From Angel, Instigator, Playground Monitor, Problem Child, and Smarty Pants:

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

From The Writing Playground

Gifts, Gifts, Everywhere!!!!

What's the best gift you've ever received?

I recently saw something that asked this question, and it got me to thinking… I could answer this in a lot of ways! I could be funny (my dancing Frosty the Snowman); I could be sentimental (my husband and children); I could be religious (Jesus is the Reason for the Season); I could be sexy (um, I can’t say that out loud); I could be sarcastic (except I don’t really know how to be); I could be picky (Do you mean of all time? That’s a long time to remember! What about just from the past year?). It all depends on how you want to answer the question.

I’m usually a sentimental kind of girl. I tend to go for the Ahhhh moments. My husband and children truly are gifts. I’ve been married for almost half my life, and I’m grateful God gave me such a wonderful husband so young. I’ve always called my children my “Little Miracles”, because I suffered from infertility and had 3 miscarriages while trying to have them. I’m very grateful they are a part of our lives, and healthy, and relatively happy.

I’m not really a sarcastic type of writer, but I am a sexy kind of writer. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to share those details. ;) And we try to keep religion and politics off the blog as much as possible. I do actually have a Frosty the Snowman who dances and sings. We bring him out each Christmas. I’ve also kept my very first Homey Claus gift (my husband’s family’s version of an anonymous amusing gift that makes fun of something about you or that you’ve done in the past year). “Homey Claus” gifted me with my husband’s childhood step stool that says “Step up to be tall, Step down to be small” – the joke is I’m 5 foot tall as an adult and the words still apply to me. We still have that stool and currently use it so I can kiss my son goodnight in his new bunkbed.

But with my horrible memory, I tend to go with something fairly recent. We don’t go over the top with gifts at Christmas, but my hubby is great with the surprises! This is my favorite kind of gift. One year he gave me an iPhone (which I didn’t even know I wanted and now am addicted to!). One year he gave me a wonderful oil heater for my office, which is freezing in the wintertime (but not anymore!). I have many of those great, “Oh Wow” memories thanks to him! And this year the Playfriends surprised me with a combination birthday/Christmas present: my Kindle! I never saw that one coming, but I love, love, love it!

So how about you? How would you answer that question? Did you get an extra special Christmas gift this year?

Angel

Merry Christmas from the Playfriends!

The Playfriends wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season!

Christmas Carols: The Game

A couple years back, I posted my ten favorite Christmas carols. That kicked off a lively discussion about hippopotami, ruffies and an all-around hatred for Christmas Shoes. This year, I'm going to play a game with you guys. A Christmas Carol lyrics game. And you get to not just guess, but help us try go stump others. We'll play this kinda like our alphabet or wish stomping game... when you guess the answer, you also list a lyric for the next folks to guess.

So... if I post "No crocodiles or rhinoceros-es-es. I only like hippopotamus-es-es. And hippopotamuses like me too!"

You post your answer - "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas"

Then you post the next carol lyric. "He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop."

The next person guesses "Frosty the Snowman" and we continue. Got it? Hopefully we can play trivia all day! Okay, here's the first song lyric...

"I did a dance on mommy's plants, climbed a tree and tore my pants, filled that sugar bowl with ants, somebody snitched on me!"

Let the games begin! One lucky player will win a Christmas anthology! (although, admittedly, I probably won't ship it until after Christmas.)
SP

Christmas Favorites

It's that time of year again. Sometime soon, I will gather in a kitchen with my mom and Little Sister and we'll bake up a storm. In the past, I've shared recipes for some of our favorites. Oreo Truffles always go over well. The Kiss Mice are fun for kids to make. This year, I'm sharing another one I love. I sent these to my editor this summer as a thank you for rescuing my book from slush. I can't say I've gotten preferential treatment, but it sure didn't hurt. These cookies rock.

I've struggled to find a good oatmeal cookie recipe. The one in my kitchen bible (AKA the red and white Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook) always came out hard and crumbly. I wanted soft, decadent oatmeal cookies. And I found them. I can't take credit for these... they're Paula Deen... but that means you know they're good.

Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (Optional - I left them out and it was fine, just added more raisins)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Brown Butter Icing, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease 1 or more cookie sheets. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in a bowl until fluffy. Add eggs and beat until mixture is light in color. Add buttermilk. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; stir into creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal, raisins, walnuts, and vanilla, blending well. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Drizzle with Brown Butter Icing.
Brown Butter Icing
1/2 cup butter
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 tablespoons water

In a small saucepan heat the butter over medium heat until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in 3 cups sifted powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in enough water (3 to 4 tablespoons) to make an icing of drizzling consistency. Drizzle on warm cookies.

If you're thinking for even a moment that you might skip the brown butter icing - don't! It MAKES the cookie. Seriously. Got any Christmas favorites to share? I love picking up new recipes. If you don't have your recipes handy - what's your favorite Christmas treat?

SP

Have You Ever Been Flashed?

Not that sort of flashed, silly. I'm talking about a flash mob. Wikipedia defines a flash mob as "a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, artistic expression. Flash mobs are organized via telecommunications, social media, or viral emails.

The term, coined in 2003, is generally not applied to events and performances organized for the purposes of politics (such as protests), commercial advertisement, publicity stunts that involve public relation firms, or paid professionals."

Maybe you've seen videos of them online. Or maybe you've seen one up close and personal. I think it would be awesome to be sitting somewhere and suddenly have folks singing and/or dancing.

Travellers at the Denver airport were treated to this one two days before Thanksgiving. What a treat for the tired and weary.



This one was November of last year in a mall food court. I wouldn't call it pointless, though.



And in December 2009, a flash mob in a Portland mall took a decidedly different twist. Watch and see what happened.



Admit it. You sang along, didn't you? I did.

Have you ever seen a flash mob? Or been part of one?

You'd better watch out

It's only 166 days until Christmas. Yeah, I know. It's hard to believe, but it's true.

Given how fast this year has gone by, it'll be here before I know it. It's mid-way through July already and all those goals I set back in January with a June 1st deadline are shot to Hades and back.

Meanwhile, you can have a little taste of Christmas ahead of time.

The contest on the Writing Playground website is called "Let's Have Christmas in July (and August)." And you can learn more about how to enter the contest here.

Here's the prize package I've put together for some lucky winner.



This will give you a head start -- given it's already July.

Or are you one of those shoppers who already has your Christmas shopping done?


P.S. Today's a very special day for one of the Playfriends. So here's something very special for her!

Merry Christmas from the Playfriends!

The Playfriends wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe holiday season!

Blast from the Past - Christmas trivia

This was first posted last December as part of my now-defunct Walkabout Wednesday series. I'm repeating it because (1) it's neat Christmas trivia and (2) I'm without internet service [using my apartment's business center to do this and can't tie up the computer for long] and I need a blog for today. So bear with me and enjoy the rerun.

I thought it would be fun to have this month's Walkabout Wednesday revolve around places with Christmas names. As you can see from the photo to the left, there's a place called North Pole, Alaska, and I bought this ornament at the Santa Claus House there.

But North Pole, Alaska is not the only Christmas-named place in the US. The US Geological survey says there are:


* 142 places named Christmas
* 260 named Joy
* 11 places in 8 states named Santa Claus (they are in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Ohio)
* 963 Holly names
* 51 Noel names
* 5 Menorah names (okay, that's not Christmas, but it's a December religious holiday)
* 34 reindeer place names (and 27 are in Alaska)
* 22 states with places named Rudolph
* 24 North Poles
* 24 Mistletoes
* 5 Poinsettias
* 1 Wreath


And here are some factoids about places:

* Between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2007, the postmaster of Noel, Missouri processed 30,428 Christmas cards, which was double the usual volume of mail for this town

* Christmas, Florida, which is located between Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center, has a special mailbox to accept letters for Santa. They are handled by volunteers. All the streets in this town are named for reindeer.

* Santa Claus, Indiana is home to the Santa Claus Museum, Santa's Candy Castle and Santa's Lodge. The Candy Castle dates from 1935, but has modern technology and a webcam to the North Pole where kids can chat with an elf and verbally submit their wish list. You can't visit? Then go to http://www.santasgoodlist.org/ to play. The town also has quite the competitive spirit with a fruitcake eating contest and a fastest gift wrapping event.

* Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is called "Christmas City." It hosts a Christkindlmarkt like the ones in Germany and was given its name on Christmas Eve 1741 by Moravian immigrants. This year they're hosting something brand new -- the Peeps Fest! You can learn more at http://www.christmascity.org/.

* North Pole, Alaska is 12 miles from Fairbanks and was named in 1953. The North Pole Christmas in Ice Festival features ice sculpting contests and you can take a peek at http://www.christmasinice.org/. The Santa Claus House, where I bought my ornament, has a gift shop, Santa himself and real reindeer.

And speaking of reindeer, our very own Huntsville, Alabama is home to Reindeer, Inc., a company that's been exhibiting reindeer since 1980. They've had as many as 75 in the herd at times, and because Alabama summers are way hotter than a reindeer's usual environment, they are kept in air-conditioned barns. If you've seen the movie "Prancer" then you've seen one of Reindeer, Inc.'s animals. They've also appeared in a Mariah Carey video. Mostly, however, they appear locally to entertain kids at Christmas.

Have you been to the North Pole? Santa Claus, Florida? Have you ever petted a real reindeer? Share your Christmas place adventures with us today. I just got back from a weekend trip with two friends. The trip included a day at Stone Mountain which is decorated with millions of lights for the holidays including a tree atop the mountain itself.

Christmas Recipe Favorites

Among my family traditions, which I believe I've posted about, it getting together with my mom and sister to make goodies for Christmas. Cookies, candies, fudge... if you can dip it in chocolate and roll it in sprinkles, its fair game. Little Sister is a fair amount (lot) more domestic than I was (am) taking after my mom, so she really gets excited about baking day. Even when she was as young as 3, she'd demand to help and grumble when she was only allowed to unwrap Hershey kisses or sprinkle powdered sugar. Fortunately, she's graduated to more advanced work.


A few years back I shared by Oreo Truffles recipe. They're amazingly simple to make and stunningly awesome to eat. This year I thought I'd share another recipe and invite everyone to post some of their holiday favorites. I'm always ready to add a new classic to our repertoire. This year is another recipe for my non-baking friends. Its really just a lot of microwaving and assembly, but with great results. A fabulous project to do with the kids. LS always enjoys making these.


This one's for you, PM!


Hershey Kiss Mice



- 1 jar cherries with stems
- 1 package chocolate bark
- 20 Hershey kisses
- almond slices
- wax or parchment paper
- gel tubes of black and red (optional)


Start off by unwrapping about 30 Hershey kisses. Yes, the directions say 20, but if you consider losses for ones with broken tips and the couple the kids steal, you'll end up with just enough. Melt chocolate bark until creamy according to package directions. Lay out a sheet of wax paper to put your mice on to dry. Dab a cherry lightly with a paper towel (helps the chocolate stick better if its not drippy wet) and dip the cherry into chocolate while holding the stem (completly cover cherry, but not stem). Place cherry on its side on the wax paper (the stem of the cherry is the mouse's tail). Press a Hershey kiss to the opposite side of the cherry with the point sticking out like a nose (the mouse's head). Place two almond slices in between the cherry and the kiss for the ears. This must be done quickly and one at a time so the chocolate hasn't hardened yet or the kiss and ears won't stick. You can stop here, or if you feel the need, can use decorator gel to make a nose (black) and two eyes (red or black).


Variations can include using white bark instead of chocolate, although you'll need white kisses to coordinate or it will look weird. Maybe even get those cherry cordial kisses. Definitely don't get striped Hershey Hugs or a flavor like Mint that won't go with the cherry. You can also take this to a whole new level of neurosis by mounting the mice on open faced oreo cookies, like the photo and decorating them. Cute, I think, but unnecessary. They're pretty darn adorable on their own. And tasty, I might add.


What's one of your holiday favorites to make this time of year? Share!

