Review of Christmas Season 2020

 Christmas 2020 will soon be "Christmas past" and it certainly has been one for the books.  We will remember it as the year of the pandemic, the year without large family gatherings, the year of wearing masks, the year without Christmas parties, and the year of live stream church services.  And yet....it has not been a year without joy for me.  I may have had to look a bit to find it in other activities but as this Christmas season draws to a close I find  that I feel peace even in these crazy times.

Photographing our Decorations

I thoroughly enjoy my photography hobby and this year has given me a lot of time to take classes on photography and Photoshop.  I used some of my new found skills to photograph our holiday decorations.  Here are a few of my favorites. The first two are our tree and the outside of the house.  On both of them I used some new filters I learned how to use on a Photoshop online class.

The next two photos were made for a photography challenge on a group that gives us a weekly theme and we come up with creative ideas.  The theme for this week was "bubble wrap".

Watching Christmas Movies New and Old

I have enjoyed watching movies I have not watched for sometime and also I've found a few new Christmas movies to enjoy.  Last week fellow reviewer Sam Monaco wrote a review on Bing Crosby and White Christmas and it inspired me to rewatch that classic Christmas movie.  Here is a link to Sam's review. Bing Crosby

I also watched a movie that was new to me, although it came out in 2013.  It is called The Christmas Candle and has a delightful story of a minister who comes to a church in a small English village.  

The True Meaning of Christmas

The photo above depicts one of our Christmas decorations.  It is one of my favorites.  It is a cross that holds within it the scenes from the first Christmas.  As in every Christmas it is important to keep our hearts on the seasons true meaning.  

Luke 2:11

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

King James Version (KJV)

May you and your family experience Peace and Joy during this Christmas and throughout the coming year! 

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Relax and Enjoy a Special Event for the Holidays

Sometimes during the holiday season we can get so busy with all of our Christmas planning, decorating, shopping and baking that we forget to take the time to stop and enjoy the season.  I like to do something different each year that helps me to relax and enjoy the season.  On this page I will review the activity for this year, a "Photo Walk" on a popular historic street all decorated for Christmas.  For our walk, I met with four other photographers in the historic area of St. Charles, Missouri.  We met at the old train depot on the riverfront.

St.  Charles is located on the Missouri river on the eastern side of the state of Missouri.  It is just west of the St. Louis area.  St. Charles served as the first capitol of the state of Missouri from 1821-1826.  Today the  main street area is a popular tourist attraction with lots of shops and restaurants.  They go all out for Christmas with lots of decoration throughout the historic area.

Our group spent a couple of hours wandering through the area with our cameras and stopping to take photos of anything we found interesting.  We then stopped at a restaurant to enjoy some time together reviewing our morning and discussing photography.  It was a great way to relax and meet new friends.

I was interested in all of the beautiful wreaths hanging on the storefronts.  I photographed many of them and made the collage below of the different wreaths.

Christmas Wreaths Poster by mbgphoto
Shop for Christmas wreaths Posters online at Zazzle.com

An interesting building we stopped at just off Main street was a reproduction of the first church in St. Charles.  The first church was a Catholic church built in 1791 called San Carlos Borromeo.  The reproduction was done using the same type tools as  the original.  

I took nearly 200 photos during the morning.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Shops  along Main Street.  I love the cobblestone streets and walks.

An old sleigh, decorated and sitting on a door stoop.

A wreath on a brick wall.

An old building along Main Street.

Christmas Wreaths Greeting Card by mbgphoto
Look at other Christmas wreaths Cards at zazzle.com

May you enjoy your preparations for the Christmas season and take some time to unwind as we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus. 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN), Esty (Awin), and/or Zazzle Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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