Christmas Favorites

So I know it's only November 26th and it's raining outside instead of snowing, but I noticed it has been some time since my last post and I thought that making some lists of my favorite Christmas things might be fun.

The items listed appear in no particular order...

Favorite Christmas Songs

1. O Holy Night
2. The Little Drummer Boy
3. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
4. Baby It's Cold Outside
5. Christmas Eve Sarajevo

Favorite Christmas Albums

1. Christmas Eve and Other Stories - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
2. The Lost Christmas Eve - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
3. Home for Christmas - Amy Grant
4. Rejoyce: The Christmas Album - Jessica Simpson
5. The Sinatra Christmas Album - Frank Sinatra

Favorite Christmas Movies

1. A Christmas Story
2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
3. Home Alone
4. The Grinch with Jim Carrey and Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Random Christmas Essentials

1. white Christmas lights
2. peppermint bark (preferably Ghirardelli or Andes)
   
3. shrimp cocktail at Grandma's on Christmas Eve (I don't eat the slimy things, but the rest of the family does and it wouldn't be the same to see them go without it.)
4. the smell of candles with the scents of Christmas
5. the lighted Christmas wreath on the front porch of mom and dads accompanied by the lights on the weeping cherry tree (seeing those when we come to visit is so welcoming...reminds me of the times I would help dad put them up when I was still living at home.)

I just love this time of year! And of course not just because of the "things", but because of the birth of Jesus. What an AWESOME thing to celebrate!