TMI Tuesday Happy Holidays Edition



I would leave this tree up allllll year long.

This time of year there are so many holidays and celebrations that overlap, which is why it is called Holiday Season.

1. What will you be celebrating? If it isn’t a commonly known holiday or celebration (i.e., Christmas, winter solstice, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa) briefly tell us about it. I'll be celebrating Christmas this year, like always.

2. What’s your favorite Christmas or holiday tune? Well, I'm not gonna play favorites, but I'll give you a rundown of my must-haves for the holidays. Firstly, if I was going to listen to no other Christmas recordings for the rest of my life then I would be happy to narrow it down to Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. My favorite kind of Christmas is a vintage Christmas and these two men give me the nostalgic warm and fuzzies.

From Bing :
1. White Christmas
2. I'll Be Home For Christmas
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
4. It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas
and...
5. Mele Kalikimaka (not that I'm from Hawaii, or have ever been there, but it's sooooo much fun to sing along to!)

From Nat:
1.The Christmas Song
2. Silent Night
3. Caroling, Caroling
4. The First Noel
and...
5. O Come All Ye Faithful (but to be honest, the whole album is my favorite.)

Oh! also, how could I forget? My newest favorite is Josh Groban's version of "O Holy Night". I've never heard a version of this song I didn't like, but this man sings it like an angel. Listen here.

3. If you are giving or receiving gifts this holiday season:

- What’s the gift you most want? Snow. Always snow. You'd think living in the Midwest that this wouldn't be too hard for Mother Nature to deliver...alas, no snow on Christmas for quite a few years. Why can I remember as a kid every single year it was snowy, if not actually snowing on Christmas, but now...nothing? *Pouts* I really, really want snow. Dreaming of a white Christmas, indeed.

- What do you think is the best gift you are giving? Well, my kids are getting iPhones for Christmas. So those are the most generous gifts I'm giving, because they are also receiving a good amount of trust along with those phones. But I'm most excited about giving everyone else something that they specifically want. We exchanged lists this year, so I know for certain my family will like what they get. That feels good.

4. If you could spend this December holiday season anywhere, where would that be? In a cabin somewhere in the snowy woods, all bundled up in front of a glowing fireplace with a cup of cocoa in my hands with Bing or Nat playing in the background while I gaze at the twinkling lights on the tree, surrounded by my family. I've wanted this for three years in a row and I keep threatening to make it happen. I say threaten because my mother would have apoplectic fits if I dared to stray from the traditional routine. That's not what's keeping me from doing it, either. My husband could care less, but my daughter threw a panicked fit, and my son refused to go. Can a girl not have an old fashioned Christmas? Apparently only by herself. Hmph. Anyone else want to join me? I know how we could stay warm.........

5. Your family has announced that the holiday celebration & get-together will be at your home. You think to yourself:

a. Yes! Finally…the more the merrier. Not a problem. All my family lives in travelling distance, and there's a manageable number of us. As long as they don't mind pitching in to do dishes, we're golden!
b. I don’t have enough room for all of you, but let’s rent a hall and you all get hotel rooms.
c. Over my dead body, I don’t want you freaks in my house. Only if we're talking about my in-laws.
d. Hmm…I wonder if it’s too late to book a flight to anywhere, leaving on Christmas eve? To someplace remote and snowy? Yes please!

6. Have you ever given a fruit cake as a Christmas gift or a gift at all? Do you even like fruit cake? Fruitcake is the worst gift ever. You might as well say "I don't really like you and I'd rather not spend any time or energy giving you a gift." Unless...the recipient is a weirdo (like my husband) who actually likes - no LOVES- fruitcake. His grandma makes them and he's always loved hers the best. When she moved to Florida he was heartbroken over no more fruitcakes. I took pity on him 2 or 3 years ago and tried to make him one following Betty Crocker's recipe. What I learned : fruitcake making is a fine art. The soaking part is the trickiest. Also, those sons of bitches are expensive!!! Do you know how much all that candied fruit and nuts and stuff costs? Just to make something that only, like...3 percent of the population actually enjoys??? Waaaaay too much. And then to have to start over because you dipped the cakes for too long and they got soggy and fell apart! Nope. Not gonna do it again. I don't want to know how to make them that badly. He can buy his own awful fruitcake.

Bonus:  Share with us one of your holiday traditions. I'm going to say something that sounds truly dirty, but it's not I swear. At Christmas time we play "Hide the pickle". My mother has a pickle ornament that gets hidden on her tree and the grandkids look for it and whoever finds it gets to either open a present first or receives a special ornament. This tradition is supposed to be German, but my mom's German friend has never heard of it. Maybe it's regional? Or maybe the Germans are laughing at the silly Americans who believe that "hiding the pickle" is for Christmas and not some other time. Who knows. My daughter is reigning champion. Figures. LOL :)