ones do very well but it was nothing like the choreography and the dancers I saw last year. I haven't been able to erase that from my mind. Absolutely breathtaking.

Handel's Messiah

I've always wanted to go to a Messiah Sing-in... something about being involved in the performance really appeals to me. I knew this was right up my Dad's alley so I got us tickets and we went to Abravenel Hall in Salt Lake on Sunday night. Dad brought his old copy of the score. Tucked inside was the program from the same event 24 years earlier, when I was just a baby. That was the last time he'd gone to a Sing-in. It used to be a tradition with him and his parents and siblings. The Joneses are known for being quite musical so that wasn't surprising. It was surprising that he hadn't been since then.

I realized mere seconds into this thing that it was going to be iffy. The performance itself was marvelous but my participation was nothing to brag about. I have a good voice but I cannot sight read to save my life and this was no basic melody. The music is crazy hard, especially for a soprano who can't read music. Needless to say, I was lost about 95% of the time. My dad did much better than I did. I mostly just mouthed some vowels and listened to the people around me. It was interesting though... between arias and choral numbers, the people around us would chatter and laugh nervously and encourage each other. You never see that during normal performances at the Symphony Hall. 

There are a couple pieces I know well enough to pull off a decent performance. During these numbers, I noticed the cute little girl in front of me turned around and just stared. She was darling.

Overall, my performance was a big fat flop. BUT the experience was entirely worth it. Very Christmasy. 

Reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Flash Mobs:

Christmas Posting

For the past few years, Christmas has not been what I've wanted it to be. I tend to be somewhat of an idealist and have in my mind something edited to perfection. I have had great expectations for the Holidays but sometimes get too busy to actually see these expectations fulfilled. I look forward to the Christmas season all year with such great anticipation but find that due to stress and work and school and being busy it has often snuck up on me before I even had time to revel in it. I am determined to not let that happen this year. I'm going to enjoy it for all it's worth. One thing I've decided to do is to post about the different things I love about the Holidays or the different ways I'm celebrating this year.

I was born 2 days after Christmas so for as long as I can remember, I have been a Christmas Baby through and through. I love everything about the Holidays (well, nearly everything) and appreciate so much when others embrace them with me.

So join me, will you?