Christmas cookies for friends and teachers of Matthew and Jack
In my house today is Christmas Eve. It also happens to be my dad's birthday. Dad, if you're reading this... Happy Birthday. I love you.
Tonight the boys will have their cousins over for Christmas cookies, hot cocoa, and a white elephant (per artnme1556's suggestion) Christmas exchange. After the cousins return home we'll read T'was the night before Christmas and then it's off to sleep. No worries... the kids know Santa only makes one appearance a year, so there's no chance they'll be slipping down stairs wondering what Santa left. They do know, however, that mommy and daddy will leave one treat in each of their stockings for the fun of it.
There are a lot of ways I could go today's free for all... favorite gifts you've ever received (as suggested by Heidi earlier in the week), Free for All Christmas trivia, favorite holiday recipes... and the list goes on. The good news is I still have the actual holiday season (Christmas is 159 days away) to hit any major topic of interest that I miss this time around.
So today I'll be selfish and make a personal request. The topic... Christmas Conversation Questions. Richard and I typically host at least one "grown-up" dinner party around the holidays, each year. I love setting the table with my formal china and topping it off small picture frame bearing a holiday related question. I find the questions a great way to break the ice if guests don't already know one another, as well as generally helping people get in the holiday spirit.
I'm tired of my same old, same old questions... "The best Christmas present I ever received is..."; "If Santa had a tenth reindeer what would his name be?"; "My favorite ornament on the tree is..." I need new questions. That's where all of you come in. Believe it or not, I would love 100 questions from which I can pick and choose the best. Now, we've had record turnout this week in terms of posting comments. Don't fail me now. Help me build a bank of Christmas questions better than my current list. Naturally each question does not have to be a separate post.
A couple of important announcements:
- Yesterday's contest: Notta one of you guessed where SNANta Claus would go. Nope, notta one. So, in honor of the THREE additional Random Acts of Kindness postcards I received in the mail yesterday (yes, they are still rolling in and it is still not too late for you to mail yours), I will draw a name from the RAK box to determine the lucky winner of Nan's luggage tags. Hopefully this is motivating the last of you to finally get up and send me a postcard with your mailing address. It is the only way to win some of our most fun prizes. My mailing address: 4012 Harvestwood Court, Grapevine, Texas, 76051. So, the lucky luggage tag winner is...
Julie from New York
- Tomorrow: If you have, know, or live near any kids, I hope you will find a way to involve them in tomorrow's blog entry. I have a small box of Christmas in July treats to send the winning child, so don't miss out on this fun chance to test their creativity.
Signing off until tomorrow...
Oh yeah... it was
PORTLAND, OREGON
Thanks for playing, everyone!
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21 comments:
What is your favorite hoilday treat?
Do you make any Hoilday crafts?
If you could give the world a present what would it be?
When do you open your gifts (morning,midnight, all day)?
What do you eat for Christmas eve and Christmas dinner?
What a perfect way to start my Friday :) Thank you for the tags :)
... As i'm sitting here trying to think of Christmas questions my mind drifted to the "angel trees" that pop up everywhere around Christmas time. I'm not trying to open too big of a can of worms, but can we, as a HLA community, do something spectacular for a family or organization this year? ...
I'll be back later with questions :)
What is your favorite ornament and where did you get it?
How old were you when you found out about you know who?
What is the one holiday tradition that you hope your children will pass on to their children?
What kind of cookies do you leave for Santa?
In your house, are Santa's gifts wrapped or unwrapped?
If you could choose any person in the world to spend Christmas with who would it be?
What was your favorite Christmas gift as a child?
Do you go to midnight mass or Christmas morning?
Do you go caroling?
Does "Santa" wrap all of your gifts or does he leave some open?
Do you set up your computer for "Santa" watch with nexrad radar station for your kids?
Do you believe in "Santa"?
Hot chocolate or eggnog?
Sugar cookies or fruitcake?
I could keep going on so I will stop now!
My favorite gift as a child was my "Chrissy" doll, and "Flatsy"(this flat doll)
My favorite as an adult was my diamond tennis bracelet.
My church has angel trees and my three kids and my husband and I all pick someone and buy them something. Last year I donated money for a child to have clef palate surgery (Smile Train) and I had my girl scout troops sponsor some teen unwed moms in a womens shelter by buying them and their baby Christmas gifts.
I have to tell you that helping others is a two sided gift. There is no greater feeling around the holidays than feeling like you made someone feel happy and cared for. My kids are like any other kids they love their gifts but expect them. When you give a gift to those less fortunate even the smallest thing makes them so grateful.
I am running on so I will go do wash now:)
Happy Birthday Mr. Kamhi! I hope your day is filled with a lot of great stuff!
