# Heartwarming Holiday Sharing



## Lara (Nov 7, 2018)

`
_C__hristmas is what you make it _
...a peaceful heartwarming story from an online hobby store

The only advertising is the tagline.


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## ClassicRockr (Nov 7, 2018)

Just watched it.......defintely got me "teary eyed". Loved it!


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## ClassicRockr (Nov 7, 2018)

Love to see the Budwieser Clydesdales Christmas commercials.


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## StarSong (Nov 10, 2018)

Doesn't matter how sappy their commercials are, I won't shop Hobby Lobby.


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## Falcon (Nov 10, 2018)

I'm sure  you'll be  missed.


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## StarSong (Nov 10, 2018)

Falcon said:


> I'm sure  you'll be  missed.



I doubt it, but nevertheless there are certain businesses I won't patronize because of their social or political positions.  Hobby Lobby is among them.


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## jujube (Nov 10, 2018)

I went to one of the big craft stores before Christmas last year and was literally driven out of the store by the holiday music they were playing.  It was some sort of loud screechy rap-ish jazzy fusion that grated on my last nerve.  I complained to the lady manager who said it was driving her crazy, too, but it was what management wanted played.

Then I went over to Hobby Lobby, where soft instrumental Christmas music was being played, just loud enough to hear it but not so loud as to intrude unnecessarily.  I wandered around for an hour, enjoying the music and dreaming about what I could (but probably wouldn't) make for Christmas.  

The wrong music will drive me out of a dressing room before I finish trying on clothes.


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## hollydolly (Nov 10, 2018)

I don't know if you folks have stores who compete at Chritmas for the best holiday advert or commercials...but we do...and they are usually all cosy and cuddly...and wonderfully made, like little movies.. 

This year tho' one of our stores ( a frozen food giant)...had  their Advert banned before it even reached the public... and it will never be shown.

What do you think...should it have gone out or not ?.. I hope you can see it..

https://amp.lbc.co.uk/news/watch-iceland-christmas-ad-banned/


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## RadishRose (Nov 10, 2018)

oh how sad! I don't like good stewardship of our earth to be *used to sell product* but I would like awareness to be raised of the plight of wild animals!

If you hadn't explained how your Christmas ads trend, I would wonder- How is this a Christmas ad?

It should be shown sometime, though. Gosh it is sad.


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## hollydolly (Nov 10, 2018)

It really is sad RR isn't it?...When  I read it was banned and started watching it, I wondered where it was going for the first minute or so...but what a wake up call..huh?


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## Keesha (Nov 10, 2018)

WOW! What a powerfully potent message and one everyone should watch BUT I’m not sure if a Christmas Ad is a time to show it, but on the other hand maybe it should. Christmas is getting more and more commercialized each and every  year, the message being to spend and spend. We are a species that takes advantage of each other , different species as well as our environment. 

It’s fierce! Christmas should be light and cheerful. Im on the fence about it. 

Ok no. I just remembered kids. That would be terrifying to little children and they should never be terrified, especially not before Christmas so my conclusion is that the message is good but the way of delivering it needs tweaking some.


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## hollydolly (Nov 10, 2018)

yes I'm like you keesha...totally pro the ad...but not sure it should be shown at Christmas because of the children , but I do feel strongly this ad shouldn't have been banned, it NEEDS to be shown, sometime...


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## Keesha (Nov 10, 2018)

hollydolly said:


> yes I'm like you keesha...totally pro the ad...but not sure it should be shown at Christmas because of the children , but I do feel strongly this ad shouldn't have been banned, it NEEDS to be shown, sometime...


Absolutely. :iagree:


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## Keesha (Nov 10, 2018)

Lara said:


> `
> _C__hristmas is what you make it _
> ...a peaceful heartwarming story from an online hobby store
> 
> The only advertising is the tagline.


Sweet.


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## StarSong (Nov 10, 2018)

hollydolly said:


> I don't know if you folks have stores who compete at Chritmas for the best holiday advert or commercials...but we do...and they are usually all cosy and cuddly...and wonderfully made, like little movies..
> 
> This year tho' one of our stores ( a frozen food giant)...had  their Advert banned before it even reached the public... and it will never be shown.
> 
> ...



It appears this ad was banned from UK broadcast waves altogether, correct?    

I don't think it should be banned, nor do I think children should be shielded from the ugly consequences to our planet and its creatures when corporate greed goes unbridled.    

I applaud the Iceland supermarket chain for decrying the wanton destruction of habitats, and for banning products palm oil from their private label products.  Why shouldn't they be able to use that as a selling point to their ecologically-minded customers?  Kudos to them - and from now on I'll look carefully at labels in order to avoid products with palm oil.


