{"id":3640,"date":"2025-12-19T17:36:32","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:36:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/?p=3640"},"modified":"2025-12-19T17:36:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:36:35","slug":"viking-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/adventure\/viking-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Viking Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Raoul’s Two Cents: December 19, 2025<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Homemade Gifts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you don\u2019t want to ponder, move on to the Jokes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you still contemplating your last minute Christmas shopping?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I was a young lad, I remember my Mom telling me that I shouldn\u2019t spend for a gift. She said the homemade ones are the ones she really likes. I didn\u2019t believe her so I would give her frivolous purchased presents (like Christmas bells, chocolate bars, and ornaments) from the allowance I had saved. Those presents didn\u2019t last very long. Of course. she was always a good actress and appreciated my gifts. She always made me feel good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, in my senior years, I\u2019ve come to realize that she was right all along. The homemade presents that I know took time to create are the ones I treasure the most. When you give an original gift, you are giving part of your soul. I have a friend who makes these intricate handmade cards that I keep in a box full of memories. My grandkids\u2019 artworks are plastered on my office wall along with family portraits. Aren’t they the true blessings of my life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Christmas, many of us are struggling to make ends meet and worried about finding the right gift. Are you one of them? Why not follow my Mom\u2019s advice? It\u2019s the homemade ones that are the real treasures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the last weekend before Christmas! If you have the opportunity to watch a Christmas performance, do go. It’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit. TGIF people!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you like my emails, please do me a favor and spread them around. Thank you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mailchimp has been tampering with my email database so you might get cut off. If that ever happens, you can find me in travelingboy and resubscribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quotes of the Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tucker: “But she gave me the perfect gift.”
Clara: “What?”
Tucker: “You.\u201d<\/em>
— Cynthia Hand, Unearthly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone has a gift for something, even if it is the gift of being a good friend.\u201d<\/em>
— Marian Anderson<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.\u201d<\/em>
— Jim Valvano<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMemory was a curse, yes, he thought, but it was also the greatest gift. Because if you lost memory you lost everything.\u201d<\/em>
— Anne Rice, Blood And Gold<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”<\/em>
— James 1:7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!\u201d<\/em>
— Luke 11:13<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his\u00a0one and only Son,\u00a0that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.\u201d<\/em>
— John 3:16<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joke of the Week<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Original art by Raoul Pascual.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Parting Shots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Colleen of Washington State<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Jennifer of Los Angeles, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Bobby of Boise, Idaho<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Joe of San Bernardino, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Norm of Encino, CA<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I found these:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

My good friend (and jokester) Terry and I came up with these.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Got any good jokes? Come share it with rest of us!
Know someone who enjoys a laugh? Share this website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUBSCRIBE<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Christmas, many of us are struggling to make ends meet and worried about finding the right gift. Are you one of them? Why not follow my Mom\u2019s advice? 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