If you had the means/ability to provide a large gift for a friend or person who really needed it (ie: new car, etc) how would you present it? Anonymously or directly? Would you have a fun creative way of doing it?
If someone gave you a lottery ticket for Christmas and it happened to be the big winner what would you do? Split in evenly or give them a portion or a nice gift?
What do you feel is the nicest gift you have ever given someone for Christmas?
My mom (Sara) is here with my this morning, so we are working together to brainstorm some questions.
Were you in any Christmas plays when you were a child?
What is your most embarrassing Christmas moment?
What is the funniest Christmas gift you have ever received?
Who do you celebrate Christmas with?
What could your true love give to you? (Form of 12 days of Christmas)
How many gifts can Santa's bag hold?
Who opens gifts first - is there a tradition?
What holiday movie can you quote lines from? (Look Daddy! Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!)
If you were Santa's tenth reindeer, what would your name be?
What's the craziest thing you've ever blamed on eggnog?
Icicles/tinsel or garland? Discuss.
On the topic of lights: Blinking or not? White or colored? If colored, solid or multi?
Who's your favorite person on Santa's naughty list?
What's the strangest gift you've ever received?
What single as-seen-on-TV item would you most like to receive this year?
I love the idea of going in together to "adopt" a family for Christmas. Great idea, Julie!
Do people behave differently at Christmas?
Do you decorate the outside of your house for Christmas?
What's for Christmas dinner?
Favorite Christmas song?
How many stockings do you hang up and for who?
Where do you hang your stockings?
Real or artificial?
When do you put the tree up? Take down?
Have you finished your shopping? When did you start?
If you could go anywhere for a Christmas vacation, where would you go?
What do you hope Santa brings you this year? (Yes, for adults)
Have you ever wanted to tell your kids the truth about Santa and why?
If you could change one thing about the Christmas season, what would it be?
What is the one thing you would not change?
Peggy, maybe your question could read:
If there were a 13th day of Christmas, what would your true love give to you?
I love all these questions. I may have to have a party, just to incorporate this idea. Better yet, I think I will incorporate it into my favorite holiday tradition. Each year, my family gets together to paint Christmas sugar cookies. We use to do this with my grandmother when I was little and now my parents continue the tradition with our children. We play holiday music and have so much fun. I think adding the questions will add a new element to this tradition!
When do you put your decorations up? How long do you leave your Christmas decorations up for?
What's the worst gift you've ever been given?
What's one childhood tradition you wish you would have continued into your adulthood?
If money didn't matter, what you would you ask for for Christmas?
what do you do with your Christmas cards after the season is over?
Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without...
What is your favorite line of The Night Before Christmas?
What is your favorite Christmas Carole and why?
One Christmas you wish you had pictures of is...
Yule is my all time fave holy day, and I try to hold close the people we celebrate it all during the next year. Small things, like random cards in the mail, gifts (notepads for the jotter, wacky tissues for the allergy prone) etc.
So I might ask something along the lines of "How will you continue the holiday spirit throughout the rest of the upcoming year?"
What is your favorite Christmas carol?
What is your favorite holiday tradition or what holiday tradition have you heard about from another person that you would like to implement into your traditions?
What's the best gift you've ever given to someone for Christmas?
What's the best reaction someone had to a gift you gave them?
What's your favorite holiday memory?
How does you stay connected to your loved ones throughout the holidays?
What is your favorite holiday movie?
HEATHER URGENT UPDATE!!!!!!
THE WINE IS IN THE MAIL!!!!!!
Hip Hip Hooray!
Merry Chirstmas! I hope you are strong... It weighs 36 lbs. I got a wine mailer that is all styrofoam inside so the bottles will be safe.
Sorry it took so long but I had so many kinks to work out.
Stacie,
Did you get it yet??
did you ever vacation with family on christmas instead of having a traditional one at home?
what is your favorite dish served on christmas?
do you wait until christmas eve to put up your tree and decorate it?
Maureen,
Holy Smokes! I think I would have settled for a single bottle, I guess now we all know that a case of wine weighs more than two of my daughter! I hope we can find somewhere in this tiny apartment to put the case until we find some nice individuals to pass a bottle along to.
You are the greatest.
One of these days we are all going to have to meet at Claudia's in person for a real "This is your life" moment for her.
Heather... I love the suggestion. That would be an amazing episode of my glorious life!
Heather, maybe you can hold onto the wine until you move into your new house (hopefully December) and then have a house warming party.
Heather, I will be more than happy to get together! As for the wine, I hope you enjoy it. I was told it is very good. I dont drink wine so Im no help. Have a good night and let me know when you get it!
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