Plymouth Magazine-Winter24-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 12
Rachel Burns
Shana Johnson
What is your favorite Christmas song?
John Denver and “The Muppet’s: A
Christmas Together” album is a must, as
is Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry
Little Christmas”.
What’s your favorite Christmas food,
dessert, or meal?
A fond memory is making Christmas
desserts with my grandma which always
had to include kringlas and chocolate
peanut butter balls (aka poo-poo balls in our family). I “inherited” my
grandma’s Oster electric chafing dish used to melt the chocolate and
paraffin wax which I still use and continue to burn myself on.
What is your favorite Christmas tradition
or memory?
1. The 11 p.m. Christmas Eve Service at
Plymouth Church.
2. Matching family Christmas pajamas.
3. Kirk buys one “unique” (strange) gift for
the family, and it never disappoints.
What is your favorite Christmas song?
“O Holy Night” and the Pentatonix’s
Christmas album.
What’s your favorite Christmas food, dessert, or meal?
I love really good, decorated Christmas sugar cookies that are thick
and soft and have amazing frosting. I don’t actually make them, but I
will accept any donations.
Do you have any good gift suggestions?
I love buying my kids experiences instead of stuff.
Luke Stringer
What is your favorite Christmas tradition
or memory?
Growing up, my dad would take me and my
brothers Will and Cole to Utica Square in
South Tulsa to look for a gift for my mother
every year, and we’d always take pictures
with Santa Claus. Even after my parents
split up, we would still go to get pictures
with Santa. Now, we bring Will & my sisterin-law Adriana’s two boys, Liam and Rowan.
What is your favorite Christmas song or hymn?
“In The Bleak Midwinter”.
What’s your favorite Christmas food, dessert, or meal?
Weisswurst with sweet Bavarian mustard, Cinnamon rolls, Nanaimo
bars, and Butter tarts (with or without raisins!).
Do you have any good gift suggestions?
You can never have too many pairs of good, warm socks.
Elaine Van Dyck
What is your favorite Christmas
tradition or memory?
I used to attend the Children and Families
Christmas Eve service. Now that my family
is older, I love the Abbreviated service in
the Sanctuary at 11 a.m.
What is your favorite Christmas song?
“Little Drummer Boy”
What’s your favorite Christmas food, dessert, or meal?
Holiday Wreaths.
Do you have any good gift suggestions?
The gift of a shared activity such as an Iowa State basketball game.
Lisa Merkle
What is your favorite Christmas tradition
or memory?
In our family, we always wait until after
Thanksgiving and then go to a farm to
get a live tree. We all work to set it up in
our living room and decorate it with our
ornaments. Our other stand-by is going
to service at Plymouth on Christmas Eve.
Most recently we’ve been going to the
family service, but the 11 p.m. service is
also wonderful (just a little after the kiddos’ bedtimes).
What is your favorite Christmas song or hymn?
“Silent Night” is probably my favorite Christmas hymn.
What’s your favorite Christmas food, dessert, or meal?
The last few years, we have been coming home from the family
Christmas Eve service and having a special meal eaten off of our
Christmas china that we inherited from my husband’s grandma.
What we actually eat doesn’t stay consistent, but it fun to have a
“fancy” dinner together.
Do you have any good gift suggestions?
I love experience gifts! Tickets to shows, weekends away (our kids
love it when we plan future trips to the Great Wolf Lodge hotels), or
memberships to places like the zoo or Science Center.
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