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## SeaBreeze (Nov 10, 2018)

Thanks Lara for the thread and video, very heartwarming for the season. 

The  young couple had made their usual hurried, pre-Christmas visit to the  little farm where dwelt their elderly parents with their small herd of  horses. The farm had been named Lone Pine Farm because of the huge pine  which topped the hill behind the farm, and through the years had become a  talisman to the old man and his wife, and a landmark in the  countryside.

The old folks no longer showed their  horses, for the years had taken their toll, but they sold a few foals  each year, and the horses were their reason for joy in the morning and  contentment at day's end. Crossly, as they prepared to leave, the young  couple confronted the old folks. "Why do you not at least dispose of  "The Old One". She is no longer of use to you. It's been years since  you've had foals from her. You should cut corners and save where you  can. Why do you keep her anyway?" The old man looked down as his worn  boot, scuffed at the barn floor, and his arm stole defensively about the  Old One's neck as he drew her to him and rubbed her gently behind the  ears. He replied softly, "We keep her because of love. Only because of  love."

Baffled and irritated, the young folks  wished the old man and his wife a Merry Christmas and headed back toward  the city as darkness stole through the valley. So it was, that because  of the leave-taking, no one noticed the insulation smoldering on the  frayed wires in the old barn. None saw the first spark fall. None but  the "Old One".

In a matter of minutes, the whole barn was ablaze and the hungry flames  were licking at the loft full of hay. With a cry of horror and despair,  the old man shouted to his wife to call for help as he raced to the barn  to save their beloved horses. But the flames were roaring now, and the  blazing heat drove him back. He sank sobbing to the ground helpless  before the fire's fury. By the time the fire department arrived, only  smoking, glowing ruins were left, and the old man and his wife. 

They thanked those who had come to their aid, and the old man turned to  his wife, resting her white head upon his shoulders as he clumsily dried  her tears with a frayed red bandana. Brokenly he whispered, "We have  lost much, but God has spared our home on this eve of Christmas. Let us,  therefore, climb the hill to the old pine where we have sought comfort  in times of despair. We will look down upon our home and give thanks to  God that it has been spared."

And  so, he took her by the hand and helped her up the snowy hill as he  brushed aside his own tears with the back of his hand. As they stepped  over the little knoll at the crest of the hill, they looked up and  gasped in amazement at the incredible beauty before them.

Seemingly, every glorious, brilliant star in the heavens was caught up  in the glittering, snow-frosted branches of their beloved pine, and it  was aglow with heavenly candles. And poised on its top most bough, a  crystal crescent moon glistened like spun glass. Never had a mere mortal  created a Christmas tree such as this. Suddenly, the old man gave a cry  of wonder and incredible joy as he pulled his wife forward.

There, beneath the tree, was their Christmas gift. Bedded down about the  "Old One" close to the trunk of the tree, was the entire herd, safe. At  the first hint of smoke, she had pushed the door ajar with her muzzle  and had led the horses through it. Slowly and with great dignity, never  looking back, she had led them up the hill, stepping daintily through  the snow. The foals were frightened and dashed about. 

The skittish yearlings looked back at the crackling, hungry flames, and  tucked their tails under them as they licked their lips and hopped like  rabbits. The mares pressed uneasily against the "Old One" as she moved  calmly up the hill and to safety beneath the pine. And now, she lay  among them and gazed at the faces of those she loved. Her body was  brittle with years, but the golden eyes were filled with devotion as she  offered her gift-Because of love. Only Because of love.


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## hollydolly (Nov 10, 2018)

Wonderful story SB.... I loved that, thank you...


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## jujube (Nov 10, 2018)

Beautiful story.


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## Lara (Nov 11, 2018)

sniff, sniff. Whew, I would have been a basket case without that [spoiler alert] happy ending. 

Well written. I especially thought this was beautiful... 

"every glorious, brilliant star in the heavens was caught up in the glittering, snow-frosted branches of their beloved pine, and it was aglow with heavenly candles. And poised on its top most bough, a crystal crescent moon glistened like spun glass. Never had a mere mortal created a Christmas tree such as this..."

Also, I really enjoyed catching up with all the posts leading up to this. Very enjoyable.


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## Keesha (Nov 11, 2018)

Seabreeze. I’m making you queen of ‘heart warming stories.’
Magically delightful it is.


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## SeaBreeze (Nov 11, 2018)

The story I posted was something I shared a long time ago here in an old thread.  SOURCE


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## dkay (Nov 12, 2018)

I don't know if this is where this story should go but here it is:

I once worked with a woman who was originally from Russia. She worked hard, became a U.S. citizen, got married and was eager to participate in our holidays. She had to work on Thanksgiving night along with me and two others so we decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner of mostly leftovers that we brought from home. The Russian woman brought her pan of green bean casserole wanting to know what she did wrong. She'd always heard how good it was but only a couple of spoonsful were missing from the pan. 

