SANTA'S LIST: The Crew

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

FROM THE CREW !!

We have a special guest who stopped by to give the Crew the fifth degree right before Christmas. Oh no, some of us just might get stricken from the gift list.

THE EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS

SANTA: DO YOU BELIEVE IN SANTA CLAUS? 

ANGI: Do I believe? DO *I* BELIEVE? Seriously, there are some certainties you never have to think about.

ALEXA: Absolutely!

MAUREEN: Um, is it bad if the sci-fi fantasy author is the only one so far who answers no? :) I do, however, believe in the generosity of spirit inherent in Santa.

DONNELL:  Yes, don't you?

SUSAN: Oh, my yes, of course! "I really do believe in you! Let's see if you believe in me...." (From Santa Baby, my signature Christmas Karaoke song)

JILLIAN: "...been a good girl, Santa Baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight!"

SIMONE: I'd say no, but then... you never know, right?

LIZBETH: You know what, I really do! I think Santa is real in all of us, and I believe he actually shows up for all of those who need him. Have you ever gotten something so special and meaningful you know it didn’t just come from Mom and Dad or Aunt Susie? THAT’s Santa!

HEATHER: The Heir and the Spare saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night... :) So yes, I believe!

SANTA: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE? DO YOU WATCH IT WITHOUT FALLING ASLEEP?

MAUREEN: A Christmas Story. I could watch it a hundred times and not fall asleep. Parts are mildly offensive, but it still makes me laugh.
DONNELL:   It's a Wonderful Life.

SUSAN: I have to pick one? Okay... It's a Wonderful Life.

SIMONE: Die Hard. Christmas isn't Christmas without it.

LIZBETH: I really do think “It’s A Wonderful Life” is a given. If that movie doesn’t move you, nothing will! When George Bailey runs through Bedford Falls after getting his life back (“Hello you wonderful old Savings and Loan.”) it makes me want to hug everyone in my life!  My silly favorites though are the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen. They’re hokey but they really do have a strong family message, plus—who wouldn’t want to have Santa for a dad? On a note that will get tomatoes thrown at me from Maureen—I’m one of the few strange people in the world who doesn’t fall in love with “A Christmas Story.” It’s most peoples’ favorite—but I find the leg lamp creepy and Ralphie kind of a little sneak. I know, I know . . .

JILLIAN: Love, Actually
HEATHER: No fair! Jillian stole mine!!!

ANGI: THERE ARE SO MANY !!  We watch a different one almost every night between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Christmas eve it's the original MIRACLE on 34th STREET. It might seem funny, but one of our holiday movies is Galaxy Quest. We originally saw it on Christmas Day and took all the family...remember Santa? You gave us the tickets in our stockings...all fourteen of us.

ALEXA: A Christmas Carol- any version.

SANTA: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY SONG? DO YOU HUM IT ALL YEAR LONG?

DONNELL:  Oh, Holy Night, Sleigh Ride...No, my policy is to move on to something else by February.

SUSAN: O Holy Night, Santa Baby, and All I Want for Christmas is a Real Good Tan (Kenny Chesney) Yes, I do sing--not hum--them all year long.

JILLIAN: Santa Baby (see above) or All I Want for Christmas is You.

SIMONE: Carol of the Bells! But I can't even listen to Christmas carols at other times of year, let alone sing them.

ANGI: Hands down, Karen Carpenter's CHRISTMAS WALTZ & MERRY CHRISTMAS DARLING
LIZBETH:  My favorite Christmas song of all time is “The Little Drummer Boy.” I don’t hum Christmas songs all year, but I look forward to the first time I hear this carol every Christmas season. It actually makes me teary-eyed. The idea of Jesus smiling and accepting even the most insignificant of our gifts and talents is humbling and comforting to me.

HEATHER: It's a toss up between Oh, Holy Night and Come, Oh Come Emmanuel. But I cry when I hear the handbell choirs, because I remember lying awake at my Nana's house beneath the white lights, listening to them on Christmas Eve night. I miss her.

ALEXA: Let the Good Guys Win. It’s actually a New Year’s song. For a more traditional song, I love The Holly and the Ivy. Yes, I do sing both throughout the year.

MAUREEN:  Tough one. I sang in my church choir for years and have so many favorite carols... but I'm going to pick In the Bleak Midwinter because it's so hauntingly beautiful.

SANTA: WHICH FOOD WOULD YOU EAT ALL YEAR LONG IF YOU COULD? DO YOU?

JILLIAN: Chocolate covered Cinder Toffee from Fortnam & Mason. Yum! 

SIMONE: Mint chocolates. They say Christmas to me. I could eat them any time of year, but I only eat them now.

LIZBETH: Christmas cookies! These little gems, whatever the variety, are the best way to ingest sugar on the face of the Earth. Russian Tea Cakes (decadent and short-bready with that powdered sugar melting on your tongue), peanut butter blossoms (Hershey’s kisses-say no more), krumkake (so fun to make), and, and, and . . . Yup, I’d eat ‘em any time!

HEATHER: TACOS!!! Wait, did you mean Christmas food??? You didn't specify, Santa. Hmm...in that case, peanut brittle.

ANGI: Hands down, my mother's Divinity. I'd weigh 800 pounds, so thank goodness she only makes it once a year.

ALEXA: Candy canes! I try not to eat too many because I have no self control when I’m around them and I know how bad they are for me.

MAUREEN: Turkey dinner.

