200, Baby!

When I started blogging, I never even thought I would reach 200 posts. I think the 100 post milestone came and went without much fanfare. I was going to post pictures of Christmas Past, but I think I'll save that for another day. I just found this meme that I thought would be perfect for my 200th post:

Favorite Christmas…
01. Non-Jesus-related song? "Must've Been Old Santa Claus" (Harry Connick Jr.)
02. Jesus-related song? “O Holy Night”
03. Santa-related song? “Santa Baby"
04. Fictional character? The Grinch
05. Dinner’s main course? Soup
06. Dinner’s dessert? Rice pudding
07. Scent (pine, gingerbread, candles…)? Gingerbread or cranberry/cinnamon
08. Animated movie? The Polar Express
09. Non-animated movie? Elf
10. Personal memory? Going to church, getting our brown paper bags with peanuts/orange/apple/candy bar then opening presents
11. Story/Fairy Tale? The true Christmas story--Jesus' birth

This or That
12. Candy cane or peppermint patties? Peppermint patties
13. Sugar or gingerbread cookies? Frosted sugar cookies
14. Tinsel or beaded strands? Beaded strands
15. Multi-colored or same-colored lights? Same colored
16. Flashing or still lights? Still
17. Wreaths or mistletoe/holly? Wreaths
18. Rudolph or Frosty? Rudolph
19. Sledding or snowball fights? Sledding
20. Snow or ice/icicles? Snow
21. Snow hat or earmuffs? Hat
22. Getting or giving? Giving
23. Snow days or plow trucks? Snow days
24. Stockings or presents? Presents
25. Cookies & milk or letter to Santa? Cookies and milk
26. Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Christmas Eve
27. Log Burning Channel or real thing? Real thing
28. Cards or emails? Cards, preferably with a letter so I know what you've been doing all year
29. Shoveling or cleaning off the car? Neither, but I have to shovel since the car is in the garage
30. The Inn’s manger or the animals? Animals.
31. Mary & Joseph or The Wise Men? Mary and Joseph
32. Hot cocoa or eggnog? Hot cocoa or a peppermint mocha ;)
33. Jack Frost or Little Drummer Boy? Drummer boy

Yay or.. Ugh
34. Holiday shopping? Yay
35. Icy roads? UGH!!
36. Limited driving visibility? Ugh
37. Christmas carolers. Yay
38. Mall Santas? Yay
39. Salvation Army Santas? Ugh
40. Blizzards? Ugh
41. 24/7 Holiday radio? Yay
42. Freezing cold? Ugh
43. Setting up the tree? Ugh
44. Wrapping presents? Ugh
45. Visiting/seeing family? Yay
46. Ad-Lib on “Rudolph…” (like Monopoly!) Yay--for the kids
47. Free mint red/white candy? Yay
48. Belief in Santa Claus? Yay
49. Chocolate countdown calendar? Ugh
50. Peeking at your gifts (or by accident)? Ugh
51. Making out with Santa under the mistletoe? Only if hubby is wearing a Santa hat
52. Decorated houses? Yay
53. Extreme decorated houses? Yay--to make fun of
54. White Christmas morning? Yay
55. Searching for ornaments in the attic? Ugh
56. Santa knowing when you’re sleeping and awake? Yay

Name That Tune
57. “Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling.” Sleigh Ride
58. “Good tidings for Christmas and a happy New Year.” We Wish You a Merry Christmas
59. “The lights are turned way down low…” Let It Snow
60. “In the meadow we can build a snowman.” Walking in a Winter Wonderland
61. “Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!” Jingle Bells
62. “Remember, Christ, our Savior was born on Christmas Day.” God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
63. “Not only green when summer’s here, but also when ’tis cold and drear.” ?
64. “And Heaven, and Heaven and nature sing.” Joy to the World
65. “Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la, la la la la.” Deck the Halls
66. “Down through the chimney with lots of toys…” Up on the Housetop

