Holiday Guide Special supplement to The Valley News & Clarinda Herald-Journal
Clarinda home turned into winter wonderland By KENT DINNEBIER Staff Writer
F
Sarina Morhardt, far right, from Karlsruhe, Germany and Jon and Nancy Johnson of Sidney.
Celebrating
Christmas in America
By TESS GRUBER NELSON Staff Writer
A
s Americans, we are used to such holiday traditions as trimming the tree, singing Christmas carols, hanging up lights, wrapping presents and waiting up for Santa. But for four local foreign exchange students – Yevgenia Kruopite, Ayame Yamaguchi, Yui Arase, and Sarina Morhardt, getting to participate in such festivities for the first time this year will be an eye-opening experience they will never forget. Yevgenia, or Yevy, 15, is staying with Howard and Marla Hart from Shenandoah, and their daughters, Megan and Anna. A native of Arkhangelsk, Russia, Yevy said she wanted to be a foreign exchange student in order to experience another culture. “I think it will be an unforgettable experience,” said Yevy. “I like Iowa and Shenandoah. Shenandoah is a small, calm town where all people know each other and everybody is involved in common activities. Everybody is always ready to help each other.” In Russia, Yevy explained Christmas is celebrated, but not as much as in the United States. “In the same time period we have New Year, which is celebrated as a huge and important holiday. Apartments are decorated; there is a New Year tree with lots of decorations,” said Yevy. “Although there is no special food, people usually prepare homemade dishes.” However, Yevy added in her family they do pay a little more attention to Christmas because of her father’s Catholic faith. “We serve 12 dishes, eat special Christmas cookies and make different Lithuanian food.” As for what she is looking forward to in celebrating the holidays in the U.S., Yevy said pretty much everything. “It (Christmas) is celebrated much brighter than in Russia. I am waiting for the Christmas preparations of everything. I’ve heard Christmas in the U.S. is a very important holiday. People decorate their houses, spend
time with families, sing Christmas music, and give presents to each other.” Sarina holds the same anticipation as Yevy when it comes to the upcoming holidays. From Karlsruhe, Germany, Sarina, 15, is staying with Jon and Nancy Johnson of Sidney. “Normally on Christmas the whole family comes together. Most people go to church, and dress better than they do normally. In every house there is a Christmas tree,” Sarina explained. But she’s quick to add Christmas is a much bigger deal in America. “It’s a bigger thing than in Germany. In my country for your birthday you get more presents than Yui Arase from Tamana, Japa for Christmas. I think here it’s the other way around,” she said. “We always go to church, come home and eat beef olives. Then we kids have to go to another room while the ‘Christ Child’ brings the presents.” Sarina said she’s looking forward to meeting the entire Johnson family most for the holidays and spending the holidays in Sidney. “It’s a bit strange that everybody knows everyone here, but I love it,” Sarina said. For Ayame, 17, and Yui, 17, they will be spending the holidays in Clarinda, where Ayame is staying with Marvin and Jean Nagley and Yui with Boe and Pat Bogdanski. A native of Tamana, Japan, Ayame said she became an AFS student in Yevgenia Kruopite of Arkhangelski, order to learn the American culture. Russia She said Clarinda is a nice town and that she’s looking forward to Christmas there. “We have a small Christmas tree in our home. Each year my parents give me a present and we always have a special Christmas cake with strawberries on top, but I have heard Christmas is a big celebration in America,” said Ayame. Christmas in Japan for Yui, also from Tamana, is very similar to that of Ayame. “We always have cake at Christmas time and my brother and I get presents. I go shopping with my parents and they buy me a present,” said Yui. “I’m looking forward to Christmas in Clarinda and want to see how it is Ayame Yamaguchi of Tamana, Japan celebrated in my host family.”