SP

Christmas Treasure Hunt

I think that on Christmas morning, several different categories of people emerge. There’s the “wake up at 2 am and rip through the presents in 2 seconds” people, usually consisting of anyone under 12 years of age. Then there’s the “get up at a reasonable hour, stroll through breakfast, and savor the presents” type, which I tend to embrace. I think there is also one in the middle, the groggy parents who get through the presents quickly, then nap on the couch while the kids play.

But I’m definitely one who likes to savor Christmas morning. We open stockings, eat cinnamon rolls, then take turns opening all the gifts. I enjoy that much more than present opening at a relative’s house on Christmas Eve, which is basically a free for all, where I have to figure out what presents my kids have after digging them out from under all the scattered wrapping paper. I’m always on the lookout to preserve the magic of Christmas morning without pushing my family into impatience.

I recently spoke to author Rhonda Nelson about a really cool Christmas morning tradition that she instituted when her children were young, because she, too, wanted to make Christmas morning a neat memory, rather than just a quick rip through the gifts. One year, after her children were asleep on Christmas Eve, she took all of their presents and hid them in various spots. Then she made up clues and turned Christmas morning into a treasure hunt.

Of course, when the kids got up the next morning, they thought they’d been robbed! But once they realized it was a game, they were really excited and asked for the game year after year. This year, I’m looking forward to trying this out for our family. First, I wonder how long it will take them to realize there aren’t any presents under the tree? (about 2 seconds) Then will they be excited by the prospect of finding their gifts one by one?

So tell me, are you a speeder on Christmas morning or savorer? Have any suggestions for clues or unusual places to hide the gifts?

Angel

P.S. The winner from Friday’s Free Book Friday is susanwilson44. Please email Smarty Pants at smartypants@writingplayground.com to collect your prize.

Hit the Ground Running

We're home. :-) We had a fantastic time spending Thanksgiving with my family and a wonderful time soaking up the Christmas atmosphere at Disney. The only problem is I came home and hit the ground running. Somehow in my preparations for the trip and being gone from home and work for 12 days, I forgot that Christmas was only a couple weeks away when we got home. Yeah, *points to self*, not the world's greatest planner.

I was behind at work and had to catch up. I'm behind in my Christmas shopping. I have 2 parties this weekend and I don't have the ingredients for the dishes I'm bringing or the presents that I need to exchange. Oh, I know what I need to buy...it's just getting there to actually purchase that's the issue.

I went out at lunch yesterday for a quick stop at Toys-R-Us...2 hours later I returned back to the office. I figured middle of the week, middle of the day, shouldn't be bad. I was wrong. The place was a zoo and to top it off, they were out of almost everything I wanted. Leaving there, I vowed I wouldn't return again until after Christmas and then promptly had to eat my words when I realized I needed to return something I bought. I'm tempted just to wait until after Christmas but am afraid I'll totally forget about it and miss the return window.

At this rate, I'm afraid I'm going to come skidding into Christmas with my hair all a wreck, an insane look in my eye and a permanent snarl on my face for all the nasty people who make Christmas shopping a nightmare. If I survive we're going to have a lovely Christmas...I just have to get there first.

How are you Christmas preparations coming?

Instigator

Oh Christmas Tree, Verse Two

I've made progress since last week. The tree is up, it's decorated and there's even one wrapped package under it. Yay me!

My shopping is done also. It's all piled on the futon in my office, waiting to be wrapped. Some of it will have to be mailed and the rest will be hand delivered at various and sundry times.

I've made my Christmas card list and two partial boxes of cards are on the dining room table waiting to be signed and addressed. I don't expect that to happen quite yet. I still have to compose my annual Christmas letter, complete with photo of the granddaughter. Or maybe it will be family photos from my mother's visit in the fall and from Thanksgiving.

The rest of the apartment is decorated too. The wreath's on the front door, the bar has red mesh garland with some hurricane candles and a poinsettia. The wire basket that usually holds fake apples now has Christmas balls in it.



The Nativity set is in place. I got it in Bethlehem so it's very special. I visited Israel in August 1980 and our tour of the walled city was so fast I tell people that I ran where Jesus walked.





