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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Here We Come A Wassailing

Do you know what wassailing is?  Wassailing refers to signing carols door to door wishing good health.  Can you think of a better way to spread Christmas cheer?
It all started last year when the Hendricks showed up on the doorstep of the Links and sang a Christmas Carol.  Samara loved how it made her feel and said we should do it for real next year.  A plan was made.

We sent an e-vite with hopes to get a crowd big enough to not notice the poor singers in the group; our RSVP list was slowly dwindling.  We did however have one taker (YEAH)!  The Fehling family joined our group and it was simply perfect!  
 We started at 4:30 with homemade individual pizzas.  Fun and yum!
 The plan was a PJ Caroling party.  Gavin sporting his new PJ's made with love by Grandma.
 It was so great to have a playmate for Gavin; the boys played while we ate and practiced Christmas carols.
 And we headed out!  Kids in the wagon, caroling music in hand, candy canes to hand out for a little extra treat.  
 We quickly found that choosing the right day and right time can make or break your caroling experience. We thought a Sunday evening would be perfect, but we found more houses empty than full.  The houses that did have people at it loved the caroling and you could tell we really did spread Christmas cheer; it made us feel good as well as the recipients of the carols.
 The Fehlings
 The Hendricks
The girls (who carried the boys with our signing skills!) 
Should you decide to make this a tradition at your house here are a couple of tips we think are great: 
  • Start with snacks or dinner to get everyone together and practice a few songs
  • Provide the lyrics (thanks Sam!) - you think you know the words, but when you are standing in front of a strangers door it's amazing how quickly you forget.
  • Sing 1 carol followed by the chorus of We Wish You A Merry Christmas-it's a great way to leave the family you just caroled to.  Decide before you get to the door how much of the 1 carol you are going to sing - some are very long.
  • If possible, plan a neighborhood that seems to already have a lot of cheer.  Our plan next year is to hit a street and/or neighborhood where all of the neighbors decorate - and decorate a lot!  You are guaranteed a happy audience with all that Christmas spirit!
  • Follow the evening up with dessert and hot cocoa at someone's house.
We all had a great time!  We are for sure going to keep this a family tradition and will learn new tricks and tips each year to make it even more fun.  Hope we've inspired you to do some wassailing of your own!!

1 comment:

  1. I fa-la-la-la-love that we went caroling! I really didn't think it would happen between the baby being due any second and our low RSVP rate. We pulled it together though, and I'm so glad we did. It was the merriest thing I've done in December, and I'm counting it as my December date to do something fun, different and adventure worthy. So, thank you! The pizza fixings you put together were wonderful but the company was the best. :)

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