Take a look at our December newsletter!
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DECEMBER 2023
Garry F. Liday Corporation FINANCIAL COACH
RETIREMENT ASSET MANAGERS, INC. A Registered Investment Advisory Firm (RIA)
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In November, my wife and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Celebrating this milestone fills me with joy and gratitude. I’m forever grateful for the enduring love, commitment, and partnership my wife and I have built over four incredible decades. As I look back on our journey together, I’m reminded of the countless memories we’ve created — from the day we exchanged our vows to the adventures we have shared. Together, we’ve overcome challenges and experienced growth as a couple. Each moment has contributed to our life together, whether big or small.
Celebrating this anniversary was extra special for us! With 40 years behind us, we feel proud. We are thankful for the love that has sustained us, the cherished memories we have shared, and the support of our family and friends. We look forward to many more years together. We may have celebrated 40 years of marriage, but I know our love story is far from over. With each passing day, I am reminded that the best is yet to come!
Happy anniversary, my love!
One of the greatest blessings of our marriage is the family we have built. Between the two of us, we have many children and grandchildren — life’s sweetest blessings. We enjoy visiting with them and spending quality time together, especially during the holiday season. And we can’t forget our two Persian cats — they are like kids to us! Marriage, like life itself, is a journey filled with ups and downs. It’s all about weathering storms together, celebrating victories as a team, and continuously learning and growing as individuals and as partners. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth it. Through our years together, we’ve learned valuable lessons about communication, compromise, and support. We’ve laughed together, cried together, and leaned on each other during some of our most difficult moments. With each passing year, our love has deepened, and our bond has grown stronger.
I’m Grateful for You! The holidays are in full swing! I see lights, decorations, and festivities on every street corner, and there’s a distinct sense of bliss in the air. This time of year, I find myself reflecting on the incredible journey I’ve had in serving you. One thing stands out above all else — my deep gratitude for you, my clients. I’m grateful for the trust you place in me to guide you toward your financial goals, secure your future, and help you navigate life’s financial complexities. Your trust is the greatest gift you can give, and I’m profoundly thankful for it!
In observation of the holidays, our office will be closed on Christmas Eve, as it falls on a Sunday this year. We will reopen on Jan. 2. Happy Holidays!
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THE HEARTWARMING TALE OF THE CHRISTMAS TRUCE IN WWI A Brief Pause in the Trenches
Christmas is a time for kindness, yet for those in the trenches during World War I, no one expected mercy. It was Christmas Eve 1914 when British soldiers huddled in the mud-filled trenches, trying their best to ignore the harsh winter winds. Well, that was when peace broke out all along the Western Front. It became known to the world as the Christmas Truce after countless men wrote about their experiences amid the ceasefire. Records reveal the Germans called over to the British at around 10 p.m. to share some wine. At first, the British soldiers were skeptical, yet as they met halfway along the battlefield, amiable chatter and merriment began.
All along the trenches on various battlefields, French, German, Belgian, and British soldiers followed the Christmas Truce. Men who were shooting at one another the day before began to share cigarettes, sip wine, and joke around. One account even recalled a soccer match between the British and German soldiers. A German lieutenant named Kurt Zehmisch wrote of the match in his diary. He wrote, “Eventually, the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon a lively game ensued.” Zehmisch added, “How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus, Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time.”
3 EASY IDEAS YOU CAN MAKE WITH KIDS! Deck the Halls With Handmade Cards
Sending Christmas cards is a great way to tell people you’re thinking of them during the holiday season. However, like everything lately, buying enough Christmas cards for your loved ones is expensive. Store-bought cards can also feel too stiff and formal for our friends and family. That’s why you should consider making Christmas cards this holiday season! It is more cost-effective and a great way to give your cards a personal touch that lets friends and family know you care. The best part is that making holiday cards doesn’t have to be laborious or stressful — it’s quick, easy, and fun! Don’t believe us? Check out these three easy Christmas cards you and your family can make at home. Each card idea is built upon plain white cards! Washi Tape Cards All you need for this card is a roll of washi tape with any design you wish. Simply cut strips of the washi tape, starting with a longer piece (about 2—3 inches), and place it horizontally across the
card near the bottom. Then, build upward using gradually smaller pieces of tape to make a triangle — and that’s it! You’ve successfully created a washi tape tree! You can also draw a tree stump under the longest strip or a star on top. Handprint Cards This Christmas card variation is a favorite for kids to make and family members to receive. Have your child place their hand on the blank card stock and trace their hand with a pencil. Then, cut out the shape of their hand using scissors. Finally, with the cut-out hand facing down (fingers to the ground), have your child decorate it as if it were a tree, drawing ornaments, lights, candy canes, or other decorations. Pipe Cleaner Cards For this card, you need green pipe cleaners and gold stars (like the ones you’d earn in school). Simply twist a pipe cleaner into a tree shape using a zig-zag pattern to form the widest branches at the bottom to the smallest boughs at the top. Glue the pipe cleaner to the card. Finish with a gold star as a tree topper!
