When I was a little girl we went Christmas Caroling every year.
We’d gather in a group at our church and go from house to house singing holiday songs and freezing our buns off. Every few houses one of the older members of the congregation (who must have known we were coming) would invite us all in for hot cocoa or cookies. As a child I thought Christmas Caroling was magical… my opinion hasn’t changed much. Last week I was driving through my neighborhood in Los Angeles thinking ‘how sad that my boys will never know what Christmas Caroling is’. And then I realized that whatever my boys have as part of their childhood memories of Christmas is entirely up to me, regardless of how big a city we live in.
And so we’re going caroling… as a group with my husband I’m sure grumbling and my boys not understanding why we we’re leaving the warm glow of our TV. I printed out sheet music from this website and arranged it with some of the older couples in our neighborhood (which I now realize is exactly what my own parents did) so that when we rang the doorbell and sing our hearts out there will actually be someone on the other side of the threshold to hear it. When I told Sawyer what caroling was he said it’s “like Halloween, but in reverse!” Yes, I told him, it’s just like trick-or-treat except instead of asking for something we’re actually giving something back. A little song, a little holiday joy, a little reminder that there is still fun to be had in something as simple as walking around your neighborhood and singing Jingle Bells.
Christmas Caroling is free, it doesn’t take long to organize and it can be such a special gift to people in your community. I hope you’ll consider heading out to spread your own holiday cheer before Christmas next week. xo, Rachel
