Some Extra Info

I've been tagged by LeeAnn. I really need to add her to my links. She posts great weekly menus with recipes, she's hilarious, and I like her parenting style. She's got adorable kiddos too. :)

Here's how this one works:
Ok, this is specifically not a meme. It's a HOOPLA. Got it?
Here are the rules:
1. List 12 random things about yourself that have to do with Christmas
2. Please refer to it as a 'hoopla' and not the dreaded 'm'-word
3. You have to specifically tag people when you're done. None of this "if you're reading this, consider yourself tagged" stuff is allowed...then nobody ends up actually doing it. The number of people who you tag is really up to you -- but the more, the merrier to get this 'hoopla' circulating through the blogosphere.
4. Please try and do it as quickly as possible. The Christmas season will be over before we know it and I'd like to get as many people involved as possible.

Here goes:

1) I have an absolute obsession with looking at Christmas lights. I grew up with beautifully decorated homes along St. Charles Avenue, *slightly* overdone (ha!) Al Copeland's various spots, and this amazing house in Metairie (I think) from when I was little. At the amazing house, they had great displays that totally grabbed children's attention, but they also had a talking Frosty! He was interactive waaayyyy before interactive was the thing. He'd call you by name when talking to you, and you could touch his icy body. Yikes! It wasn't as bad as that makes it sound.

2) Santa brings Linus Christmas pjs each year. He brings them a size up so that she can get a lot of wear out of them. He leaves instructions for her to wear them to bed Christmas Eve the following year so that he'll know he's at the correct house. This allows her to wear Christmas pjs to bed Christmas Eve and a new pair Christmas night.

3) I'm the oddball who doesn't take Christmas decorations down until January 6th. I'm all about waiting 'til the Epiphany.

4) I always look forward to January 6th because it's King's Day which means Mardi Gras King cakes begin to hit the stores. Yum!

5) I truly miss McKenzie's Christmas cookies. They did holiday cookies (Valentine's Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's day, Halloween, and Christmas) that were divine. Since they only did holidays you didn't get sick of them. This is the same bakery that made the yummiest petit fours.

6) Like LeeAnn, I keep Christmas card photos. I like to go back and see how people have grown. I LOVE getting Christmas cards.

7) I love Christmas Day, but I really love Christmas Eve. I think it's the anticipation that makes me so excited.

8) I am horrible about mailing my Christmas cards in a timely manner. Every year I promise myself that I'll get started earlier, but each year they go out on about the 20th. Nope, I still haven't done them this year. :(

9) I like eggnog. I wish I didn't. It would save me tons of calories.

10) My anniversary is during the week before Christmas. Everyone said I'd hate having it then, but I love it. I love that the city was decorated beautifully, the church was decorated beautifully, and my reception place was decorated for Christmas. Army and I really aren't into giving anniversary presents (and we're both perfectly ok with that), so it really doesn't cause present dilemma issues. The only issue that it causes is we sometimes take advantage of having a babysitter (so that we can go out to dinner) and use the time for shopping.

11) I love Christmas Eve service. We don't go to midnight mass, but we do go Christmas Eve. It always feel magical to me.

12) I love Christmas music. I love to hear Linus sing her heart out. We usually pop a Christmas cd in November 1st. Hey, at least we wait 'til after Halloween!

Ok, Kim, Katie, Lori, and Leia consider yourself tagged! I'm being nice to some of y'all and not tagging some of the people I know you'll tag. I hate when I'm tagged, but everyone I'd tag has already been tagged!

ETA: Adding a 13th just to see if I'm the only one who does this...
We don't put Baby Jesus in our Nativity until Christmas morning. Our reasoning is He wasn't born until then. When we put him in, we sing the Happy Birthday song to Baby Jesus.