Hello Winter / Bonjour l’hiver / Hola Invierno 2024,

Dear Hug Bug friends and families,

I appreciated the beautiful autumn colours, gently falling leaves, and cooler air! I wish they could last forever! But I see the days are getting shorter, and I know that Winter will soon be here! Frosty days and swirling snowflakes will bring deeper sleeps and hibernation. Nature is getting ready to change and preparing for the quiet time of year. A time for reading and telling stories, drawing pictures, baking cookies and staying warm.

Find your favourite family recipes and let’s bake some cookies, like my friend, Sherry!

By Charlotte Diamond

Sherry’s cookies, what a delight,
Sherry’s cookies, ready to bite!
Sherry’s cookies, oh, what fun.
I want to eat every one!

1. Made with care and taking time
A gift for friends that looks so fine,
Tied with a ribbon in a box
I know she’s making lots and lots of … Chorus

Download this song on my web site:
Vocal Performance or Band Track.

Do you know someone who likes to bake? Let’s sing, “Nana’s Cookies. Auntie’s Cookies, Daddy’s Cookies” or your Cookies! I like to make and decorate Hug Bug Sugar Cookies!

When we gather for special family holidays and celebrations, we become connected and feel part of a group. It feels good to be close to those we love and respect. We are stronger, supported and accepted when we are connected in school, at play and at home!

By Charlotte Diamond
From Diamonds by the Sea

I feel connected; I feel respected
With my family and with my friends,
Like a tower, I‘ve got power
With an energy that never ends.
I need community and my teachers
To watch my steps as I grow,
Take my hand and let’s go together
For there’s so much I want to know!

Also available for purchase as a song download on my web site!
Vocal Performance or Band Track.

Charlotte and Matt in their Canucks Jerseys

My home is in a West Coast forest on the ocean, close to Vancouver, BC. I support the Vancouver Canucks hockey team! It is interesting to watch the local wild animals near my home: racoons, deer, black bears, birds and a coyote. They share this land with us. We are surrounded by tall trees, like maples, birch, alder, cedars, and Douglas fir. Trees go through so many changes throughout the seasons. In fall, the maple trees make a beautiful carpet on the ground. Watch the red, orange and yellow leaves gently falling down.

Charlotte Diamond Holding Two Large Maple Leaves – Fall 2023

My grandson, Fraser (5) helped me write this song.

Autumn Leaves Are Falling

By Charlotte and Fraser Diamond

Autumn Leaves are falling, falling, falling,
Autumn Leaves are falling all around.
Autumn Leaves are falling, falling, falling,
Autumn Leaves are falling to the ground.

Let’s make this a ZIPPER SONG and dance with our hands.

“Autumn Leaves are swirling, twirling, dancing, drifting, floating all around.”

A red squirrel is so busy gathering nuts and seeds to store in her drey or nest. Maybe she has babies who will need food through the cold winter. She takes nuts from my hand, then scampers away to hide them in the ground for later foraging.

The Stellar Jays are calling me to throw nuts for them, too! Chickadees and Towhees are on the ground below, eating seeds, and Anna’s hummingbirds are rapidly draining my feeder of tasty syrup. Some birds are getting ready to migrate south, like Canada geese, snow geese, ducks, and robins. But the birds that stay here all winter need to gain weight to survive the bitter winter nights. They may need our help, so scatter seeds for them.

By Charlotte Diamond

Animals have personality; animals have lots to say
If you take time to look, take time to listen
They’re different in their own way……oo,oo,oo,oo

1. Talk to your bird, whistle a tune
She might start talking to you
Or pet your cat when she’s feeling sad
She may do the same for you.

Chorus

2. Well, I’m an animal; you are too
We’re just like our animal friends
I care for you; you care for me
Our friendship never ends.

Chorus

Recorded on “Diamonds and Dragons” & “24 Carrot Diamond”

My new Picture Book, Charlotte Diamond’s Animal Friends is also available in digital format for teachers and librarians at Orca Book Publishers. Let’s Read and Sing Together!

We are following Nature’s lead. Trees can communicate with each other through their roots and underground fungi. They communicate when it is time to drop their leaves and store food (sap) down in their roots until Spring. We are so lucky to have trees! You can hug them! What kind of tree would you like to be? I want to be a Fraser fir tree!

By Charlotte Diamond

What Kind of Tree Are You?
What Kind of Tree Are You?
Many kinds you can see
Choose which on you’d like to be,
Tree, Trees, Trees, Trees, Trees!

From “Diamond in the Rough” and “A World of Music” Music Book

As the weather turns chilly, please remember the families in your community who may need your help. Donate to your local Food Bank and Community Services so all families will have a Healthy and Happy Holiday Season. Be kind and share your smile with everyone you meet.

By Charlotte Diamond

Leave the world just a little bit better,
A little better than it was.
Leave the world just a little bit better,
A little better than you found it,
When the sun came up.

From Charlotte Diamond’s World, 24 Carrot Diamond
and “A World of Music” Music Book

A Gift for Newsletter Subscribers!

Free Song Download!

Until December 25, 2024, I’m offering my Newsletter subscribers only a free download of “Sherry’s Cookies”. Click here to go to the product page in my store, and then click on “Add to Cart”. [Not subscribed to my Newsletter yet? Click here to sign up now so you’ll be eligible for future offers!]

At checkout, enter the coupon code posted in the newsletter – after doing so, you’ll see a credit in your shopping cart of $0.99 for the song purchase. Then just proceed through checkout to get immediate access to your song download!

(If you aren’t purchasing any other items, you won’t be asked for purchase details. We do need your name, address, and Email address though, to process the order and give you access to the download file.)

Happy Holiday Celebrations
and a Peaceful, Joyful New Year 2025!

Write to me anytime and send your ideas to me by email or visit my Charlotte Diamond Fan Page on Facebook. I always write back!

To join the Hug Bug Club, please send your name and address to:

or email fanmail@charlottediamond.com