The stocking is hung by the bookcase with care. No fireplace, so this has to do. I also got a new stocking hanger this year. Some certain individuals I know complained about my small stocking and flimsy hanger last year. Okay, problem rectified. ;-)



And here's the tree. I like how it turned out. It's traditional like me and has a few old ornaments on it, but mostly it reflects my new life.



And one of my favorite ornaments is this. Of course it stands for my first name -- Marilyn. But I also like to think it stands for Me or Mine because I don't have to argue about whether or not to put tinsel or garland on the tree, whether I'll open gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, whether I eat turkey or ham or a Healthy Choice dinner on Christmas.



It's my life now and different as it may be, I can make what I want of it. In our divorce group, we call it "creating a new normal."

There's still lots to do and a couple of Christmas parties to attend. But also, I have a couple of Christmas romances I want to read. They caught my eye on the shelf and I bought them last month. I told myself I couldn't read them until I'd finished NaNoWriMo. I started reading the first book last night. I was crying by the end of the acknowledgements. I'm such a sap. I also have Christmas movies on my DVR and I need to watch them or it'll fill up and dump them off.

So... are YOU ready for Christmas? Or at least on the way to being ready? Are you like me and it's just not quite the Christmas season until you've heard Bing sing "White Christmas," watched at least one Christmas movie and read a Christmas romance?

If you just believe

One year when my boys were small, we went away for Christmas. They were quite excited about the possibility of having a white Christmas because one of their grandmas lived in the mountains. However, they were also quite concerned about how Santa would find them since they would not be at their regular place of residence and tucked into their usual beds.

"You just have to believe," I told them. "No matter where you are, Santa Claus will find you."

And sure enough, Santa found them that Christmas and every Christmas since. For it's been the custom to hang our stockings by the fireplace each Christmas and even my thirty-something son finds his filled.

This Christmas was a little different. I'm living in an apartment with no fireplace and my sons didn't visit me on Christmas. I'd planned to visit my mother at Christmas because I needed to begin establishing a "new normal" routine for this season, but when she had surgery earlier this month and spent two weeks in the hospital, the trip became even more important because she needed help with just about everything while she began her recuperation.

I'd decorated my new apartment with a small tree from the thrift store (why pay $75 for a tree when you can find the same thing for $7.98 at Thrift Mart?) and put a wreath on my door. I wrapped my patio railing with evergreen garland and tiny white lights, and I bought two poinsettias to brighten up my kitchen and dining table. I put out some candles and found a spot to hang the really pretty crystal and mistletoe ornament Angel gave me for Christmas, and in a last-minute fit of tradition, I put a stocking hanger on the built-in bookcase and hung up the stocking my mother made for me when I was a little girl.

The stocking qualifies as an antique now and probably should go in the Smithsonian, but that's another story. I commented in an email to the other Playfriends that I wasn't really sure why I hung it because there'd be no one to fill it.

You see, I'd stopped believing in Santa years ago and so had my boys. But hanging those stockings and filling them with trinkets and candy was just a little piece of their childhood I could hang onto. I saw them both this year on the Sunday before Christmas and instead of trinkets and candy in a stocking, I gave them a Walmart card in a gift card holder (Grandbaby got lots and lots of princess and Tinkerbell stuff including a Tinkerbell Pez dispenser, and that's another story too). Cop-out, I know. I guess I figured that was just part of the "new normal." With the gift card, they could buy food or put gas in their vehicles or purchase socks and underwear if that's what they needed.

So imagine my surprise when I got home from my trip late on Monday and found a message from Santa scribbled on the little white board stuck to my front door. And imagine further surprise when I discovered several small gifts under the tree that I hadn't put there. And color me gobsmacked (don't you just love that word?) when I glanced toward the bookcase and saw my stocking brimming with surprises!

I got a new journal (I almost bought one a few days before because I wanted to start a new one for my journaling -- that's gonna be one of my resolutions -- and counseling sessions in 2010 but hesitated for some reason), and a Starbucks card (tall lattes here I come!), some note cards (to write thank you notes for all my wonderful gifts), lots of candy (Snickers, Reese's peanut butter cups and Kit Kat bars! Santa, you remembered!) and an apple and cinnamon oil diffuser with the little sticks (my office is going to smell so good). Last but not least, a pair of socks with snowmen was stuffed into the toe of my stocking. And as I type this, I'm wearing them to keep my feet warm in the sub-freezing weather we're having in north Alabama.