Gift ideas for the person who has everything
H
oliday shoppers know the routine well. When venturing off to the nearby mall or even shopping online, shoppers often find a host of items they think would make the ideal gift for each person on their list. Oftentimes, it takes a healthy dose of discipline to stick to a budget and not go overboard. However, seasoned holiday shoppers are also aware of that one person on every holiday shopping list who seemingly has everything or simply insists they want nothing at all. Shoppers typically put off the gift hunt for such friends or family members till the very last minute, often buying whatever’s left on the shelf as a result. While many have grown accustomed to that one stickler on their shopping list, there are a handful of options for gift givers who need to find a way to put a smile on that hardto-shop-for friend or relative’s face. * Go the gift card route. Few gifts provide the versatility and functional-
ity of gift cards. For instance, a gift card to the local electronics store can be used by nearly anyone, even the person who already appears to have everything. Such stores often stock CDs, DVDs, MP3 players, and a host of other items that nearly everyone uses. And though you may be uncertain as to what the gadget lover in your family has or doesn’t have, a gift card to a nearby electronics store is sure to put a smile on his or her face. * Go straight to their stomach. When gifting during the holidays it helps to remember that one gift is always foolproof: food. And perhaps no food is more foolproof than chocolate. This holiday season, shoppers can go one step further and not only give chocolate that’s delicious, but environmentally friendly as well. Thanks to TazaTM Chocolate, holiday shoppers can now feel good knowing their friends and family will still receive the chocolate they love while simultaneously helping the planet. The only domestic producer
of 100 percent stone ground, organic chocolate, Massachusetts-based Taza uses only organic and sustainable ingredients to craft their chocolates. In addition to fostering direct relationships with growers to ensure quality ingredients as well as fair wages and work practices, Taza also gets their sugar from the Green Cane Project, a Brazilian manufacturer who process their spent cane fiber to power both their factory and the nearby town. What’s more, Taza’s extensive catalog ensures there’s something for every chocolate lover. From Taza Chocolate Covered Almonds to the popular Taza Chocolate Tasting Set that allows tasters to explore Taza’s broad range of flavors and textures, there’s truly something for every chocolate lover. * Give to a favorite charity. For the person who truly has everything, a charitable donation in their name is a gift that truly illustrates the spirit of see IDEAS, Page 2
or the last 25 years Alan Ascherl and his family have transformed their rural Clarinda home into a winter wonderland for all to enjoy. “The reason we did it was for other people’s enjoyment,” Ascherl said. “The biggest reward all these years was having somebody stop you on the street and say they loved seeing the display.” Since he was a child growing up in California, Ascherl helped his father decorate their home for Christmas. In 1983 Ascherl married his wife, Becky, and three years later they moved into their current home at 3091 210th Street. That first year the couple placed lights on the home and a Blue Spruce in the front yard as well as placing a display of a Santa Claus and his reindeer in the yard that was illuminated by a spot light. “The first year we put 100 lights on the Blue Spruce. As the tree has grown the number of lights has increased to more than 2,000 lights,” Ascherl said. “Each year we also tried to add a yard ornament or decoration.” Eventually the display grew to include 20 handmade wooden displays, many of which included multiple pieces such as a Nativity scene featuring between 10 and 20 figures. There are also such displays as a series of ice skaters, four Christmas carolers and nine white deer spread throughout the yard and adjoining pasture. The wooden characters that highlight the display were crafted from patterns Ascherl would order. Once the pattern was cut out, Ascherl said the family, including their children Aleigh and Austin, would help string the lights and paint the figures. “I liked the handmade pieces because it was something we did as a family,” Ascherl said. “You could get a little more creative with the figures by using the patterns and we looked for unique displays you would not find every year.” One of the handmade pieces Ascherl is most proud of is a sign that reads “Jesus Is the Reason for the Season.” Each letter in the sign stands approximately 12 inches tall and there are 620 lights to illuminate the sign. “The sign means the most to me. It’s the reason we have Christmas and that says it all in one display,” Ascherl said. Although the vast majority of the pieces in the display are handmade, Ascherl said there are also a few store bought items like illuminated plastic candy canes, a Mickey and Minnie Mouse display and one inflatable decoration. “Four or five years ago the blowup items became pretty popular. You still see a lot of those in people’s yards,” Ascherl said. Ascherl said he has seen a remarkable increase in the style of lights and types of outdoor Christmas decorations that are now available for sale.
“What is available for lights and decorations seems to grow every year. There are so many possibilities now that you can purchase some really nice decorations,” Ascherl said. “A lot of people are also going to LED lights because they burn brighter and use less energy.” Since Ascherl has been decorating his home for the past 25 years, he said there have naturally been some challenges along the way. The first of those challenges came two or three years after Ascherl started decorating. He experienced logistical problems with keeping the displays lit because of the large distances they had to run extension cords to power the attraction. “We had Rick Witthoft put in underground wiring so we could have shorter extension cords,” Ascherl said. “We probably use five miles of extension cords and place the displays on timers so we do not have to manually turn each piece on and off.” In addition, Ascherl said for the last 16 years he has relied on a daytime electrician to repair any displays that were not illuminated the night before. That electrician is his father, who now lives in Clarinda. The next challenge was keeping the display pieces, extension cords and lights organized. “When it started getting larger it was hard to remember where things were the year before so I drew a schematic that included numbering all the trees and I labeled all the cords,” Ascherl said. However, the most unique challenges came when one of their horses decided to inspect the lights on the pasture fence. “Becky had a horse and one year when I was up on the barn putting ups lights I heard a pop. Then I heard it again. The horse was going down the line chewing on the lights on the pasture fence,” Ascherl said. Despite those challenges, there have also been several bright moments like when Clarinda and New Market used to hold Candlelight Lanes on the same night. “People would go to New Market and then take the gravel back to Clarinda. Our kids would hand out candy canes to the people passing by,” Ascherl said. Ascherl said that his ultimate goal was to create a display of The 12 Days of Christmas featuring mechanical pieces such as the seven swans-a-swimming and 12 drummers drumming. “I also wanted to have a miniature train and be able to give rides through the display,” Ascherl said. However, since their children are no longer at home, Ascherl said the family will be significantly scaling back the decorating this year. Ascherl said he only plans to place lights on the house and bushes and display the Nativity scene and “Jesus Is the Reason for the Season” sign. “More and more people are getting larger displays and I think it will be fun to see what the other people do this year,” Ascherl said.