Tuesday, December 22, 2015

My Favorite Christmas Things

My Favorite Christmas Song:
'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'.  Yes, it is a very sad song.  But I like haunting melodies.  I studied voice for six years and this is one of those melodies that does not require any wild vocal range.  Be prepared, I cry every time I hear Judy sing this.  And I really like Frank Sinatra's version, too.


On a brighter note, I also like 'Jingle Bell Rock'.  I still remember being at my Grandmother's house, American Bandstand was on, and everyone was dancing to this song.  Strange how that memory remains with me 50+ years later.


My Favorite Christmas Movie:
'The Christmas Story'.  I watch this at least once each holiday season.  I enjoy it every time even though by now I know the movie inside and out.  It just has that wonderful homey feeling of a family who did not have much but had a great love for each other.


My Favorite Christmas Cookie:
Right.  Pick one cookie I couldn't live without at Christmas?  Hmmm....   Maybe ginger molasses. Maybe chocolate chunk.  Nowadays, I only make cookies at Christmas time.  Otherwise, I would be eating cookies for breakfast everyday.  Here is a pic from last year's cookie baking.  (This year's are still in the freezer.)  The molasses are at top center.


My least used Christmas gift EVER!

OK, I am just throwing this in here because yesterday I got out a Christmas gift that has been sitting in the box for over 30 years.  Never even opened.  And I am sure some of you can relate to unused gifts and have maybe even re-gifted them (oh shame).

It is a camera tripod labeled 'Made in the USA'.  Now that's old, lol.  My husband bought it for me when I was taking lots and lots of photos of the kids and our travels.

I always thought it was too much trouble to bother with setting up.  But now that I am older and my digital camera is soooo sensitive to motion, I decided to open the box and use it.  I took some pictures that are way better than those I had already taken.  I even replaced one of the photos on my blog with the new shot.

With all the cleaning and sorting I have done around here, I am amazed that it never got donated or sold in a garage sale.  This just may become one of my favorite Christmas gifts ever, lol.

My Favorite Christmas Decoration:

The tree.  I used to have a live tree.  My husband and I even went to a tree farm one year to pick one out to be cut down.  And every Christmas I would get sick.  Turns out my mold allergy would go into overdrive.  So, we bought an artificial tree.

I am now on artificial tree number four.  The first one just got old and worn.  The second one took up too much room.  The third one wasn't bad but it was not pre-lit and the cost of buying new lights versus the cost of buying a new tree on sale was a deciding factor in getting a tall and slimmer tree with lights.  Here is this year's tree:

Any Christmas favorites in your memories?

10 comments:

  1. Like I have said, I have never baked cookies in my life. Not sure why. No kids perhaps A large amount of them would have disappeared and reappeared on my hips. My favourite movie is Miracle on 34th Street. As far as songs are concerned, not too keen on any of them but I love carols properly sung. As a kid I used to sing Away in a Manger a lot and even got requests from adults to sing it so I can't have been too bad. Not like my chorister husband mind you. Don't think I have ever had a gift I didn't like and not used.

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    1. Hips. That's why I only bake them at Christmas.

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  2. I haven't baked in years. But there is a wonderful place that bakes the best Christmas cookies ever (except, perhaps, for yours) and this year we finally broke down and bought one of their platters. That, along with the best eggnog ever made (Purity eggnog, made in Ithaca, New York), will be the cornerstones of Christmas dinner. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    1. I love cookies. That is why I won't bake them off until Thursday. Love eggnog too but no one else in my family does.

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  3. I did not bake at all this year-I actually feel guilty. My favourite are, what i call, the German cookies. a cookie dough you roll out, use a shot glass to make round cookies. Place raspberry jam and sandwich them together and then roll them in icing sugar. My favourite film is actually It's A Wonderful Life. I love decorating and seeing my family and friends enjoying the decor. I love the Bonanza Christmas album, Oh Bambino and a German song called Schnell die dar Wind sung by Ivan Rebroff. Merry Christmas!

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    1. Linzer cookies? Too much work for me, lol. They were showing IAWL all weekend at a local theatre. They interviewed the actress who played the little girl and she said she did not think they could make that movie today. I was just talking to a friend this evening about possibly doing the German Christmas markets some year. Not that I need any more decorations.

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    2. Oh gosh I would love to go during the Advent season and hit the markets. There is a lovely 1/2 hr show on PBS showing the markets and I will go one day. I have tons of decorations but there is always room for more:) I think the one who played the little girl was the the one who played Zuzu

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    3. I really got inspired after watching all the PBS shows on the markets (I DVR'd several of them). I so loved seeing the Rothenburg market. The town was lovely when I visited, but with all the stalls for the market it was really magical. I've talked to a few folks who have gone and they said it was fantastic.

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  4. My favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Carol, only the one with Alastair Sim will do. And I’m a bit of a holiday music junkie. Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas is one of my favorites. I also like Silver Bells because it reminds me of San Francisco during the holidays, and White Christmas because I’m from California and always dreamt of a snowy Christmas. Now I live in New England and I’m still dreaming.

    VR Barkowski

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    1. Well, I walked down the drive to get my mail today and wondered if I should cut the lawn. It's still growing. No snow in the forecast, either.

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