Isn't it amazing how even when you stop believing, others don't? We all know Santa didn't appear in the flesh at my apartment, but the spirit of Santa did and I think you can all guess which four people make up that spirit.

Enjoy the song below and pay attention to the lyrics printed below the player. And thank you to my special Santas for reminding me I need to keep believing.

Children sleeping, snow is softly falling
Dreams are calling like bells in the distance
We were dreamers not so long ago
But one by one we all had to grow up
When it seems the magic's slipped away
We find it all again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe

Trains move quickly to their journey's end
Destinations are where we begin again
Ships go sailing far across the sea
Trusting starlight to get where they need to be
When it seems that we have lost our way
We find ourselves again on Christmas day

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
You have everything you need
If you just believe
If you just believe
If you just believe
If you just believe
Just believe
Just believe
believe

Happy Holidays!

The Playfriends would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Christmas Eve

For my family, today starts our celebration of Christmas. This afternoon we'll attend mass followed by a trip to my parent's house to have a family dinner and exchange presents. If I can talk Zilla into it, we'll also drive down to the historical district in our town and see all the lights while listening to Christmas music.

Then we'll tuck the girls into bed and wait for Santa to arrive.

The fun and frenzy will probably also involve those last minute wrapping sessions. Hopefully, I won't need a final trip to the mall for anything.

Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

Instigator

P.S. The pictures are from another of our Christmas traditions, the Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN. Each year we try to get up there to do a little shopping and also stop by the hotel to see their amazing Christmas decorations.

The Holiday Spirit

This event happened on December 12, but I had to pass it on. My faith in humanity has been sorely tested this year but this just shows that goodness is alive and well on planet Earth.


Mystery Couple Starts "Magical" Chain Reaction
For five hours, strangers bought each other meals at a Philly diner

It played like a scene from a holiday movie -- a mystery couple, who didn’t leave their names or numbers, walked into a restaurant, finished their meal and then set-off a chain reaction of generosity that lasted for hours.

That’s just what employees at the Aramingo Diner in Port Richmond said a man and a woman did during their breakfast shift last Saturday morning.

“It was magical. I had tears in my eyes because it never happened before. I’ve been here for 10 years and I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Lynn Willard, a waitress.

Willard and other waitresses told NBC Philadelphia that the couple started the chain reaction by paying double: for their own meal and for the tab of another table of diners at the restaurant. There's no evidence that one group of diners knew the others.

“I could not believe it … and it continued and continued, it was very nice,” said Willard. “They asked us not to say anything until they left, but we said ‘Merry Christmas, that person picked up your tab.’”

For the next five hours, dozens of patrons got into that same holiday spirit and paid the favor forward.

The diner’s manager said not one person was concerned about price of the check -- which averaged between $12-$30.

“It was a surprise to all of us, the girls were even taken aback,” said Linda. “Those who took the check also tipped the waitress. So nobody had to do anything other than pass it on and that’s what they did. They just passed it forward.”

It’s a true holiday story that proves how a small gesture of kindness can create some magic.

Have you ever paid a favor forward?

I'm at my mother's house now, helping tend to her after some emergency surgery on December 5th and a 14-day hospital stay. She's doing well but has a long recovery ahead of her. I began my trip here with a visit to see both my sons (#2 son was visiting with #1 son), DIL and the grandbaby. We had our Christmas celebration on Sunday evening and here are a few photos of the surprises Grammy brought.

Watch out Rachael Ray! Her apron reads "Chef in Training"

Every princess needs a fuzzy pink bathrobe.

I want to wish everyone on the Playground a very merry Christmas.

Wish List

So, if you guys are anything like me, you spend the months of Nov and Dec trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. I've hunted sales, haunted online stores and made countless phone calls searching for those hard to find, perfect gifts. And so far, I've not only found everything that I needed (at the best price) but I've also managed to snag a few much needed items for other people as well.

