Unexpected Christmas cheer

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The other night I searched Netflix instant streaming for something festive to watch on TV as I wrapped gifts in front of it. I found a British comedy called Nativity! that looked appropriately festive, so Jim and I gave it a shot, figuring we could always just shut it off if we hated it.

We definitely did not hate it! Quite the opposite. In fact, immediately upon it ending I added it to my list of all-time favorite Christmas movies to watch each and every year—and used my iPhone to order a DVD of it from Amazon right then and there to ensure we'd always have it.

You know the feeling you get watching that silly but sweet scene in Love, Actually when David (Hugh Grant) is knocking on doors throughout a neighborhood in search of Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) and at one door, three charming young girls inside gleefully dance to the carol they request the Prime Minister and his driver sing? Well, that is how this entire movie feels.

If you have time before Christmas, I urge you to watch Nativity!. If you don't have time, watch it after the holiday—I can pretty much guarantee you'll find it just as delightful.

Today's question:

What holiday film or program did you most recently watch?

Cookies = Christmas

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One major mile-marker on my road to Christmas has been passed: I hosted my family's annual Cookie Swap on Sunday.

The lineup of goodies swapped was impressive:

And the time with family was festive (with a large chunk of it dedicated to football, as expected):

My mom and sisters and I have been swapping holiday cookies for about a quarter of a century now, and Sunday's gathering had four generations of the family in attendance.

Cookie Swap prep time and baking can be quite a chore, but it's one well worth it as I hope the tradition will continue for many more years to come, for many more generations to enjoy.

Today's question:

If you had to eliminate all sweets and treats from your holiday diet except for one, which one seasonal goodie would you keep on enjoying?

Sing it: Only six days 'til Christmas

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A little ditty to sing (very loosely) to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas:

Only six days 'til Christmas, wish someone would give me

a muzzle so I'd stop eating all I see.

On the fifth day 'til Christmas, wish someone would give me

more energy,

and a muzzle so I'd stop eating all I see.

On the fourth day 'til Christmas, wish someone would give me

magically finished greeting cards,

more energy,

and a muzzle so I'd stop eating all I see.

On the third day 'til Christmas, wish someone would give me

an elf to wrap the presents,

magically finished greeting cards,

more energy,

and a muzzle so I'd stop eating all I see.

On the second day 'til Christmas, wish someone would give me

a personal shopper for final groceries,

an elf to wrap the presents,

magically finished greeting cards,

more energy,

and a muzzle so I'd stop eating all I see.

On the last day 'til Christmas wish someone would give me

an easy-to-learn DSLR camera for taking incredible shots of my family—including Megan, Preston, Bubby, and Baby Mac, who will arrive Christmas afternoon—plus extended family for a sure-to-be-festive, not-likely-to-happen-again-for-a-very-long-time holiday celebration,

a personal shopper for final groceries,

an elf to wrap the presents,

magically finished greeting cards,

more energy,

and a muzzle so I'd stop eating all I see.

Merry Monday to one and all!

photo: stock.xchng

Today's question:

What do you wish someone would give you in these last days 'til Christmas?

It goes on and on, my friend

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I placed the last of our Christmas decorations on Friday, setting out all the Santas, the last of the village, the table centerpiece, and the kitschy this and that that goes here and there. The holiday decorating was done.

Or so I thought.

As Jim and I pulled into the driveway after church yesterday, he said, "Ya know, I'd really like to put some white lights in the trees out front." To which I agreed...and thought of all the other decorative things I'd like to do to in order to crown our home sufficiently Christmas-y before Bubby, Baby Mac and their parents arrive on Christmas Day.

So much for being done. Just like the song, holiday decorating doesn't end.

Song? What song? you may ask. I'm talking about the following little earworm ditty, which you may recall with much disdain after just one bar or so:

Like holiday decorating and that obnoxious song, there are plenty more things that never end—some good, some bad, some just the way it is:

• Watching one's weight. You may watch it go up, you may watch it go down. But always, it's watched...often with much trepidation...especially around the holidays...especially if you can't stop eating those <cuss> Ferrera Rocher. (Not that I have been; I'm just saying.)

• Yard work. Spring, summer, fall, winter, there's always—always—more to do in yards front, back, and side.

• Home improvement. There's always—always—something else that needs repairing, replacing, remodeling, repainting, recaulking, redoing.

• Learning. You can always be smarter.

• Self improvement. You can always be more emotionally stable better.

• Grocery shopping. You may think you're done...only to realize you forgot something. Even if you do get every single thing on your list, you're not done and will have to go back again. Maybe the next day, maybe the next week, but you will have to go back. The most dreaded chore of all truly is Never. Ever. Done.

• Parenting. It never ends. I scoff at those who look (or looked) forward to that magical age of 18, when the child supposedly becomes an adult, leaves home, no longer needs you. Yes, I scoff...and chuckle...and await the cries of "Why didn't you tell me it never ends?" Well, those of you with youngsters, I'm telling you now: It never ends!

• Grandparenting. I'm assuming on this one as I'm still fairly close to the starting line, but I'm figuring it's much like parenting: There is no finish line. And that's a good thing.

• Aging. And that's a good thing, too—at least considering the alternative.

I could go on and on, my friends, as I have no doubt this list itself is a list that doesn't end.

There is one thing that does indeed end, though, and that's my time allotted for writing this post. So consider this The End.

(Oh, one more thing: Enjoy your earworm. No matter how hard you try, the replaying of that song doesn't end. It will be stuck in your head all day. You're welcome.)

Today's question:

What would you add to the List of Things That Never End?