I am not feeling well and fighting the beginning of a cold, so this post is going to be short and sweet. I subscribe to Grammar Girl's weekly newsletter (which I highly recommend), and I thought this gem about making names plural was perfect -- especially if you're still working on your holiday cards. Bottom line: When in doubt, just write things like "The Wilcox family" so you don't have to worry about how to make last names (especially ones like Molyneaux) plural. But this article is definitely worth a read.
Also, I thought I'd briefly share a new tradition Andrew and I started this year: a Christmas book advent calendar. I saw this idea all over blogland (I love Dana's photos on MADE) and thought it was a great idea, given my love for children's books (and my ever-growing collection). I didn't wrap them because there's just the two of us and I'm kind of stingy with wrapping paper, but I thought I'd give you a list of Christmas books we have and are reading in case you'd like to start your own. Sorry that I didn't link to places where you can buy them; as I said, I'm not feeling well and trying to get this up quickly.
- "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss
- "The Christmas Train" by Thomas S. Monson
- "Olive, The Other Reindeer" by Vivian Walsh
- "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement C. Moore (illustrated by Mary Engelbreit)
- "The Bears' Christmas" by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- "The Polar Express" by Chris Van Allsburg
- "The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear" by Stan and Jan Berenstain
- "I Spy Christmas" by Walter Wick and Joan Marzollo
As you can see, we are a long way from having 25 Christmas books, but it's been fun to read a few of them -- and of course, we can end with the Bible account of the Savior's birth on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. What better way to end a great list of books?
Do you have any favorite Christmas books we should add to our collection? Any name-spelling mishaps you'd care to share? I know how tricky names can be.
I totally agree with you on the name issue; I tend to just write "The _____ Family." But tell me if I'm right about this: if I'm making a simple name, like Johnson, plural, shouldn't it be "Johnsons," not "Johnson's"? The apostrophe makes it possessive, right? If it's on a Christmas card, I just always thought you were referring to more than one Johnson, but maybe some people are actually referring to the Johnson's house? Sorry for the super long comment!
ReplyDeleteP.S. We are also counting down the days to Christmas with books. Here are two that we really like: Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree and Snowmen at Christmas. Also, I just received a beautifully illustrated copy of The Gift of the Magi, which I am super excited about. AND, I'm dying to get President Monson's book. So jealous of you!
I love love love this idea! I've been scouting out Christmas tradition ideas for my family--this is great! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the book tradition, and I'm planning on doing it when Baby is more interested in looking at books than chewing on them. :) Some of my favorites are: The Sweet Smell of Christmas, Eloise at Christmastime, and The Jolly Christmas Postman.
ReplyDeleteHope you're feeling better! Those are some wonderful choices!!
ReplyDelete