Christmas 2015

What I Love About Christmas 2015:

~ It's about 65 degrees here in Maryland.  At the moment, they're predicting it'll be 75 on Christmas day.  Last year, it was in the 30s and flurrying on Christmas Eve.  Oh yeah, this year's weather is so much better!

~ Every single one of my Christmas cards was handmade and made it out the door in a timely fashion.  I may have epically failed at all the other crafts that were dancing around my head, but the cards were super cute and on time.

~ "Greensleeves" by Manheim Steamroller - I'm so loving this techno version of the classic.  My grandfather's organ could play this song at the press of a button, so it doesn't hurt that each time I hear it on the radio I have warm fuzzy thoughts of him. 
  ~ Bright red nail polish - My nails may not be long and manicured like they're supposed to be, but for me any little bit is an achievement.  They were just begging to be painted with a Christmasy color.

~ The I Love Lucy Christmas special.  I just love seeing the old shows pop up on television.  Nothing can beat her comedic timing.  And honestly, if you don't laugh at Vitameatavegamin, you have a cold dead heart. 
                 
~ Waiting anxiously for family to open the presents I've picked out.  If I could give them the gifts right now I would.  I may stress and mumble and generally fall apart in December, but every once in a while, I have a spark of inspiration!

~ Trying out December Daily has been super enlightening.  I'm not going to lie and say that I'm completely up to date - I think I've made it to December 11 - but I do plan to finish.  I've taken photos and notes of what to include, and after Friday, I have plans to get back on the ball.  It's not nearly as gorgeous as other's I've seen, but so far I'm happy with it. 

What I Hate about Christmas 2015:

~ Apparently the Sun didn't get the memo that it was 65 degrees.  It's been raining, more like pouring for the last 24 hours and it's supposed to continue doing so through tomorrow. Do you know how difficult it is to transport gifts in a torrential down pour?

~ My either defective or possessed Christmas tree, that refuses to actually need water. The whole house smells like pine which isn't a bad thing, but the darn needles are falling at an alarming rate and when I check for water, my fingers come out a slightly reddish hue - obviously, it's the devil, right?

Friday Five: Chrismas Edition

I don't know about you, but my official start of the holiday season is when the radio stations start playing Christmas music around the clock.  Sure they play the same 10 songs over and over again, but it never fails to get me in the Christmas mood.  So as a start to (hopefully) a few holiday themed Friday Fives, here are my top 5 favorite Christmas songs.

1. "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey: But honestly the version I like the best isn't by Mariah Carey at all.  It's by the students and teachers in one of the last scenes in "Love, Actually", which just happens to be another holiday tradition for me, and just so happens to be the best romantic comedy ever made.  It's the perfect scene and song combo and I can never watch without getting a big stupid grin on my face.  And of course whenever I hear the song on the radio, the scene never fails to play in my head.

2. "Old City Bar" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra: If you've never heard TSO, imagine a Punk-Rock version of Manheim Steamroller.  They write 90% of their songs with some classics thrown in for good measure.  Their concerts are full of musicians wearing tuxedos and fancy dresses, full orchestras and electric guitars,  and lasers & fog.  It's entirely too difficult to explain and sounds ridiculous but it all works and makes for quite the spectacle.  I would probably list every one of their songs from their four Christmas CDs as my favorites (they are my constant holiday soundtrack usually starting in November) but this one, by far, is my absolute favorite.  It's not just a song;  it's a story and perfectly captures the feeling and the magic of Christmas.

 

3. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan: This is one of those songs that the darn radio stations never play.  It's just a fun version of an old classic.

 

4. "Carol of the Bells" by Manheim Steamroller: I'm pretty sure that even if you hate Christmas music, you are guaranteed to at least know Carol of the Bells.  And who better to perform it than the masters of Christmas music?  This has been one of my favorite versions of this song since I was little.

 

5. "Coming Home" by Sugarland: I'm a HUGE fan of Sugarland and will pretty much listen to anything they release.  Their Christmas album is absolutely fantastic so choosing just one was difficult.  "Coming Home" kind of falls into the same category as "Old City Bar".  It's pretty much a story and perfectly captures the feeling of family at Christmas.

 

*6. (Bonus because I couldn't leave this song off the list) "The 12 Days of Christmas" by Straight No Chaser: I've always loved this song.  It was a tradition to sing  and dance (oh yes, there were accompanying dance moves) this song in high school every year at the Christmas concert.  An entire auditorium full of high school girls , screaming "5 Gooooolllldennnnn Rings" was quite the sight to behold.  It's even more fun to try to teach all the moves to a group of 4-year olds, while desperately trying to remember how many drummers were drumming or ladies were dancing.  Though, I'm absolutely certain they looked much cuter than we did even if we didn't quite get the words down.  So I was super excited when this new version popped up on the radio last year. Absolutely no one I know likes it, but I happen to think it's brilliant!