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Top Ten Tuesday: My Christmas Favorites
Happy Tuesday! How's everyone doing? I'm swell, especially because I have exciting news—on Sunday, I finished my 200th book of the year, meaning that, for the first time ever, I met my goal of reading 200 books in a year. Cue the confetti! I don't know how you tally up your totals, but I count books finished (not including picture books or anything under 50 pages) and not pages read, so it's possible I've read more pages in other years, just not this many actual volumes. I'm so proud of myself :) We won't talk about all the other more productive things I could have accomplished with all those hours...moving along...
Today's TTT topic is Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes. It has this addendum, that I find kind of odd but others might enjoy: This was so popular when I did it in June that we’re doing it again for the holidays! List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that Santa can grant your wish. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address [here’s how to do it on Amazon] or include the email address associated with your ereader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. You can make your identity known or be someone’s secret Santa! Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone! If you would rather not include your wish list, just share the books you hope you find under your tree on Christmas morning. I can't imagine asking people to buy me books, so I'm going to skip this topic altogether. Instead, I thought it might be fun to share some of my favorite Christmas things—books, music, movies, etc. Before we get to that, though, be sure to click on over to That Artsy Reader Girl and give our hostess, Jana, some love.
My Top Ten Christmas Favorites
1.
2.
I've mentioned before that I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as Mormons). One thing people of my faith revere is the Sabbath Day, which we try to keep holy. To this end, Mormons don't generally shop on Sundays or attend things like sporting events. Growing up, my father was adamant about us kids only watching uplifting things on the Sabbath. Other than videos produced by our church, he had two others he deemed appropriate: The Sound of Music and It's a Wonderful Life. My siblings and I viewed both so many times that we can still quote them word-for-word all these years later. My love for It's a Wonderful Life started then and continues now. It remains my all-time favorite Christmas movie.
4.
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I love your Christmas themed version of today's TTT a little nicer than asking people to gift books. I just listed the books I hope family and friends might buy me this holiday.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it feels so weird to ask people to buy me books. I'm not doing that. It was fun to think about my favorite Christmas things and to hear other bloggers' responses, so I'm glad I did this topic.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Alex!
I love this! Thanks for sharing all your Christmas favorites. I love President Nelson and his messages.
ReplyDeleteMe too. His messages always inspire me!
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Kami!
Wow, you read a lot of books this year!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your weight loss. I’m trying to lose some weight, too, but I’m enjoying treats over the holidays. Everyone needs a break sometimes. :)
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-things-i-hope-santa-bring/
Yeah, I'm not even going to try until the holidays are over! There are too many sweets around and I just want to enjoy it all and not stress. I'll go back on my diet on January 1st along with everyone else. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lydia!
This is so cute! I love O'holy Night! It is such a lovely song!
ReplyDeleteRight? I love the words, the music, just everything. It's beautiful.
DeleteThanks for popping in, Amber!
I love your spin on this weeks topic, I always love seeing peoples favorite parts of Christmas so thanks for sharing this! I love sending & receiving cards too :)
ReplyDeleteMe too. I've loved reading all the comments on this post about other people's favorite parts of Christmas. So fun!
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Melissa!
I totally agree, I LOVE sending out Christmas cards! I normally send them out the weekend after Thanksgiving, and I send about 75 cards on a regular basis (some years a few more, and very rarely a few less). This year I was late sending them out, and a friend texted me to see if I was okay because ours is usually the first card they get and it hadn't arrived yet! Made me feel good that they noticed. :) Merry Christmas to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2021/12/21/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-hope-santa-brings-2/
We're Christmas card die hards! LOL. I love it. I usually order around 100 cards. I send the bulk of them to out-of-town friends and family since we hand out homemade doughnuts to neighbors and local friends. This year, I ordered 150 cards, so EVERYBODY is getting one. Ha ha.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!
And there's another thing we have in common. I usually make about 100 to 120 cards and send them to friends and family all over the world.
DeleteThis is such a fun post! Loved reading about all your Christmas favorites. And congrats on reading 200 books this year! That's awesome! Merry Christmas! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! It was a fun post to put together. Merry Christmas to you as well!
DeleteThanks for popping by, Ashley!
What an awesome post!! Thanks for sharing so much of yourself here, love it. I LOVE sending and receiving Christmas cards!! I wish everyone loved it too. haha. It's just so nice to get that nice mail that isn't a bill. I have a little tree that I hang them all on. It seems like less and less people send out cards now.
