Wednesday, December 12, 2012

silly celebrations, take five

Today is 12-12-12. It's become a tradition for me to celebrate this triple date with you. I've had so much fun coming up with a variety of lists each year. I hope you enjoy this silly celebration. 

Twelve Lists of Twelve
all lists in no particular order
Twelve ways to say, "Merry Christmas!"
  • Feliz Navidad, Spanish
  • Happy Holidays
  • Frรถhliche Weihnachten, German
  • Happy Christmas
  • Selamat Hari Natal, Indonesian
  • Happy Ho Ho Ho to you
  • Feliz Natal, Portuguese 
  • A very non-grinchy holiday to you, sir
  • Buone Feste Natalizie, Italian
  • Season's Greetings (my personal least favorite)
  • God Jul, Swedish 
  • Wishing you a very, very merry, very, very merry, wonderful Christmas time!
Twelve people who deserve your holiday cheer and patience
  • anyone running a cash register
  • everyone running a cash register
  • your neighbors
  • the children in your life
  • the person beside you at church or an event
  • your bank teller
  • your mail-carrier
  • mall employees
  • your child's teacher(s)
  • your own teacher(s)
  • your own family
  • You.  Be cheerful because it benefits you most of all. 
Twelve things you might consider letting go of this Christmas
  • fruitcake
  • listening to or singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
  • buying too much for your children or grandchildren
  • exhausting obligation parties
  • over-scheduling
  • the need to do everything perfectly
  • shopping without a budget
  • guilt-gifting
  • dieting
  • eggnog
  • that one thing you dread most every holiday
  • over-spending

Twelve reasons to send those Christmas cards
  • your Grandma
  • your Grandpa
  • your Mom 
  • your Dad
  • to share that fabulous picture of you
  • the old friend you really love, but never see any more
  • because the people who love you really, really love hearing from you
  • It's thoughtful.
  • The US postal service really needs the business.
  • You want to receive Christmas cards, don't you? 
  • There are so many beautiful card options available now. 
  • It's a lovely old tradition, and it would be a shame to see it die out.
Twelve free (or very cheap) gift ideas
  • a letter to your child's teacher telling her specifically what she has done well
  • a copy of that same letter to your child's principal
  • spend time with your parents with nothing on the agenda, but time together
  • your favorite recipe to someone who loves that dish
  • burn a mix cd for a friend
  • a pot of chili to the shut-in you keep thinking of, but never making time for
  • pass along a favorite book
  • set up your parent's tree for them
  • carry a few candy canes in your pocket and give them to harried strangers with a great big, "Merry Christmas!"
  • give your partner a long, loving massage
  • in the drive through line, pay for the person behind you
  • bring a coworker their favorite latte
Twelve simple ways to celebrate the holidays
  • Go caroling.
  • Forgive someone.
  • Visit an elderly person.
  • Think of the Christmas song you dislike.  Now, sing it loud and silly till it makes you laugh instead of cringe.
  • Share your bounty, whether it's baked goods, left-overs, time, or money.
  • Say, "Merry Christmas!" to every person who serves you this season.
  • Sing along with the radio.
  • Choose one person who would never expect a gift from you.  Deliver it in secret to them with an admiring note.
  • Hang your cards on the front of your fridge for a happy jolt while you are making dinner.
  • Suck on a candy cane.
  • Buy a few stocking stuffers from a joke shop.
  • Make or buy a dreidle and play it with your family.
Twelve inspiring images
Twelve things to do for yourself this Christmas
  • tie on a gorgeous ribbon and dangle an old crystal from the corner of your stocking
  • take the family on a light-looking drive
  • watch something that makes you laugh
  • if possible, visit Silver Dollar City
  • buy yourself a gorgeous new calendar so you can feast on beauty all year long
  • shower with this
  • let go of perfect
  • wear the red lipstick
  • take a quick shower to get clean, then soak, soak, soak in a hot, hot tub
  • look through old Christmas pictures and reminisce
  • go to Godiva, buy a truffle, then sit in the quiet for 10 minutes and savor
  • take a nap
Twelve big and little ways to give this Christmas away
  • keep change on hand so you can put some in every red bucket you pass
  • offer attention and hugs to anyone who wants it
  • pack a box for Operation Christmas Child
  • write that Christmas letter
  • buy a Toy for a Tot
  • give gift certificates to teachers, coaches, technicians
  • donate time to your church
  • participate in Secret Santa
  • ask a teacher how you can help them this year
  • give more than is asked for
  • donate a big bag of dog food to the local animal shelter
  • smile, smile, smile, smile, smile
Twelve terrific Christmas movies
  • Christmas in Connecticut
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon version)
  • It's a Wonderful Life
  • Home Alone
  • A Christmas Carol (the musical version)
  • Elf
  • A Season for Miracles (Hallmark Hall of Fame)
  • White Christmas
  • Miracle on 34th Street
  • The Polar Express
  • The Story Lady
  • A Christmas Story
Twelve things to do before you pack away the decorations
  • Spend an evening enjoying your home after the hustle and bustle is over.
  • When you hit the After-Christmas sales, remember that a bargin is only a bargain if you use it.
  • Toss old and mangled ornaments and lights.
  • Make a playlist of your favorite Christmas songs.  Now you'll have it ready for next year.
  • Get rid of the half-finished project.  If you haven't done it by now - you likely won't.
  • Think of the one thing you did that was most difficult this season.  Make a note to skip that thing next year.
  • Buy new strands of lights while they are half off.
  • Don't pack your favorite holiday movies.  You may want to watch them in July.
  • Buy a small tree after Christmas to turn into a memory tree next year.
  • Don't buy another storage bin.  Toss something instead.
  • Label the bins so you can find thing quickly and easily next year.
  • Use it up, give it away, or toss it out.
Twelve ways to get ready for the new year
  • Sort and organize all your pictures from the past year.
  • Return all library books or videos and pay any overdue charges.
  • Start with a clean slate.
  • Spend some time remembering.
  • Go ahead and be sad over the losses and the hurts. 
  • Now let them go. 
  • Try to feel grateful for what the pain taught you.
  • Journal about the lessons you've learned in 2012.
  • Make a list of five people who changed  your life for the better in 2012. 
  • Write them and tell them so.
  • Write down 100 blessings of 2012. 
  • Read them again on New Year's Eve, 2013.