First Thought That Comes To Mind When You Hear…
67. Snowflake! It's snowing already? It will be snowing for 5 months now!
68. Pinecones! Evergreen trees
69. Elves! The little boy in "Polar Express" when he sees the Elves at the North Pole
70. Sleigh! Horses pulling a sleigh
71. Presents! Christmas
72. Cookies! Yum
73. Misletoe! Kissing
74. Rudolph! The red-nosed reindeer
75. Blizzard! Being snowed in
76. School’s Canceled! Sleep in
77. Ice Skating! Never done it. :(
78. Santa’s Lap! Not my kids
79. Black Friday! Shop, shop, shop!
80. God’s Son! Jesus our Savior
81. Melting Snow! Its not spring yet
82. Lumps of Coal! Bad kids
83. Nutcracker! Ballet
84. Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas!
85. North Pole! Santa

What’s a Winter Activity YOU Do…
86. …In the snow by yourself? Shovel--yuck
87. …Inside by yourself? Try to write my Christmas letter
88. …In a public place (with/alone)? Christmas shop
89. …With friends/family in the snow at home? Watch the girls play in the snow
90. …With friends/family inside at home? Watch movies or play games as a family

Grade/Rate Holiday Movies A - F
91. A Christmas Story. A-
92. How The Grinch Stole Christmas? B--Jim Carrey version
93. The Santa Clause? B
94. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer? B
95. Frosty The Snowman? B
96. Home Alone. A
97. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. A
98. Elf. A+
99. Miracle on 34th Street. (never seen it--gasp!)
100. A Charlie Brown Christmas. B

The ____ Present You’ve Received?
101. Most expensive? Treadmill
102. Ugliest? Can't think of one
103. Worthless? Don't remember
104. Most-wanted (personally)? A boom box one year
105. Most-wanted/popular (media frenzy)? Cabbage Patch Kid
106. Unwanted? I think I've blocked all the bad gifts from memory
107. Never-used? Candles/knick knacks I got when I was teaching
108. Exchanged for something else? Clothes--different sizes/colors
109. Biggest (size)? Treadmill
110. Most meaningful? Ornaments we've gotten from special places/events

Christmas At My House…(one or the other)
111. Tree is fake/real? fake (usually had real until last year we put up our monster artificial tree)
112. Tree is under/above 4′? Above--9' tall
113. Open presents Christmas Eve/Day? Both
114. House/entire yard is decorated? Yes
115. Amount of presents under the tree? Total? Too many
116. Snowman is a male/female? Some of each, more male than female
117. Go for Santa/Jesus? Jesus
118. Homemade/delivered/takeout Christmas dinner? Homemade
119. Bedtime is before/after midnight? Usually after, have to wait for kids to be asleep
120. Wake-up is before/after 7am? Right around then, whenever the kids get up
121. Go/don’t go to church on Christmas? Christmas Eve
122. Pray & sing Happy Birthday/do nothing before bed? Pray
123. Do shopping before/after Thanksgiving? Mostly after
124. Low-key/over the top decorations (inside and out)? Fairly low key, but inside and outside is decorated

Have You Ever?
125. Built a snowman? Yes
126. Heard Santa’s sleigh? Yes
127. Seen Santa & Rudolph in the sky? Yes--on radar
128. Sat on Santa’s lap? Probably
129. Shoveled the driveway/sidewalk? Yes, unfortunatley
130. Made snow angels? Yes
131. Built a fort/igloo? Yes
132. Wrote a Christmas list? Yes
133. Wrote a letter to Santa? Yes
134. Left cookies/milk for Santa & reindeer? Yes
135. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes
136. Went caroling? Yes
137. Got hurt during the winter season? No
138. Gone ice skating/sledding? Yes--sledding
139. Kissed under a mistletoe? No
140. Experienced/saw a miracle happen? Yes
141. Get everything you wanted for Christmas? Yes
142. Cooked/baked? Yes

Complete The Line
143. “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, lean your ___ this way.” ear
144. “And children listen to hear ___ bells in the snow.” sleigh
145. “And on every street ___ you’ll hear silver bells.” corner
146. “O night divine, O night when Christ was ___.” born
147. “All I want for Christmas is my ___ front teeth.” two
148. “It’s beginning to ___ a lot like Christmas.” look
149. “Round yon virgin ___ and child.” mother
150. “Sing praises to our Heavenly ____.” King (?)

