Tagged . . .

Jennifer got me with a 12 Random Things About Christmas meme . . .

1. Have I ever mentioned that it bugs me when stores play Christmas music before Thanksgiving? It also bugs me how commercialized Christmas has become. I recently tripped over a new blog that covered this topic very well!

2. That being said, I usually get hit with the Christmas fever around the 20th or so - at which point I'm having a holly, jolly Christmas . . . and a happy new year!

3. My favorite Christmas present growing up: Bonkers - my half-golden retreiver, half-cocker spaniel that I loved dearly for nearly 10 years. We named him Bonkers because he could have benefitted from a daily dose of Ritalin.

4. (Spoiler Alert!) I remember when I realized that there was no Santa. Some kid at school was going around the playground breaking the bad news to everyone. It didn't bother me because I never really believed in Santa in the first place. I just remember thinking, "Of course Santa's not real - no real person would come through the chimney!"

5. Although I knew there really wasn't a Santa, I always allowed myself to have fun imagining that he was real.

6. Although I love living in Texas, I still get a little bummed every year we don't have a white Christmas.

7. My parents have a great tradition of giving "Spirit of Christmas" gifts on Christmas Eve. They aren't gifts on our wish list but rather gifts my parents want give us - hence the name "Spirit of Christmas". I always got bummed as a little kid when I'd open it up and it would be a book, a framed picture of our family or some other kind of momento. But as an adult, it's one of my favorite gifts.

8. My "Spirit of Christmas" disappointment was always short lived because of the great stockings gifts we got on Christmas morning. Stockings are a big deal in my family - and still are with Kelly and I. We got cassette tapes, VHS movies, toys, etc. And each gift was individually wrapped.

9. There was always something magical about running to our living room and seeing the Christmas tree surrounded by all the presents including the 'big one' from Santa. Half of me wanted to just stand there and stare in awe . . . the other half wanted to rip everything open - truly one of the greatest moments in a kid's life!

10. The worst Christmas present I've given Kelly: A heating pad to use when she had cramps! This was back in Year 1 or 2 - I was actually using my active listening skills because she had kept saying how she wished she had a good heating pad. Although it wasn't the main gift I gave her that year, the look on her face when she opened it let me know that my active listening skills weren't as finely tuned as I thought!

11. The best Christmas present I've given Kelly (so far!): I had her wedding ring updated!

12. Usually the song Twelve Days of Christmas makes me want to shove fists full of tinsel in my ears. But I've been known to stop and listen (and giggle!) if it's being sung by the greatness of John Denver and The Muppets!



Thanks for the tag, Jennifer!

I'll tag Kelly so she'll have a chance to complain about having to wrap each stocking gift individually . . .

. . . Keri because she'll be "none too happy!" . . .

. . . Audra because it's time for her to update her blog . . .

. . . and EDMC because she tagged me a couple weeks ago!

Here are the rules:

1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas.

2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word.

(Whoops! I think I broke this rule!)

3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.

4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.