Sorry I'm slow! I was tagged by Chris to share 12, Christmas-related things about me. Since I'm behind my time I thought I'd turn it into a Christmas and New Year's list.....
1) Christmas to me is all about Dickens' A Christmas Carol. My favorite movie version is probably a tie between the George C. Scott one and the 1935 with Seymour Hicks called Scrooge. Lord save me from Mickey and Donald. this year I was pretty sad because I wasn't getting a chance to watch a single version, let alone over and over again like I prefer. But my BIL saved me -- he took us to "A Christmas Carol 1941" at DC's Arena Stage -- a wonderful production putting Dickens' classic into 1941 Washington, DC with wartime concerns, shortages, etc. It was really well done. Really, really well done.
2) I shop all year long, sometimes 2 years in advance for Christmas gifts. What can I say-- I love shopping for folks! Because I do this I usually miss the fun (or if you prefer it "fun") of Christmas shopping in the real season for it, ie., after Thanksgiving.
3) This year is the first year that almost all of my Christmas cards not only went out before Christmas, but before February 1st! Honest!!! And, this was the first year I ever produced a Christmas letter.
4) The first Christmas ornament I can really remember insisting on was a raccoon with ice skates from Hallmark. I still have him and I still love him. He's in one of the 3-4 giant rubbermaid tubs of ornies I have in storage now.
5) My favorite hymn or carol is "In the Bleak Midwinter" from the Christina Rosetti poem. I have probably 12-15 versions of it and I collect more every chance I get. Despite my need for that carol to surround me at Christmas, most often the voice of the season for me is Frank Sinatra. Annnd, despite "Bleak" and Frank, I'm most likely to be caught saying or humming "Mele Kalikimaka" (Bing Crosby).
6) Growing up Christmas dinner was most often squab, but then again most special occasions we had squab. Over the last 10-15 years we didn't really have a standard menu save for the fact that we always had black olives.
7) Traditionally we rarely got our tree down before the end of January. And mom once left one small one (3-footer) up for 3 years!!! Honest and true!!!
8) My fondest growing-up memories of New Year's were those surrounding the family Tripoli game. Sometime after my sister went off to college, my Great Uncle Leo unearthed an old, hand colored Tripoli board (think a cross between poker and hearts) and then a new-fangled rubber one. My parents, I, Uncle Leo, and Grandpa would play for what, at the time, seemed forever ... aka 1-2am. mom would start to loose chips (I'm sure purposely, so we could call the game and go to bed) and my Uncle would start sneaking chips into her pile to keep the game going. Ahhh, the good ole days!
9) I feel bad for all you non-Westerners. We get the Rose Parade in its entirety (commercial-free on a couple channels) and we get it repeated all day long usually too for those of up who played Tripoli way too late the night before. I discovered this year at my sister's that ya'll don't even get the entire parade once! It's a crime!!!!!!!!!!!
10) One of my favorite things for the New Year is the hanging of the new calendar. Mind you, I usually get around to it around February 1st. This year I was extremely perky-- it got hung last night. Now I have to focus on changing it. In 2006, it didn't change after June. Last year it got put up in March and I'm not sure it got changed at all. One of this year's New Year's resolutions is to Change the Bloody Calendar in a Timely Manner.
11) I used to make all sorts of perky resolutions. I'd start thinking about them the month before. Then New Year's would be so busy I never got around to actually making them. lol This year I think they'll be in luck next week.
12) Now that I come to think of it, I really don't like New Years. All I can think about is everything that I didn't accomplish in the previous year.
I'm not tagging anyone specifically ... if you feel so inclined... consider yourself tagged!
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