DONNELL:  Fudge, so hard to resist. 

SUSAN: Harry & David's pears & all the other goodies in their collections.

SANTA: WHAT’S THE WORST GIFT YOU EVER RECEIVED?

SIMONE: Five bucks. I wish I was kidding.

LIZBETH: I don’t think I've never received a bad gift! But I do remember the most disappointing. When I was quite young (six or seven) I asked for a pair of cowboy boots. Lo and behold, on Christmas morning they were sitting under the tree! But, Santa had gotten the size wrong—they were too small. Mom and Dad brought me to Sears Roebuck (as it was known in the dark ages) but they were out of my correct size. For some reason I never got a pair that year. I've had boots since, but none as cool as the pair that didn't fit.
HEATHER: Day of the week underwear...not that they are bad, per se, but you see, my birthday is December 28, so I got them along with a "Ho Ho Happy Birthday" card, which meant they were for both Christmas AND birthday. Sigh :)

ANGI: The third or fourth bottle of perfume (same person)...I'm allergic.

ALEXA: A tire gauge. I opened it, laughed and thought, “What do I do with this?”

MAUREEN: I don't believe in bad gifts. No such thing. :)

DONNELL:  A box of cow patties.  ----gag gift.

SUSAN: A vacuum cleaner. This was from my first husband. We weren't married long.

JILLIAN: I'm sure I've received a less than thoughtful gift or two over the years but I just don't remember any of them! 

SANTA: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY TRADITION?

HEATHER: I loved making shortbread cookies with my Nana. It's kind of sad, but I don't have a favorite holiday tradition anymore...so much traveling between my parents and hubby's, spending Christmas Eve in someone else's house, having Santa visit our children there. The Heir is 4 this year and the Spare 1, so this year we decided to stay home for Christmas Eve/morning and not travel until we've done our own little family Christmas. I think THAT will end up being my favorite tradition.

ANGI: This will seem funny to most, but I grew up in choir and always had holiday music to practice. Voice strain caused me to give it up, but I still love singing. (Here's the strange part) Every year we clean the house just after Thanksgiving and decorate...the Christmas carols are blaring through the stereo and no one's tired of listening to them yet. So we clean, decorate, wrap gifts and sing at the top of our lungs. It happens every year and has become one of my favorite things to look forward to.

ALEXA: Since my mom is from England originally, we always use Christmas crackers either at breakfast or dinner on Christmas day. And yes, we wear the silly paper hats all through the meal!

MAUREEN: Sitting in the darkened living room and admiring the tree. Sometimes without my glasses. One advantage to being as crazy short-sighted as I am, is that without glasses, Christmas tree lights turn into huge puffy balls of light that all blend into each other at their edges. Really quite pretty. 

DONNELL:  Going to Midnight Mass with family and friends, coming back home and drinking hot chocolate and then opening presents. 

SUSAN: Christmas brunch at my parents' house.

JILLIAN: Putting up the Charlie Brown tree! Ever since we gave up spectacular holiday decorating, Christmas has become more of a joy than ever. It really is sort of darling...really, it is!

SIMONE: For the last few years, we've started going out for Indian food on Christmas eve. It's delicious and different, and it means no cooking or cleaning for anyone that night :)

LIZBETH: Unloading our family Christmas stockings. My late mother-in-law had THE BEST stocking stuffers in the world and the tradition at her house was to open the main presents and keep the stockings for very last. Now that she’s not with us, we’ve tried to keep that tradition at our house. I have all my kids together in one spot and I love watching them get almost more excited about the crazy things in their stockings than the big gifts.

SANTA’S GOTTA ASK: ARE YOU ON THE NAUGHTY OR NICE LIST? AND CAN YOU SAY WHY?

ALEXA’S GOTTA ANSWER:  Of course I’m on the NICE list, Santa! I’m the sweet and innocent one. No, really. Hey, stop laughing!

MAUREEN’S GOTTA ANSWER:  Only Santa knows for sure. Wait... I claimed I didn't believe in Santa...

DONNELL’S GOTTA ANSWER:  I'm on Santa's Nice List, but my characters... well, don't let them fool you, they're on the Naughty List.   
SUSAN’S GOTTA ANSWER:  It could go either way. I'm hoping for the best. (Jillian, I just read your answer, and I'm thinking you're on the naughty list!) :)

JILLIAN’S GOTTA ANSWER: The last time I was on Santa's knee, he was the naughty one, not me!

SIMONE’S GOTTA ANSWER: Depends on the day. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm terminally nice. (PS Santa: Don't believe Jillian!)

LIZBETH’S GOTTA ANSWER:  I think I must be on the nice list. Not that I necessarily deserve to be there, but at some point I must have done something good, because it’s been a really blessed year for me. My first book came out, I got to take a dream hiking trip to England, got to visit my adopted home in Alaska and, best of all, my son and his wife are expecting their first baby come May (my first grandchild). My biggest concern now is figuring out how to stay off the naughty side of the list!

HEATHER’S GOTTA ANSWER:  Pleading the Fifth...

ANGI’S GOTTA ANSWER: Naughty...Nice... Naughty... Nice... I'm thinking... I'm thinking... Yep, still thinking.

~~~
CAT is under a pressure deadline and couldn't be with us today. She wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a big thanks for joining us at Get Lost In A Story.
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SANTA WANTS TO KNOW:

What was the favorite gift I ever left under your tree?