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This year, many friends and families will set up their Christmas trees and work together to decorate them with their favorite ornaments. Some ornaments even have their own special meaning or associated memory that sends the entire group down memory lane. While this holiday nostalgia is wonderful, the problem is that many of these ornaments are old, from when kids were little, a married couple just started dating, or a group of friends first met. People rarely add new decorations to the tree and create new memories to look back on in the coming years. But you and your loved ones can change that this year by making your own DIY cardboard gingerbread ornaments together! DIY Gingerbread Ornaments: Add Sweet Memories to Your Christmas Tree
Take a Break
All you need for this ornament is brown cardboard (from any box lying around), a white gel pen or marker, and string.
To make your “gingerbread,” you first draw out the shape of your ornament(s) in pencil on a piece of cardboard before cutting it out. Then, use your white marker or pen to add “frosting” designs. We recommend adding some of those traditional gingerbread frosting loops around the edges before going in and adding details. Lastly, punch a small hole (you can just poke the pen tip through) on top of the cardboard on the ornament, feed the string through, and tie a knot at the top to make a loop. You can hang that loop over a branch on your tree, and it will look like a freshly baked cookie is hanging there!
Skillet Chicken Pot Pie Inspired by TheModernProper.com
INGREDIENTS
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1/2 cup butter
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1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup chopped onion 1 cup sliced celery 2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups peas
If you want to make the ornament even more meaningful, have your kids, friends, or other family members make themselves (or you!) as cardboard gingerbread people! They can add their hair, outfits, or anything else to their ginger-person design. Having everyone’s ginger selves hanging on the tree together
1/2 cup flour
4 cups cooked chicken
1 tsp salt
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
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1 egg
DIRECTIONS
1.
Heat oven to 425 F.
2. In 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt butter, then add onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 5 minutes. 3. Add flour, salt, pepper, celery seed, and garlic powder to pan and stir. Sauté for 2 minutes. Slowly incorporate milk. 4. Add stock and bring to a simmer, whisking until mixture thickens. Add peas and chicken. 5. Roll out pastry sheet into 16-inch square on floured surface. Cut into 3-inch squares and place overlapping onto chicken mixture. 6. In a small bowl, whisk egg with 1 tbsp water. Brush egg over pastry and place in oven for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
will always remind you of the time you spent with them to create these decorations. The best part is they’ll never go bad, and you can reuse them every year!
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INTEGRITY, RELIABILITY, & COMMITMENT
Garry F. Liday Corp. Retirement Asset Managers, Inc. A Registered Investment Advisory Firm (RIA) 15405 SW 116th Ave., Suite 103A King City, OR 97224
Call Us: (503) 620-3531 www.garryliday.com
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Inside This Issue Celebrating 40 Beautiful Years PAGE 1 The Unbelievable Story of WWI’s Christmas Truce PAGE 2 From Your Heart to Theirs: Handcrafted Christmas Cards for Loved Ones PAGE 2 Spice Up Your Christmas Tree With Cardboard Gingerbread Ornaments PAGE 3 Skillet Chicken Pot Pie PAGE 3 Discover the Most Enchanting Christmas Towns in the US PAGE 4
FROM SNOWY VILLAGES TO YEAR-ROUND HOLIDAY CHEER Explore America’s Most Magical Christmas Towns
Leavenworth, Washington Many have dubbed Leavenworth the most
Woodstock, Vermont During Woodstock’s Wassail Weekend, you’ll find the town in peak Christmas mode, where you can experience parades, horse-drawn carriages, carolers, and the Billings Farm, a local favorite of the season. Stroll down Main Street to witness an idyllic Christmas spot filled with cozy small-town shops and restaurants. North Pole, Alaska If you ever feel like celebrating Christmas in the middle of summer, we know the perfect destination. North Pole, Alaska, offers Christmas decor and festivities year-round! Here, you can get up close and personal with Santa’s reindeer, meet the man himself, and enjoy the snow that covers the entire town. Be sure to check out their ice sculpture competition, which features artists from all over the world! Ready for the Christmas celebration of your dreams? Start planning your next holiday vacation at any of these destinations, and we promise your dreams will most definitely come true!
It may be too late for less spontaneous travelers to start planning a Christmas vacation. But that shouldn’t stop you from planning next year’s holiday journey! The good news is you don’t need to venture to another continent to find a Christmas wonderland. There are countless picture-perfect Christmas towns across the country. Make your next Christmas trip feel like a Hallmark movie at one of these festive towns!
Christmas-centric in the U.S., and it’s easy to see why. This Bavarian-style village experiences nearly 96 inches of snowfall every year, and they certainly don’t hold back when it comes to the holidays. The town lights up and decorates almost 21 miles, where you can find reindeer farms, carolers, gingerbread competitions, and Christmas markets. Every step of the way offers an Instagram-worthy photo opportunity!
Solvang, California A slice of Denmark right in sunny California, Solvang brings endless holiday cheer, especially with their annual Julefest. Pronounced “Yule- fest,” this month-long festival takes place every December and features picturesque events, including a ballerina- filled tree lighting ceremony, visits from Santa, culinary delights, traditional Danish celebrations, and much more!
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