Random Christmas Hoopla!

Oh, this is fun! Lori, over at Simple Life at Home, has tagged me for this fun Christmas Hoopla. Here's 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's my Christmas Randomness....

1. I start counting days until Christmas at 100 days, which is Sept. 16. I have a snowman chalkboard counter that I put out with my fall decorations. Sick, I know, but what can I say?
2. I begin Christmas shopping in May. Yes, that's right, May. That way (1) I can get exactly what I want without having to fight or fret, (2) I can watch for sales during the year, (3) I'm mostly done by Thanksgiving, so I can truly relax and enjoy the season, and (4) I can spread out my money throughout the year.
3. I still send Christmas cards through the mail....with stamps...don't faint. I also try to include a picture of the kids. I love getting cards with pictures of peoples' kids. It's neat to see how they've grown.
4. We have steak and shrimp for our Christmas dinner. Why? Well, for several years, we would eat ham for Christmas Eve at the inlaws' and then turkey 3-4 days after Christmas at my parents'. So, we decided to start our own traditional dinner, with something we liked. Hence, steak and boiled and fried shrimp. Everyone likes to come to our house for Christmas dinner. :-)
5. We do not attend Christmas eve services because we're usually at the inlaws' house. Instead, when we return home, we light a candle and read the story or Jesus' birth from Luke 2, just before bedtime.
6. On Thanksgiving night, our family picks names and on Christmas eve, we exchange "love gifts". Love gifts are gifts we give to the person whose name we have, but we can't buy the gift. It has to be something you make, find, or give that was formerly yours. It's supposed to be from the heart, reminding us of God's love gift to us-Jesus.
7. Everyone's favorite desert on Christmas is Chocolate Marvel Pie. Even Nicky, who's not a huge chocolate fan, likes this.
8. We throw reindeer food into the front yard on Christmas Eve for Santa's reindeer. (It's actually oatmeal mixed with glitter.) The kids love it. Of course, we also leave out cookies and milk for Santa.
9. Every year the kids and I do lots of baking, which we give out to our neighbors and the garbage men and the mail lady, along with some sort of tract or coloring paper which references Jesus' birth.
10. I love Christmas music, movies, and programs. Every year, I take away all the kids' videos and replace them with Christmas videos, which is the only thing they're allowed to watch during December. Yes, we have an array of choices, but they still get sick of them.....too bad. :-)
11. I also love Christmas lights...inside and out! I go out of my way, while driving at night (even with no kids), just to see more Christmas lights. I also hang lights inside my house. Not just on the tree, but all around. At night, I turn off the lights and have only Christmas lights lit and watch Christmas movies.
12. I love surprises! I never want to know what I'm getting. I always know what everyone else is getting, mostly because I do all the shopping, but also because other family members discuss with me what to get people. So, I always want what I get to be a surprise. Oh, and I'd also rather have 10 smaller gifts than 1 big gift and have that be my only one.
BONUS:
If you know me, you know what street I live on....How cool is that?? If you're curious, email me and maybe I'll tell you! :-)

Ok, so who will I tag?? Leslie, Kathy, Lisa, and Joanne. Have fun!
Merry Christmas, everyone!!
PS- I found Christmas music on the web!! Check it out!