Tagged and Jingled

I was nabbed in a couple of games of tag that often go around the blogosphere this time of year. Apparently we bloggers just don’t have enough to do in the end of December. Or perhaps we just love to play. Either way, my friend April at 100lb Countdown and my friend Cassandra at Dates 2 Diapers 2 caught me when I wasn’t looking and I’m honored they thought of me for these Holiday games.

 First game first, I'm supposed to answer 10 questions. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows I’m Jewish, so my answers may not be exactly what you expect. But really, when are they?

1. What do you love the most about Christmas time?
What I love most about this time of year is that it’s a season that brings out the best in so many people. My husband is on the board of a local charity. They are referred families by school guidance counselors and, with the families’ permission, put together boxes of a ham, a turkey and ingredients for all the sides. On pick-up day there’s also a room of donated clothing the families can visit and even a “kids only” room where kids can pick out a gift for their parents. My husband is involved from start to finish. My sons always help out with the collections and sorting. I bake for the weekly board meetings and for pick-up day.

2. Do you celebrate the holiday in style or is it Bah-Humbug for you?
Bah Humbug is for birthdays. I even wrote a post about it, you can read it here, it’s called Bah Humbug.

3. Are you leaving anything out for Santa Claus this year so he remembers to leave your presents?
When the kids were little we used to leave cookies out for Santa. Now the kids are teenagers and it seems that whenever I bake, the cookies barely make it from the oven to the counter.

4. What is the one gift you are most looking forward to giving?
I love to give baked goods. You’re shocked, I know. I actually tried crafts and it was not pretty. I lovingly refer to it as “the year of the craft debacle”. I think anyone who ever got a craft project from me forever after receives my gifts by saying “thank you for not making a craft.” So baked goods it is.

5. What is your all-time favorite Christmas movie?
How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You never outgrow Dr. Seuss. I once had to write a post Dr. Seuss style for a Secret Subject Swap and let me tell you, writing in that style was not easy.

6. What is your all-time favorite Christmas song?
A friend of mine recently played me Band Aid’s Do They Know it’s Christmas Time At All and I have to admit that’s my current earworm, and I’m not unhappy about it.

7. If given the opportunity, would you participate in an “ugly sweater” party and what sweater would you wear?
Been there, done that. When I was in college I was invited to an ugly sweater party and I didn’t have one. I had this long green and black sweater that looked kind of like pine-needles so I wore that with black leggings, wrapped tinsel around myself and hung ornaments from the tinsel. Good news: It was quite a conversation starter. Bad news: it wasn’t exactly an outfit that worked well when I tried to sit down.

8. Have you started any Christmas traditions this year that you plan on carrying forward?
Something amazing happened this year. It won’t be an ongoing tradition, but I will remember it for the rest of my life. A friend who blogs at Confessions of a part-time working mom coordinated an Advent Calendar for me. She got 23 other friends each to take a day and present me with a blog post as a gift. I got compliments and stories and ornaments and recipes and songs. Each day I “open” a different gift to find kind words and extraordinary examples of friendship. I laugh, I cry, I’m so incredibly grateful.

9. It’s Christmas morning. . . what does it look like outside where you live?
My house backs up to the woods. I really hope that out my kitchen window it looks something like this:

10. You just found yourself standing under the mistletoe . . . who comes up to give you a first kiss?
I have a son who’s a freshman in college this year. I don’t see him as much as I’d like. So I hope the first kiss would be a big one, right on the cheek. And I hope it comes with a bear hug.

Now on to the second game. I've been jingled. 

What I'm supposed to do is pick 5 bloggers and state 2 things I like about each and then state 4 things I like about myself. Well, you know I'm going to screw change that up. I've said enough about myself in this post, I'm tagging a bunch of bloggers, telling them what I like best about them and offering them a choice: you can pick one of the above games or play neither or both. I just want to mention, as I always do with tags, that this is a compliment but not an obligation. Play if you want:

Follow me home . . .
You are one of the funniest bloggers I know. And you don't write anywhere near often enough. I've told you before and I'll tell you again, I could read you every day.

Just  A Little Nutty
You are one of the most positive people I know, and whenever I'm down I look to your blog or FB page to lift me back up.

Stacy Sews and Schools
You are the best cheerleader blogging has. You're always out there promoting everyone else. I'm so glad I got to know you.

The Momisodes 
Every time I read something you write I'm in awe of your intelligence and personal growth. You're such a great example to the blogging community.

Juicebox Confession
I love your spirit. Anything I dream up, I know you'll jump on board. I can't tell you how great it feels to have someone believe in you like that.

Writer B is Me 
I'm not sure you know how amazing it feels when you make one of my recipes and post the picture to my FB page. Thank you for taking the time to make them and to share them.

Searching for Sanity
I have so much respect for the way you juggle your life, your family, your work and your blog. You're a reminder that the amount of effort you put into it all does matter.

The Black Sheep Mom
We've really been there for each other this past year, and I love knowing that your encouragement is just an email away.

The Bergham's Life Chronicles
You're just starting out and already I hear your blogging voice loud and clear. I can't wait to see what else you're going to share.

Confessions of a part-time working mom
The amount of work you put into initiating and coordinating my Advent Calendar, and just the fact that you thought to do it for me, all amazes me. I hope you know how much I appreciate it.

Evil Joy Speaks
I love the way you see yourself and your life. You show by example that something as simple as painting a child's room means so much more. I smile every time you share a little piece of what you're up to.

Spatulas on Parade

You taught me not to judge a book by it's cover, so to speak. I knew you were a food blogger, but you joined the Swap and the Fly and I've seen what a funny person and talented writer you are as well.

One final note: No matter what you celebrate, I wish you a joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy new year.