But while I go out of my way to make sure that I know what everyone else's list includes, I usually have a hard time figuring out what to put on my own list.

Part of this is just being an adult. I mean, if I want something I generally just buy it. Sure, I go without things sometimes but never anything I truly need or really can't live without. Of course, this makes Christmas a little difficult on the ones that I love. This year, though, there's one item on my must have list.

A Nook. For those that haven't heard about it, it's Barnes and Noble's answer to the Kindle. It has a few extra features that I'm excited about - a color screen, the ability to add memory and a lending feature. However, it's back ordered until Feb 1st right now. And while I will be getting it (from my wonderful Zilla) I won't have it right away. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

And no, just because it's arriving in Feb doesn't mean it can double as a Valentine's present! :-)

So, what's on your Christmas list? Is there something that you're excited to find under your tree? Do you have trouble making your own Christmas list?

Instigator

P.S. Problem Child is guest blogging today at Tote Bags n Blogs http://authorsoundrelations.blogspot.com/ Stop by and say hi!

Walkabout Wednesday: Survey Says...!

I thought it would be fun to have this month's Walkabout Wednesday revolve around places with Christmas names. As you can see from the photo to the left, there's a place called North Pole, Alaska, and I bought this ornament at the Santa Claus House there.

But North Pole, Alaska is not the only Christmas-named place in the US. The US Geological survey says there are:


* 142 places named Christmas
* 260 names Joy
* 11 places in 8 states named Santa Claus (they are in Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon and Ohio)
* 963 Holly names
* 51 Noel names
* 5 Menorah names (okay, that's not Christmas, but it's a December religious holiday)
* 34 reindeer place names (and 27 are in Alaska)
* 22 states with places named Rudolph
* 24 North Poles
* 24 Mistletoes
* 5 Poinsettias
* 1 Wreath


And here are some factoids about places:

* Between Thanksgiving and Christmas in 2007, the postmaster of Noel, Missouri processed 30.428 Christmas cards, which was double the usual volume of mail for this town

* Christmas, Florida, which is located between Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center, has a special mailbox to accept letters for Santa. They are handled by volunteers. All the streets in this town are named for reindeer.

* Santa Claus, Indiana is home to the Santa Claus Museum, Santa's Candy Castle and Santa's Lodge. The Candy Castle dates from 1935, but has modern technology and a webcam to the North Pole where kids can chat with an elf and verbally submit their wish list. You can't visit? Then go to http://www.santasgoodlist.org/ to play. The town also has quite the competitive spirit with a fruitcake eating contest and a fastest gift wrapping event.

* Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is called "Christmas City." It hosts a Christkindlmarkt like the ones in Germany and was given its name on Christmas Eve 1741 by Moravian immigrants. This year they're hosting something brand new -- the Peeps Fest! You can learn more at http://www.christmascity.org/.

* North Pole, Alaska is 12 miles from Fairbanks and was named in 1953. The North Pole Christmas in Ice Festival features ice sculpting contests and you can take a peek at http://www.christmasinice.org/. The Santa Claus House, where I bought my ornament, has a gift shop, Santa himself and real reindeer.

And speaking of reindeer, our very own Huntsville, Alabama is home to Reindeer, Inc., a company that's been exhibiting reindeer since 1980. They've had as many as 75 in the herd at times, and because Alabama summers are way hotter than a reindeer's usual environment, they are kept in air-conditioned barns. If you've seen the movie "Prancer" then you've seen one of Reindeer, Inc.'s animals. They've also appeared in a Mariah Carey video. Mostly, however, they appear locally to entertain kids at Christmas.

Have you been to the North Pole? Santa Claus, Florida? Have you ever petted a real reindeer? Share your Christmas place adventures with us today.

MOANday-Naughty Christmas

There’s a lot of pressure, at Christmas time, for everyone to be nice. But I think naughty has been a little underrated…



So from the Playfriends to you, have a VERY NAUGHTY CHRISTMAS!!!

Angel

P.S.

Donna Alward is featuring Problem Child on her blog today: www.donnaalward.blogspot.com There’s a chance to win a prize pack from 12 authors in Donna’s 12 days of Christmas. (Problem Child is the 8th day :) )