2019 Home for the Holidays

2019 Home for the Holidays LINCOLN DAILY NEWS November 27, 2019 Page 11 Creating holiday atmosphere: Continued u F amily gatherings, get togethers with close friends, Christmas parties for kids, whatever the reason for bringing people together at Christmas time, it can be a wonderful time, until someone decides it’s time to turn on the TV. Then it’s downhill from there, people gather around and they watch the tv and become engrossed in whatever it is showing them. They stop visiting, they stop mingling, and they become a larger version of your family of couch potatoes. So how do you combat that? Well, you could hide the remote. That would help, but then you have the one who is insistently searching for what you have hidden and disrupting the entire room, pulling up couch cushions, on hand and knees peering under the furniture (and finding your long lost socks and dust bunnies galore – yes you cleaned – but not THERE!) So, what is the answer? Fire up the old smart tv BEFORE your guests arrive, and lock in something that will serve the purpose of an occasional glance at the screen and could also spark some conversation. Music. We see this a lot, the fireplace burning on the television while Michael Buble’ croons at us (sorry Michael, we know there are people out there that love you). But, it can be much more interesting and still be background to your perfect get together. First consider your audience. Remember, you don’t want them glued to the television, but you do want to give them something new to see on occasion and even to talk about. We love this video for what should be a quiet evening gathering with family. Featuring beautiful artwork by renowned artist Thomas Kinkade, this video will play for just over one hour and features traditional holiday carols with vocals by well trained professional choirs. 26 Popular Traditional Christmas Carols w/ Festive Art by Thomas Kinkade If your gathering involves a meal, the vocals may not be the best answer. Instead opt for something instrumental. We chose this video because it is calming, and subtle, yet it features Christmas music that we all know and love. Featuring piano only, this is music that can be turned down low to play in the background without disrupting the chatter at the table, yet it fills a void, as we all know that the table gets quiet when we are all stuffing our faces with food! This video lasts just over three hours, so turn it on before you call everyone to the dinner Livening get-togethers with holiday music!