Dad’s Blue Christmas Lights Outshine Everyone’s Grief and Battery Stocks
KEY POINTS
- •Tonilyn Hornung’s father died suddenly three years ago despite recent health checks, leaving the family in shock.
- •She now honors his memory by incorporating his favorite blue Christmas lights and family stories into her holidays.
- •Her 11-year-old son has started a new tradition by enjoying the stories about their Papa under the blue light glow.
After her dad unexpectedly dropped dead from a random, apparently checkup-proof heart attack three years ago, Tonilyn Hornung found the holidays less jolly and more Gut-Punched: The Musical. Her father’s sacred blue Christmas lights, which he orchestrated like a tiny Edison with a tricky system to light the tree’s trunk first, now double as shining monuments of holiday grief. Add to the mix a legendary cookie cutter from grandma Oma, the Christmas morning battery panic running a 30-mile gas station marathon, and an 11-year-old son absorbing Papa’s blue light gospel — and you get a bittersweet glow that’s equal parts sad and oddly specific tradition therapy.
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Blue lights and secret cookie plates: because nothing says lasting holiday trauma like a largescale battery hunt on Christmas morning.
Holiday grief is basically trying to untangle blue light strings wired 100% with emotional landmines and cookie loopholes.
Turns out ‘did I ever tell you about the secret plate of cookies?’ is peak family PTSD with extra battery power.
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 12/21/2025 | Author: Tonilyn Hornung
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