The casserole did look a little strange but I tried it because she really wanted to know how to make it better. I mean, seriously, green bean casserole is almost impossible to ruin.

I asked her what she used on top and she said (in her very broken English), "crispy fried onions that you buy from the store".

She was not aware that these onions can usually be found in the canned vegetable section. In Kansas they are almost always way up on the top shelf. She searched the store and wasn't really able to explain the the store staff what she was looking for since she'd never purchased them before.  Then she found the onions in the potato chip section and purchased them.

She made her casserole with crushed up Funyuns. lol. Those did give the casserole a unique flavor and I smile every time i see a bag of Funyuns.


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## RadishRose (Nov 12, 2018)

Dkay what an adorable story. Fun-Yums.... well, why not?


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## StarSong (Nov 12, 2018)

RadishRose said:


> Dkay what an adorable story. Fun-Yums.... well, why not?



Lots of back-in-the-day casseroles called for crushed potato chips as a garnish, Funyuns don't seem all that far fetched to me.   

This brings to mind a similar story - not holiday, but funny nevertheless.  Back in the early 70s I met a young Israeli man at a party.  We chatted awhile and he talked about arriving in the US a couple of years before with virtually no English skills.  He said one of the biggest challenges was shopping, especially in the packaged goods sections in a grocery store because many didn't have depictions of what was actually inside (a lot had "serving suggestion" type images).  The ones with pictures that required preparation?  He couldn't decipher the directions.  Finally, he was fortunate to stumble across a display of canned tuna that was on sale, so he loaded up his basket with a dozen cans.  Got home, opened one and discovered it was cat food.  In his defense, the cans featured the image of a fish, not a cat.  

Like dkay, whenever I see a can of cat food with a fish on it, I smile in remembrance of this guy's experience.


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## Camper6 (Nov 12, 2018)

I usually start late.  This year I'm starting early.  The Christmas tree is going up today.


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## dkay (Nov 16, 2018)

When I was married, all the men folk decided they were going to a friends home out in the country where they could dig a pit and cook a turkey, goose and ham for Thanksgiving. It was really cold that day and they didn't even start the fire in the pit until 6am. They had the meat wrapped in foil and put it in the semi warm pit thinking the meats would be finished by 2 pm. 

Needless to say, when all of us women showed up with the side dishes at 1 pm, the meats were barely warm. By 4:30 pm, all the kids were crying and complaining they were hungry so while the men were outside staring at the pit and drinking beer, the women and children stayed inside where we had a wonderful dinner of all the salads, the dressing, potatoes and rolls. The woman of the house had half a package of hot dogs which she cut in half and poked inside the dinner rolls. The kids loved it. Finally around 6:30 pm, we called out to see if the men wanted any of the salads or pie. They said, "it will just be a little while longer." Eventually, most of us went home and the men were still standing around poking the foil meat packets with sticks. I don't know if any of the meat ever did get done but my daughter who was about four said, "that was the best Thanksgiving dinner ever!"

From the kids point of view: "Who needs turkey when you can have hot dogs?


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## RadishRose (Nov 16, 2018)

What a funny story dkay! How nice the kids got such a kick out of it and I'm sure they were well nourished. 

They'll remember that Thanksgiving for years to come.


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## StarSong (Nov 17, 2018)

Love this story, dkay.  Was that the last time the fellas were trusted with such a critical part of TG dinner?


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## Lara (Nov 17, 2018)

One Christmas, I was way too young to know better. Daddy just bought himself a new pair of shoes to wear to a Christmas party. I wanted to give him a present so I rummaged around his room for something that I knew he'd like, got the shoe box with his new shoes, wrapped it up in pretty Christmas paper and ribbon, placed it under the tree. I told Mother what I had done and how I couldn't wait for Christmas morning to see his excitement.

The Christmas party came but he never touched the "present" until Christmas morning. He had gone to the Christmas party in old shoes. And Christmas morning he was so "surprised" and happy. They told me the story when I was much older. I loved him for selflessly not wanting to disappoint me. Turned out to be one of their favorite memories of Christmas...mine too.


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## StarSong (Nov 17, 2018)

Great story, Lara.


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## RadishRose (Nov 17, 2018)

Awww, so sweet Lara. Sounds like you, too.


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## Camper6 (Nov 20, 2018)

From Canada.  Happy Thanksgiving.


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## RadishRose (Nov 20, 2018)




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## Keesha (Nov 20, 2018)

Happy Thanksgiving to our neighbours.


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## Lara (Nov 27, 2018)

Bittersweet but definitely Heartwarming...


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