Jack and Sarah Frost, or “Popsy” and “Mopsy” as they are affectionately known in some circles, didn’t get to pick their own grandparent names. It seems that grandparent names are more often given than self-appointed. Despite one’s vision of which defining title will identify them for the better half of life, naming privileges usually end up in the hands of the first grandchild. Luckily, Jack and Sarah were christened with names that personify them – fun, a little whimsical and filled with lots of love. 

“One thing I will tell you for sure is that we would have answered to anything!” said Sarah. “We were so very excited to be members of the Grandparents’ Club and I tell everyone I know that it is definitely the best club I ever joined!” 

Jack and Sarah raised their kids with a global vision. They could have just as easily ended up in some faraway land, but as luck would have it, their daughter Kate and her husband, Wes, settled just up the road in Northwest Arkansas. It’s not too far for a day-trip playdate with the grandkids, but just far enough that a visit becomes an event. Anyone who knows Sarah will attest that she has a knack for turning a routine visit into a soiree or a quick snack into a smorgasbord.

Holidays have always been extra special at the Frost house, and when their first granddaughter, Reece, came along… well, you can imagine. Around Christmas, visits to Mopsy and Popsy’s were filled with cooking and crafts.

“When Reese was little we started making Bears in the Snow: pancakes with chocolate chip eyes and a raisin nose! The most fun part is taking the powdered sugar sifter and making it ‘snow’ on top of the pancakes!” said Sarah. It has become a tradition that has superseded Christmas and is now called for year-round at nearly every visit.

When Sarah was a child, her Christmas stocking was handmade by her grandmother, Mimi. It was made from felt and adorned with appliqued trees, a Santa and toys, and it sparkled with hand-sewn sequins and beads. “I wanted to make Reece’s stocking just like my grandmother had made for me. I chose lots of shades of pink and soft pastel colors, then added bugle beads and sequins to really glitz it up for her! Then along came Graham. That winter I started his stocking, but this time I added several animals and a train and boxcars, just like my brother’s stocking back in the day. Then came Eli, and he got his stocking too!”

Sarah gets her wool felt online. “The felt comes in gorgeous color palettes so it’s always a treat to open up a package from them and see what you get.” Each stocking has a vintage Christmas embellishment that Sarah’s mother had saved from special gifts that arrived by mail from California when she was a child, a paper Santa or snowman from Aunt Edna still making Christmas special. When Sarah’s neighbors and friends heard about her stocking project, they came bearing sewing boxes filled with hand-me-down beads and trinkets to contribute, tiny treasures that make the handmade stockings all that more special.

The stockings hang on the mantel at Mopsy and Popsy’s and every Christmas, Santa fills them with oranges and candy, just like when Sarah and Jack were kids. “Everyone gets socks and undies too, and I help Santa look for little stocking stuffers all year long.”