Photo Contest Winner and Submissions

WINNER:
A warm, delicious Christamssy goodness (Lucy Sanders)

It says it all, Christmas cheer, jewelry, and beverage. Congrats Lucy!!

Xmas Eve 2008 (Emily Sanders)

The Lucy Sanders Mini Santa Hat Collection
(Lucy, Courtney, Ryan, Eva, Tim)

Macys Christmas Cat (Chris Elg)

Macys Window (Chris Elg)

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party (Virginia Sayer)

Sully and Binky in the Snow! (Virginia Sayer)

After a light snow in Cambridge (Lucy Sanders)

San Francisco's Union Square from above (Chris Elg)

Harvard Square

Christmas at the Mall (San Francisco, Katie Sanders)

After careful consideration I have decided to extend the Photo Contest until Xmas Eve so keep em coming and I'll post them and then pick winners and give prizes!

Three days doo dah

City of Lights - Petaluma, Ca

Proof that there are people more Christmas Krazy than me

tongue ring and bun bun Santa

In the future, I will have this sign

I love lights and music, this is lights PLUS music!!!

F-O-U-R D-A-Y-S Fa la la la la, la la la la!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

5 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
Christmas Song of the Day: Oh Tannenbaum

Christmas Task of the Day: Don't stress out about getting gifts for everyone

Swurvey Sways...

EMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Favorite Reindeer:BLITZEN!!! (stuff and stuff and stuff and stuff-something something)

2. Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas: FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE GOOOOOOOOOOLDEN RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGS!!

3. Colorful or White Lights? YES!

4. Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat: My sweet treat is two weeks off of work!!!!! YYAAAAAHHHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

5. Favorite Christmas Movie: White Christmas

6. Red or Green? Green

7. Favorite Christmas Song: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (that is the one that has been playing over and over and over in my head all day so I can’t even think of any other songsJ and then I think of that back-to-school staples commercial where they play that song as parents are joyfully skipping down the aisles throwing school supplies in the basket and the kids are sad and then I laugh and laugh and then I write the longest run on sentence about it)

8. Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.): The Abominable Snowman is a Christmas villain? The burglars from home alone

9. Snowman or Snow Angel? Sand Angel

10. Favorite Christmassy Beverage: Christmassy….probable some yummy winter latte at coffee bean and tea leaf…but really bailey’s and coffee!

11. Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.): Hiking up a snow covered volcano!!!

12. A favorite Christmas memory: Pinjo’s first Christmas, getting my star studio (O.G. karaoke tape deck for all you youngins), singing/laughing/cracking up with sisters at x-mas eve, Katie getting soooooooooooo excited about the holiday, Wibby and Wibby dancing to Joyce’s Lady of Spain,Lucy’s poem last year, DEFINETLY G-Pa and Hal at the piano, the whole tradition of it all, oh and Lucy winking at Bernice!

Binky

1. Favorite Reindeer: Rudolph of course. I like Comet too.
   
2. Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas: Seven Swans a Swimmin!
   
3. Colorful or White Lights? White lights - Lucy and I put up a million of them outside my mom's house and now they are covered in snow!
   
4. Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat: hot chocolate with little baby marshmallows! or treacle pudding for the british people
   
5. Favorite Christmas Movie: Miracle on 34th Street; Love Actually; Muppets Christmas Carol!!!
   
6. Red or Green? Red!
   
7. Favorite Christmas Song: ALL of them - how can you even choose!? o holy night; chestnuts roasting on an open fire; little drummer boy; the list goes on!
   
8. Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.): Scrooge in the muppets christmas carol!
   
9. Snowman or Snow Angel? snowMAN! I think I witnessed Lucy make her first of both, so I am attached to both!
   
10. Favorite Christmassy Beverage: hot chocolate again!
    
11. Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.): SLEDDING, but in the UK we grew up as kids calling it "sledging" which is much more fun.
12. A favorite Christmas memory: getting a pony for christmas!

Courtney

1. Favorite Reindeer: Dancer, because I'm a dancer!!!
2. Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas: Fivvvveee gooooold ringgggs
3. Colorful or White Lights? white, it makes the ornaments pop out on the tree
4. Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat: ginger bread cookies!!!
5. Favorite Christmas Movie: A Christmas Story because of the fancy leg lamp
6. Red or Green? Red
7. Favorite Christmas Song: Chestnuts roasting on a open fireeee......
   
8. Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.): The Abominable Snowman!!!!
9. Snowman or Snow Angel? I've never built a snowman or a snow angel, but I can imagine the snowman being super fun!
10. Favorite Christmassy Beverage: mulled hot cider
11. Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.): definitely skiing
12. A favorite Christmas memory: When all of the kids in the family (including me) get matching pajamas and slippers to wear Christmas eve and we all put them on and go look for Santa and do the traditional Christmas dance!!!