Today's pictures were borrowed from these photographers: 1. 12, 2. "12", 3. 12 messehalle

13 comments:

rachel awes said...

oh relyn,
what an inspiring drum roll of twelves!! it could be a mini inspiration book!
i ought to take special note of your list of free gifts, not because they are cheap, but because they are rich. love them!
+ love to you! xoxxo

Jennifer Richardson said...

ohhh, it's a wonderful post!
and you remind me what a wonderful,
wonderful, WONDERFUL life
it really is
with all of this simple goodness.
i feel as if my heart just jogged
around the room and feels worked out and ready for the day.
thank you for sharing
this simple sweet wisdom:):):)
-Jennifer

Mac n' Janet said...

What a wonderful, thoughtful blog, thank you

Anonymous said...

Your lists are fantastic and thought-provoking, Relyn. You've reminded me that I have a little bit of forgiveness work to do this Christmas!

We have one tradition that falls under the categories of your last two lists: when we put our Christmas decorations away at Epiphany, we make a list of the things we hope for in the coming year. It's always interesting to find this list when we get the decorations out again in December, and we've had some good conversations about the nature of our desires vs. what God has in store for us, and also about things that we never would have dreamed to wish for that we've been blessed with.

Meri said...

I love you and your delightful lists! I'm going to link it on Share the Joy.

Cathi said...

I love this list so much - I am printing this out to save! Thank you so much for some wonderful inspiration! xxoo

Jeanne said...

I love your list of 12's.

☆• LOVE ˜”*°•☆ LOVE •☆˜”*° LOVE •☆
─▄▄─▄▄▀▀▄▀▀▄ ☆¸.•°*”˜☆˜”*°•☆
███████───▄▀ ☆¸•°*”˜☆˜”*°•☆
▀█████▀▀▄▀ ☆¸.•°*”˜☆˜”*°•☆
──▀█▀ ☆¸.•°*”˜☆˜”*°°•☆

Lisa Gordon said...

Love your lists of 12's, Relyn.
Fantastic idea!

Tracy said...

WOW... thank you for this pre-Christmas fun, Relyn! Happy Holly-Days ((HUGS))

Marilyn Miller said...

Your lists always inspire me. I even made my own list recently and thoughts of you. But toss out the fruitcake, I love fruit cake. I will remember to get rid of projects I will never finish and broken ornaments and share a book with a friend.

S. Etole said...

You make the best lists ever.

Amy said...

What fun! As for Christmas movies, have you seen "Going My Way"? The ends gets me. Every single time. Sigh.

I also love the Bishop's Wife.

And I'll have to put The Story Lady on my list!

Jeanie said...

I love all of these but the guilt list really is especially spot on! As always, I love your lists and these are all particularly good. Merriest!

Oldies, but Goodies