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After 11 days of bingo with 30 players we have our 2 winners!
Winner #1: Tammy C.
Tammy wins the $20 Amazon gift card!
Winner #2: Chris
Chris wins one of Granny's baskets and fudge!
Congratulations! I've had a ton of fun doing this, and I'm glad you all played along. This year was the highest participation yet. :)
~ Merry Christmas ~
from all of us here at the Girotti house - see you back here on the blog in January!
~Sarah
It's Friday again, and it's getting down to the wire! What words will you get today?
We had a very busy, Christmas-y day yesterday! Hannah and I were in the kitchen most of the time, making lots of different cookies. We have been pinning recipes in anticipation and had chosen 9 for the day. We only got done with 7 before it was time to clean up for supper, so we'll have to make the rest today.
After supper, I was back in the kitchen, making a big batch of Rocky Road fudge. It's chock full of chocolate, nuts, and MARSHMALLOWS. Dad is buying some from me for office Christmas gifts, and then some will be for one of the winners of this bingo game. :)
While Hannah and I were baking away, Mom was upstairs working on adding to the stack of WRAPPED presents! I still have some of that to do myself.
Are you staying busy at your house?
~Sarah
There are some players getting reeeeeally close to winning - will it be soon?
I love to play games with my family and when we have friends over! We have a tradition of playing games on birthday nights, and the birthday person gets to choose their favorites. We also like to play games around Christmas time, since my aunt is here and Dad and Jonathan are off work. Aunt Bet has often given us a family gift of a new game to add to our stash, and then we try it out while she's still here. :)
I listed some of our favorites on a post 8 years ago, and we still enjoy those! Some of the newer additions include Quirkle, Ruckus, Anomia, Gotcha, Hand and Foot, and Pigs and Chickens.
What are some of your favorite games, either board games, card games, or others?
Why don't we have a little game right now - I found 2 different Christmas carol quizzes. Number 1 and Number 2. Go see if you can name the songs, and come back here and report how you did!
~Sarah
Good morning, everybody! We're halfway through the second week already, can you believe it?This doesn't have anything to do with any of today's words, but I have a recipe to share. :) Yesterday, Mom, Hannah and I were out at some appointments (I'm getting new glasses!) and running errands. (I think I'll pretend SHOPPING is one of the words today....) Mom didn't want to worry about getting home in time to fix supper, so before we left, she quickly put together this recipe. It's aptly named Holiday Shopping Beef Stew, and it was great to come home after being out all afternoon and have a hot, delicious meal waiting.
If you still have Christmas shopping to do this week, you can try it out! It probably could be put in a crockpot, and it would work just as well.
Is your shopping finished or do you still have some gifts left to buy?
~Sarah
It's Tuesday morning, and it's Day number 8!
Last night, we were back at the church down the road to attend a Christmas concert. The Stonewall Brigade Band is a local group that plays every week at the park in the summer, and they play a benefit concert each year at Christmas time. They played several carols and other more modern songs as well.
What are some of your favorite carols? How do you get into the spirit of Christmas?
~Sarah
Happy Monday morning! How was your weekend? Ready for a second week of bingo?
On Saturday night, Dad, Mom, Hannah, and I went over to a local church that was having a live nativity. They were taking people in groups - we missed one, didn't want to wait another half hour for the next, so we just joined the one already in progress. That means we missed all the beginning part, as Jesus was already born and the angels were singing. We did get to see the wise men with their horses come up, though! I snapped some low-quality photos with Mom's cell phone, as I knew they may come in handy for a blog post - lo and behold, nativity was one of today's words. :)
Afterwards, we adjourned inside for free hot chocolate and cookies. :) There are several live nativities that we've heard of in the area but have never been to. We should try going to one of those...I think they are bigger and more well-known and attended.
Have you ever been to or even been part of a live nativity?
~Sarah
We've come to the end of the first week of bingo! Today I'm giving you a few bonus words, in addition to the normal 15. I won't be posting tomorrow, but I'll see you back here first thing Monday morning!
Extra words for the weekend!
I'm going to post about the FOOD of Christmas today! Yum! Every family seems to have their signature, traditional dishes that it wouldn't be the same if you didn't make them. What would that be for your family?
We always have our main big Christmas meal on Christmas Eve. One of our very favorites is San Francisco Chicken...it's so yummy! When my great-aunt was still alive, she would always bring her cream cheese cupcakes for the dessert, so they exude "Christmas-ness" to me as well.
Christmas Day the lunch meal consists of many different finger foods/appetizer type things. We usually always have a veggie tray, cheese and crackers, white beans, and a few other staples, but we also like to try new foods, too. Christmas breakfast is sausage biscuits and/or orange danish rolls, at least for the people who like those items.
OK, I'm getting hungry now...
~Sarah
Give a shout-out with how many words you have so far! Let's see if you can add to your crossed-out list today:Today I'm going to show you some of our SNOWMAN collection! They aren't exactly Frosty, but it's close enough, right?
Granny has always been a huge snowman collector. Everyone surprised her with cute, unique snowmen each Christmas! She now has a number of them set up in her sitting room corner, in a cute little gathering.
Mom also has quite a few snowmen, and they decorate shelves and windowsills during December. She also loves to collect all different snowman plates - she posted about them here.
Do you collect snowmen?
~Sarah
Welcome to Day 4! First, more words:
Does your family like to drive around and look at Christmas lights and decorations? We usually like to do that at least once each year, usually after my aunt has arrived the week of Christmas. For some reason, it never seems to fail that the night we pick it turns out to be raining! We haven't found a really good neighborhood to drive through around here, and we end up saying more often than not, "They're all Scrooges on this street!" :)
Speaking of lights....I know I did this poll 3 years ago, but we have new readers, so I'm going to do it again! Does your family prefer colorful lights, white lights, or some other color (thinking mainly of the tree, but in general as well)? Our family is split on this issue, with Jonathan and Hannah preferring white. I think Mom's in the middle, and Dad and I are colored lights fans.
Take the poll below, and may the best lights win. You can leave a comment about your choice, too. :)
~Sarah
I hope everyone is having fun on this third day of bingo! Ready for some more words?
Yesterday we had some more snow! Yay! It was supposed to change over to rain during the day, but it stayed snow all day. It didn't really stick though, but it was pretty while it lasted. :)
How do you like my new window decorations I got for my birthday? Some of my other presents included snow socks, snowman oven mitts and dishtowels, a snowman figurine, snowman plates and napkins, and a puzzle with a snowy scene. I think my family knows me well, don't you?
There's nothing like a White Christmas!
~Sarah
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