Lucy

1. Favorite Reindeer: Comet - he's always overlooked for his boring cleaning supply name
2. Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas: 12 drummers drumming! I love drums - and I'm awesome at them
3. Colorful or White Lights? White lights - classic
4. Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat: jerrrr's ballllz!!!!!!!!
5. Favorite Christmas Movie: Love Actually, the weird claymation frosty the snowman one too, miracle on 34th street
6. Red or Green? Red!
7. Favorite Christmas Song: All I want for Christmas is Youuuuuu
   
8. Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.):Grinch! his heart swells to 3times its size!!!
9. Snowman or Snow Angel? Snow man! way more fun to make
10. Favorite Christmassy Beverage: pumpkin egg nog (with rum?)
11. Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.):bobsledding! Feel the rhythm, feel the rhyme, get on up, it's bobsled time!!!!!!!!!!!
12. A favorite Christmas memory: One of my favorite Christmas memories is the time I asked for an electric race track and I got it and set it up and played with it all day. Also the time we all got ipods. Also every year dancing to lady of Spain. Also winking at Bernice.

Chris

Favorite Reindeer: Comet

Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas: Ten pipers piping

Colorful or White Lights? Color

Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat: Fudge

Favorite Christmas Movie: Christmas Vacation

Red or Green? Green

Favorite Christmas Song: The Christmas Song

Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.): The Abomidable Snowman

Snowman or Snow Angel? Snowwwman Grrrr!

Favorite Christmassy Beverage: Egg Nog (with Brandy)

Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.): Skiing

A favorite Christmas memory: I remember when I was 8,getting domino rally and setting it up all over the house and playing with it all day and loving it. I don't know if it is my favorite memory but it was great.

Katie

Favorite Reindeer: Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph

Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas: A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Colorful or White Lights? Color, the more the merrier

Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat: Peppermint Bark Stuff

Favorite Christmas Movie: The Last Holiday, White Christmas, and Love Actually

Red or Green? BOTH

Favorite Christmas Song: Silent Night and All I Want for Christmas Is You and anything by Straight No Chaser

Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.): You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch...

Snowman or Snow Angel? Snowman! I made the awesomest one in Idaho, it was a tiny lil cute one.

Favorite Christmassy Beverage: Egg Nog (with a lil somethin, somethin?)

Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.): Skiing the bunny slopes

A favorite Christmas memory: All of us sleeping in the same room, trying to get Dad to wake up so we could run in to the living room, getting tangerines in our stockings, decorating the tree, Grampa and Uncle Hal playing their awesome song on the piano, wearing (matching!) pajamas ALL DAY, potato leek soup, when Dad got a toilet for Mom :) Future favorite Memory: Celebrating my favorite holiday with my husband! Oh my god, I have a husband.

NINE FINE DAYS.

HOLIDAY GOODIES

Peppermint Bark

Ginger Bread People (not the gumdrop button!)

Fruitcake

Christmas Cookies

Coconut Cake (looks like a pile of snow)

Task of the Day: Try a new holiday goodie in the next couple days and report back! What'd you get? From where? How was it? Would you recommend it?

Song of the Day: The Christmas Can-Can

YOU CAN COUNT IT ON TWO HANDS! 10 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS!

Last Saturday Chris and I went to my companys Holiday Party - it was amazing! There was a room for every decade since the 70s with a band or DJ, buffet tables, and bars. You could also go to the Casino Room and play Roulette, craps, or poker OR take the elevator up to the top and get an awesome view of SF... wow. While we were in the 90s room the Gin Blossoms rocked out, we had cocktails with a view, ate some lobster pizza, and we ended the night dancing in the 80s room. Afterwards we walked over to Union Square to look at the tree in the rain - a great night.

Email me about an awesome holiday party you've been to.

Christmas Song of the Day: Jingle Bell Rock

O Chwismas Tree, O Chwismas Tree!

11 DAYS TIL XMAS?!!?!?!!?!?

Wow, I can't believe there are only 11 days until the main event!

Song of the Day: Silver Bells (Bilver Sells)

Christmas Task of the Day: Think of one (or more) good, fun, exciting, yummy, etc. Christmas Task of the Day and email ideas to me :)

How do you say Merry Christmas?
(for a giggle, say these out loud as you read)

Glaedelig Jul – Danish

Vrolijike Kerst – Dutch

Hyvvaa Joulua – Finnish

Frohe Weihnachten – German

Kala Christouyenna – Greek

Gledileg Jol – Icelandic

Buon Natale – Italian

God Jul – Norwegian

Feliz Natal – Portuguese

Heri za Krismas – Swahili

God Jul – Swedish

Iyi Noeller – Turkish

And the ever popular “Merry Christmas”

Interesting Xmas Trivia

Why are there Twelve Days of Christmas?
Traditionally, it took the ‘Three Kings’ this number of days to find the baby Jesus. Their arrival on the twelfth day was celebrated in the form of the Feast of Epiphany in medieval France, and later in other countries.

Where did the Candy Cane come from?
In a small Indiana town, there was a candymaker who wanted to spread the name of Jesus around the world. He invented the Christmas Candy Cane, incorporating symbols for the birth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy to symbolize the Virgin Birth. The candymaker formed the stick into a “J” to represent the name of Jesus. It can also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd.” He thought the candy was too plain so he stained it with a red stripe to symbolize the blood shed by Christ on the cross.

