***Simple Things Matter During the Holidays

By America’s #1 Love and Marriage Experts

Truth is, we miss our parents and our grandparents. True to the natural course of life, they are all gone now. They were parents in life and, in many ways, parents in death. They all lived long lives. They all lived full and productive lives. And they all loved the Holiday Season because of the simple things.

The Holiday Season is truly a season for all. Nearly all faiths, religions, and ways of life find something to celebrate during this important season. Whatever your faith, whatever your beliefs, always remember this – simple things matter during the Holidays.

The most important part of the Holiday Season has to do with the family traditions we have started along the way and that continue from generation to generation. Many of those traditions have to do with the food we prepare for those special Holiday meals. To this day, we make Grandma Uthe’s time-honored German potato salad every Christmas.

Our daughter enjoys making baked vegetable kugel with her children every Hanukkah. She started her new family tradition several years ago.

Years ago, Liz started a tradition all her own – making the best turkey stuffing in the entire universe, and beyond! Our whole family can’t wait to scarf down generous portions of her delectable dressing. The turkey comes second!

Charley’s grandma on his mother’s side always put lemon drops wrapped in cellophane on the Christmas tree for the grandchildren. Aunt Vi placed cellophane wrapped chocolate drops on the tree as her annual tradition.

The family Holiday tradition in Liz’s family was stringing fresh popped popcorn. But the truth is they ate most of the popcorn before it got on the sting! Most popcorn stringing events ended with full tummies, a mess on the kitchen floor, and lots and lots and lots of laughter. Liz still tears up when she teaches the art of popcorn stinging to our two grandchildren.

When Charley was eight years old, his Dad put toy train tracks around the Christmas tree. It left indelible memories in his brain about his Dad and about the tradition he started. Now, when the grandchildren come to town during the Holiday Season, Charley puts up two trains!

And every Christmas when we decorate the Christmas tree we bake chocolate chip cookies! In fact, we just finished that tradition a few minutes ago!

Memories are made of this, that’s for sure. Every family has its own Holiday tradition and if your family is lucky they will carry them on year after year after year.

While we recognize that traditions vary from family to family, always remember this – carry them on. Have your own children learn them. Passing them from generation to generation reminds you every special holiday of those you have loved along the way, of those who were kind to you and expressed their love to you through their simple deeds. Traditions as a rule don’t usually cost much money, but they last a lifetime.

Over the years, we have written much about the “simple things.” And we have always reminded you that simple things matter in love and life. If you do the simple things day in an day out – simple acts of kindness, simple expressions of love, simple homemade gifts and cards, simple traditions – you will enrich not only your life but also the lives of others.

Too often in life, people who love each other make these mistakes:

They send expensive flowers on an anniversary or holiday but fail to look the one they love in the eye and tell them how much they love them.

They shower the one they purport to love with expensive gifts instead giving them what they really want – your respect, your understanding, your embrace, your kiss and your time.

They think that a store bought card is a good substitute for a homemade one!

They give their children expensive toys when all they want is their love.

They send grandma and grandpa a card when all they want is for you to call them on the phone.

And the list goes on.

Over the course of our research we have become so intrigued with the notion of “simple things” that we just finished our new book entitled Simple Things Matter in Love and Marriage. In fact, we see our new book in many ways as an extension of our first book entitled Golden Anniversaries: The Seven Secrets of Successful Marriage. Look for the eBook Simple Things Matter in Love and Marriage in early 2009 and the hardback version in spring 2009.

Our final thought for today is this – No love has blossomed or been sustained without doing the simple things. Start today.

Love well!

Authors of the Best Relationship Book of 2008
INDIE Book Awards Gold Medal Winner
Available at GoldenAnniversaries.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and at Bookstores