ReplyDeleteRight? It's so fun to get a mailbox full of cards and not just junk mail! I love the idea of hanging them on a tree. I just stick mine on the wall with that plasti-tack stuff. It makes for a festive wall :)
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leslie!
I used to do that, now I have a sort of iron stair gate where I can attach them with a magnet!
DeleteI love fudge, too! I am also a fan O Holy Night. I haven't received as many holiday cards this year, but I haven't sent mine out yet. I'm still waiting on them to be delivered from Costco. Hopefully I'll get them out before Christmas. Happy holidays!
ReplyDeleteOur Costco no longer has a photo center inside of it, so I had to have mine delivered, too. It took longer than usual and cost more. Luckily, I got mine ordered early. I haven't gotten as many this year either. Maybe because stamps are so expensive?
DeleteMerry Christmas, Deanna, and thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting!
I love this list! I also really like getting and sending Christmas cards. My favorite book is Twas the Night Before Christmas, which I read with my daughter each year (and, yes, she is now 21).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Christmas cards haven't gone out of style! They're one of my favorite parts of the holiday.
DeleteWe read TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS each year, too. Doesn't matter how old the kids get! My husband likes to put his own spin on the story every year, so it's always entertaining :)
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Helen!
What a beautiful post this week! I absolutely love eggnog, and no one else in my family does either, so I get all of it to myself too. And I also drink it straight - it's the best! And congrats on reaching an amazing goal of 200 books! Merry Christmas to you.
ReplyDeleteRight? You have to have a very discerning palette to love eggnog the way we do! It's delicious.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leah!
We have to make our own because you can't buy it here. But it wouldn't be Christmas without eggnogg in our house.
DeleteI love this, thanks for sharing! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cindy! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
DeleteI love this idea of sharing your favorites! That's so cool. Have a lovely Christmas!
ReplyDeleteGenesis @ Whispering Chapters
It was a fun post to put together and I'm really enjoying reading about other people's Christmas favorites. I hope you have a wonderful holiday as well!
DeleteThanks for popping by, Genesis!
I love what you did with this week's topic. Many of my favorites are the same as yours. President Nelson's message was very touching. We need more love and kindness in this world.
ReplyDeleteWishing you a blessed Christmas.
https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2021/12/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-books-i-hope.html
One of the many things I love about this time of year is that people just seem happier and act nicer. I know not everyone loves the holidays, which makes compassion even more important. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
DeleteThanks for stopping in, Cheryl!
200 books is amazing, congratulations! O Holy Night is my favorite Christmas song too. I just wish I had the talent to sing it well. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
ReplyDeleteI have no singing talent, but I still sing "O Holy Night" loud and proud. In the car. When I'm alone. It's not pretty when I sing it, ha ha.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you as well and thanks for popping by!
I've never met a block of fudge I didn't love either! Haha. And It's a Wonderful Life is such a good movie. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteRight? I've never had much success making it, so I have to buy my fudge or what to get some from friends/neighbors. It's probably good that I don't have ready access to my favorite holiday indulgence!
DeleteMerry Christmas to you as well and thanks for popping in!
I skipped this week as well because I can't imagine asking people online to buy me books. Awkward! I really like how you flipped the topic. :)
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas!!!
It's weird, right? Glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you as well and thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lectrice!
Let's get the book count out of the way - I count each book I finish. Now this list. We love so many of the same things, and it's not easy finding a fellow egg nog lover. So, *high five* Yes to It's a Wonderful Life, and I really identify with the rage about the commercialization of Christmas in CB Christmas. Love that one! My runner up would be Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol. I don't know, I love it.
ReplyDeleteAs I said above, it takes a very sophisticated palette to appreciate the deliciousness of eggnog. Some of us have it, some of us just...don't. Glad you're part of the eggnog club :)
DeleteOh my goodness, I haven't thought about Mr. Magoo in YEARS! I haven't watched that adaptation in forever and ever. I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere. The other adaptation of A Christmas Carol that I like is the one with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge. And, of course, It's a Wonderful Life is an A CHRISTMAS CAROL adaptation in its own unique way.
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!
200 books is an incredible achievement! Congratulations and merry Christmas :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm trying to decide if I should set next year's goal at 200 again or up it...we'll see.
DeleteMerry Christmas to you as well and thanks for stopping in, FangirlFlax!
Congrats on 200 books! That's awesome. I do love fudge...mmmm I'm craving some now.
ReplyDeleteLauren @ www.shootingstarsmag.net
Right? My stepsister gave us some fudge, but it was waaayyyy back at Thanksgiving time. I need more!