“Jingle Bells” was originally written for a Thanksgiving celebration, in 1857.

Percentage of pet owners who have their dog or cat pose and photographed with Santa Claus
27 % (I can picture Sully on Santas knee)

In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Kallikantzaroi sometimes play troublesome pranks at Christmas time. In order to get rid of them, salt or an old shoe is burnt. The pungent burning stench drives off, or at least helps discourage, the Kallikantzaroi. Other techniques include hanging a pig’s jawbone by the door and keeping a large fire so they can’t sneak down the chimney.

The first president to decorate the white house Christmas tree in the United States was Franklin Pierce.

In the US, there is a common misconception that the poinsettia is highly toxi. This is not ture, it is mildly irritating to the skin or stomach. (Yah, my friend told me it was poison and I was like huh? really? and they were like its red! but its NOT poison)

Christmas Quiz
http://www.christmastrivia.net/quizes/easy-christmas-trivia
What'd you get?

I got 100% (although I wish there was a reindeer named Roger)

On the Twelfth Day Til Christmas...

Christmas Song of the Day: We Three Kings

Christmas Task of the Day: Fill out the following Christmas Survey and email it back to me. As much or little detail/explanation as you want.

1. Favorite Reindeer:
2. Favorite Gift from Twelve Days of Christmas:
3. Colorful or White Lights?
4. Favorite Sweet Holiday Treat:
5. Favorite Christmas Movie:
6. Red or Green?
7. Favorite Christmas Song:
   
8. Favorite Christmas Villain (Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, etc.):
9. Snowman or Snow Angel?
10. Favorite Christmassy Beverage:
11. Favorite Winter Sports (skiing, sledding, hockey, etc.):
12. A favorite Christmas memory:
    

An interesting link between Xmas and Lucy!
Today is the Feast of Saint Lucy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/lucy.shtml

13 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS

Christmas Task of the Day: Tell someone a Christmassy Joke

Examples: Why does Santa have 3 gardens? So he can hoe hoe hoe!

What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes!

Feel free to email me any good ones or favorites.

Lucy's Joke:
What do reindeer hang on their Christmas trees?

HORNaments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Song of the Day: Deck the Halls!

Note: Please submit all Christmas Photos by tomorrow, 12 days til xmas.

The freaking cutest thing I've ever seen

CHRISTMAS IN 14 DAYS!

Christmas task of the day: Be a secret Santa! (to be completed before Xmas Eve)

1. Get or make a small little special gift for someone - candy, burn a Xmas music CD, a yummy snack, print a pic, write a postcard, etc...
2. Make sure to include a card or note and sign it from Secret Santa
3. Pick someone and give it to them (or have someone else give it to them!)
4. Write me an email explaining what gift you got or made, who you gave it to, why you gave it to them, and what their reaction is (and I'll tell you about mine)
   

Christmas Song of the Day: Winter Wonderland (one of my favoritest favorites)

Merry Merry


Christmas through the ages...

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

15 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is the aromatic wreath I bought for our door. It smells just like Christmas.

CHRISTMAS TASK OF THE DAY: Sometime in the next few days, snap a pic of something christmassy and send it to me. It can have people or no people, inanimate objects, be abstract, or literal, close up, far away, whatever! You can take it with your phone or camera and then email it to me.

Yesterday, I watched Disney's Prep & Landing. Its a supercute 30 min animation about Santas lil helpers and I give it 5 out of 5 candy canes. You can catch it on hulu.com. Other holiday movie reccomendations include White Christmas, Elf, and my personal favorite, The Last Holiday starring Queen Latifah.

Christmas Song of the Day: Here Comes Santa Claus

Blast from the Xmas Past--- last year in Petaluma at crazy lights festival

You asked for it! ***16 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS***

A Christmas Miracle! There was a whole layer of ice on my windshield this morning that I couldn't get rid of just by windshield wiping! I had to defrost! What will happen next? Snow in San Francisco? Maybe...


To continue the christmassiest christmas of all christmas's, I'll be updating my blog with christmassy ideas, surprises, and stuffnstuff.

Christmas Song of the Day: The First Noel (when you hear the song of the day, your heart will be filled with extra Xmas cheer! And you should try to sing along gloriously)

Christmas Task of the Week: Christmassy holiday drink in red cup (Egg nog Latte or Gingerbread Latte, etc.)

P.S. Good idea about Pandora christmas radio (make sure to add the artist Straight No Chaser to your Christmas playlist)

Boston (last November)

When Mom and Emmy arrived we went to Upstairs on the Square for a lovely dinner

The next morning we had breakfast in the hotel and then headed to Lucy's dorm room to take a look around.


Lucy doing "normal" dorm things...

Lucys tiny but well decorated dorm room

Next we walked around beautiful Cambridge....
A red berry tree

The home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Harvard Square

Cool sciency restaurant Lucy took us to

Coffee on the steps of Harvard Yard

The view from the top of the Prudential Center, where we dined.

Have you ever seen so many muscles?

Tea at the Taj

A walk through Boston Commons

and along the freedom trail

View from the Charles Hotel window

the library