Gift of Holidays Gone By

​Our home turns very jolly during the holidays. My collection of decorations, both old and new, are pulled from storage and incorporated into countless vignettes in almost every room. I even have four full size Christmas trees up this year. Each is different, and every one gives us joy.

Growing up, my mom spent days decorating all the main rooms of our house. Each season, along with my Grandma Onie, we would spend one Saturday afternoon at open houses of local flower shops and boutiques, gathering decorating ideas to incorporate at home. Festive centerpieces were the rage back then. We’d buy a few small things on each outing. Once home, we’d pull out last year’s creations and the messy craft box, then give our centerpieces an upgrade for the current season.

Those centerpieces are long gone, but I’ll forever cherish the memories we made. Maybe this is why vintage Christmas decorations intrigue me. Every piece holds a history, even though we usually have to recreate what that history might have been, using our imagination. Whether a decorative holiday piece is old or new, all can be combined to create our own kind of magic.

Our memories are like that, too. Old and new memories entwine to reveal the pathways we took to get to where we are today.

Ten days ago, on the tenth of December, I launched my latest book, Life with Friends. It’s the fifth and final book in my newest series, The Kaleidoscope Girls. On the same day as the book launch, a Facebook memory popped up in my feed from two years earlier, reminding me of a fun-filled book signing I’d done at Zandbroz, my forever-favorite bookstore, to celebrate the launch of my first book in the series, Better with Friends.

Zandbroz, an iconic store in downtown Fargo, ND for thirty-three years, offered a fabulous collection of curated books and more, up until it closed this past summer. The owners, Greg and Renee Danz, decided to retire. The closure was bittersweet for me, as it was for so many in our community.

Back in 2018, mere months after I released my first book, Whispering Pines, I approached Greg to ask if he’d consider selling my book in their store. Did he sense the terror and imposter syndrome I was feeling? My knees were shaking so hard. How could he not? But he never let on. He graciously agreed, patiently explained their process for consigning books, and offered me a local “home” from which I could begin to offer my book to a yet-to-be-developed following of readers.

Later that year, after releasing Tangled Beginnings, my second book, Greg invited me to take part in a local author holiday book signing. It would be the first of many for me at their fabulous store. I remember purchasing an old-fashioned silver wreath—an example of the quality decorations Zandbroz always offered—that very evening to commemorate that important milestone on my early author journey. The wreath still hangs in my kitchen every Christmas.

In June, while the owners of Zandbroz prepared to close their doors for good, they held one last rummage sale. You can bet we were first in line that day, hoping to purchase a few last treasures. A glass globe now sits proudly on top of the light pole outside our lake cabin, and a set of old milkshake glasses and spoons are on display inside. I also picked up small boxes of vintage holiday stamps, hoping the stamps would fit inside my treasured printer box when Christmas rolled around again. They'd remind me of the fun times at Zandbroz.

​When I saw the memory post pop up on FB last week about the book signing in 2022, I felt a flood of nostalgia. Those holiday stamps had found their way into one of my favorite holiday decorations in our family room. The printer box they’re now housed in was a gift from my sister-in-law and niece, back when I started writing. It stays up all year long and I change out the items displayed in it each season. The sleigh bells are authentic, too, and make the prettiest sound when you give them a little shake. Those were a gift from my dad.

Compelled by my feelings of nostalgia, I reached out to Josie Danz, Greg and Renee’s daughter and the longtime manager of Zandbroz. Josie resides out of state now, but we’ve kept in touch. I shared a quick snapshot of the printer box and stamps, hoping she’d enjoy how yet another item I’d purchased at their store had found its way into my holiday decorations. I had assumed the vintage stamps were simply items they’d purchased to resell at Zandbroz. Was I in for a surprise!

Josie immediately got back to me with the following note and, hopefully, a smile on her face: Fun fact – those stamps were used for years to stamp the brown paper Zandbroz bags during the holidays! I have so many happy memories of coming up with fun designs and hand-stamping the bags we sent home with customers. I’m so happy that they ended up in a good home. (sharing with Josie’s permission)

I wonder if the bag I brought my wreath home in back in 2018 was adorned with a scene she’d created with these very stamps. Learning the backstory of the stamps ensures they’ll remain a favorite of mine for years to come.

Like my mother, I spend days decorating our house for the holidays. Is it worth the effort? While I may question it when the mess of half-empty storage totes surrounds me and before everything is in place, but it always comes together. The trees and lights and decorations provide the perfect backdrop for creating more fun-filled memories in the days ahead. The new-fangled candles I use need batteries instead of matches, and they may lack a little of the charm of real candles, but our two-year-old grandson can change their color with the press of a button, and what could be more magical than that?

May your holidays also be filled with plenty of joy and a bit of magic. Kim