12 Things About Christmas

Tristi just tagged me, so here goes...

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 (Josi doesn't even know what the m-word is but she's trying really hard to think of all the dirty words that start with M that she's ever heard. Tristi thinks the "m" word is Meme.)

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.

Drum roll please...

1. I love Christmas music. I have been known to listen to it as early as September.

2. I buy a new Christmas cd every year and try to have a wide variety of styles to fit every mood.

3. I usually prefer to make most of my gifts, but over the last few years I have cut down on this because time seems so short, and so many people don't really appreciate them.

4. I love to light all the candles and the Christmas tree lights and just sit and watch them.

5. I used to have a step-mom from South Africa who still used real candles on her real tree. Now that is a spectacular sight.

6. Every year, I look forward to the Christmas baking and always end up making more than I should.

7. After the baking is done, we load up the plates to give to neighbors, family and friends.

8. I love putting up my Christmas tree and decorations around the first of December (I can't put up the tree until the local store brings them in), but I also love taking everything down around New Years and having the house cleaned up and back to normal.

9. On Christmas morning the kids aren't allowed in the living room until everyone is awake, then Dad goes into the room and turns on the tree lights before the kids file in, youngest to oldest. We hand out the gifts one at a time and take the time to enjoy each gift before opening the next one.

10. I unknowingly started collecting nativities. Now the kids like to make a game of counting them and seeing who can find the most.

11. Both my older kids believed in Santa until they were teenagers. When my daughter finally figured us out, we passed the torch to her and told her she had a responsibility to be a Santa and serve all those around her who needed a little Christmas cheer.

12. I still believe in Santa. There have been too many difficult years in my life, when Christmas just shouldn't have happened, but somehow the gifts under the tree are always plentiful and the kid's faces always light up on Christmas morning.

So there are a few things about Christmas. I'm going to tag Mandi and Autumn. Do it quickly girls...only four more sleeps until Christmas. I will get to the seven things about me tag soon, but I figured I should do this one before Christmas becomes a memory.