Christmas 101
151. Color of Rudolph’s nose? Red.
152. Jesus’ Virgin Mother? Mary.
153. What made Frosty come to life? His hat.
154. Two main colors of Christmas? red and green
155. Does Mrs. Claus have a first name? Layla (According to the fictional series by Jeff Guinn--very good reads if you are looking for some Christmas reading: The Autobiography of Santa Claus, How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas and The Great Santa Search)
156. Where does Santa live? North Pole
157. True love gave what on the second day of Christmas? Two turtle doves
158. What kind of nuts are roasting on an open fire? Chestnuts

Make Up Your Own Christmas Tale
159-161. I wrote a Christmas story in HS for a writing class and it was published in the local newspaper. It was about a poor family who had nothing to give on Christmas. Out in the forrest a bunny rabbit froze and turned into a stuffed rabbit. The little girl received the stuffed rabbit for Christmas and it was the best Christmas ever. (It was better in its original form, although the thought of a live animal turning into a stuffed animal is a little morbid/twisted).

How Does He Do It?
162. Get down the chimney? Christmas magic
163. Deliver presents all over the world? He has fast reindeer and some help
164. Get so fat and still act so jolly? All the Christmas cookies help contribute to the weight and the sugar rush raises his endorphins ;)
165. Recruit reindeer for sleigh-pulling lessons? They are bred for flying
166. Provide compensation for elves making toys? He gives them shelter, food, and a great benefits package
167. Stay unseen from the rest of the world? You can see him if you believe

Would It Still Be Christmas Without…
168. Candy canes? yes
169. Snow? yes
170. Stores opening at 5am? yes
171. Winter vacation? yes
172. Visiting family & friends? No
173. Fake Santas? yes
174. Christmas trees? yes
175. New holiday movies? yes
176. Getting holiday greeting cards/email? yes
177. Holiday tunes? yes

Share Your Stories in 1 Sentence
178. The best Christmas you’ve had. Too many to remember, but they all involve family, good food and good times.
179. The most upsetting Christmas you’ve had? When I got a stereo system instead of a boom box (which we exchanged, I was a bit of a spoiled brat at times) :P And Emma still uses that boom box which is probably 17 years old or so.
180. One hilarious Christmas blooper? Not so much a blooper, but we had a Charlie Brown tree one year--it was small and pretty sad looking

True Or False
181. You prefer to stay inside where it’s warm? True
182. You’ve given something (or $) to charity? True
183. You spent more than what people spent on you? False--hubby and/or my parents usually spend more on me than I do on them
184. You like to take your time opening presents? False
185. The thing you want most this year costs $100+? False
186. You expect to get more than 10 presents this year? False
187. You’re a Scrooge/Grinch? False
188. Christmas = snow? True most years, looks like it will be this year
189. You know the lyrics to more than 25 Christmas songs? True

Grab Bag
190. Three best things about Christmas? 1. Buying gifts for others 2. Getting Christmas cards 3. Holiday baking/food
191. Worst Christmas song? Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
192. If you were a Christmas character, who would you be? Mrs. Claus
193. What type of decoration should stop being made? Cheap felt stockings
194. Tastiest holiday treat? Anything with chocolate
195. Favorite pop culture/stereotypical Christmas icon (noun)? Elf
196. Know how to make cookies/brownies/cake from scratch? Yes
197. Ever cut your mouth on a candy cane/candy? Yes
198. What other culture would you like to experience Christmas with? Christmas in Germany
199. What kind of pattern/pictures do you like on your wrapping paper? Anything that doesn't look tacky. ;)
200. Will you make a Christmas picture for your blog/website/profile? I've already gone Christmas on my blog! :)