DeleteThanks for popping by, Lauren!
I loved reading about all your favorite parts of Christmas. I, too, love It's a Wonderful Life and the animated Grinch and Charlie Brown Christmas. Every year I eagerly look forward to drinking Borden's (local dairy) Egg Nog. Yum!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on meeting your goal of reading 200 hundred books this year! And congratulations on holding yourself to such a high standard.
I really can't believe there are people out there that don't love eggnog! It's the best. We have some Borden products here, but just cheese, I think.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deb!
You are making me crave an eggnog latte from Starbucks, which is like the only beverage I like that they make.
ReplyDeleteI don't drink coffee, but I do like anything eggnog flavored. I've heard of eggnog cookies, but have never had them. Maybe I'll try that next year!
DeleteThanks for stopping in!
That sounds interesting. Will have to find some recipes.
DeleteThis is such a great (and very festive) change of topic! My family and I don't celebrate Christmas but it's always hard to not get caught up in the spirit of it all—especially after having grown up in a country that starts preparing for the holidays the minute Halloween ends! 😆 I love Christmas music and love Mary, Did You Know. Pentatonix has a gorgeous version of it.
ReplyDeleteI bet! I just love the feeling that's in the air at Christmastime. People are generally more kind and compassionate. I wish it lasted all through the year.
DeleteI LOVE Pentatonix! I have lots of their Christmas songs on my Christmas playlist.
Thanks for popping by!
I love this post! Such a great idea! O Holy Night is a great Christmas song to be sure!
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of Christmas songs I like, but O Holy Night has just always really spoken to me. I adore it!
DeleteThanks for stopping in, Carrie!
Congratulations on reaching your 200-book goal this year. That's pretty amazing to me. Sometimes I feel that all I do is read, and even then there is no way I could reach that number. What percentage of your reads do you review?
ReplyDeleteI like your twist on the Top Ten list this week...brought back a few memories of my own.
Good question. In the past, I have always striven to review every book I read, even if it meant posting five reviews a day! Last year, I stopped reviewing 2020 reads on December 31, even though I still had a bunch to go. It was so liberating! This year, I've kind of been picking and choosing which I review. I'd guess I've reviewed 75% of what I've read or so? Something like that.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!
You always have the best twists to the topics. I might copy it next year. LOL
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my TTT this week. Merry Christmas.
For sure! It was a fun list to put together and I think it's always interesting to hear about different people's favorites and holiday traditions.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting! Merry Christmas!
Ooh, I suspected you'd go rogue this week, but I thought for sure you were gonna do Part 1 of your "Top 10 Books of the Year" so that you could ultimately pick 20. How are you ever gonna pick favorites from a list that size??
ReplyDeleteBy which I mean, SUPER CONGRATS on the huge finish! Even when I had nigh-unlimited free time, I only managed that once; it is definitely not an easy goal. But now you get to reap the benefits of knowing about a ton more excellent books.
Also solid pick on the Christmas music; God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen has gotta be my fave. And I'm the only one in my family who likes eggnog too! I don't know what's not to love about its delicious creaminess with holiday spices. Never thought of mixing it with Sprite, though...I can't quite picture how that would work.
Oh, RS, you know me so well! I came THIS close to doing exactly that, but I decided to save it for a few weeks. Something to look forward to, yes?
DeleteThe funny thing about reading that many books - at least for me this year - is that the majority of them were just mediocre to good (but not excellent). There weren't that many standouts, actually, so we'll so how many favorites I come up with.
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman is such a fun one!
It seems like eggnog is one of those love-it-or-hate-it kind of things. It actually is good mixed with ice cream and Sprite - kind of like a root beer float, I guess?
Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting!
I should have checked for this reply before commenting on your most recent one, but that's an interesting point about the overall quality of a large number of books. I had the same issue with my year of 200, actually. Raising a glass (of the 'nog) to a greater percentage of awesome books in '22.
DeleteGreat list! I love The Grinch and Charlie Brown Christmas. Those are my favorite animated Christmas specials as well. Thank you for visiting Long and Short Reviews!
ReplyDeleteThey're both such festive and nostalgic movies! I love watching them every Christmas.
DeleteThanks for popping in, Poinsettia!
Congratulations on your reading achievement of 200 books! 👏
ReplyDeleteThank you so much and thanks for stopping by, Kristine!
DeleteI love seeing your Christmas favorites. The Grinch (only the animated one) and Charlie Brown are two of my favorites as well. I love Christmas carols and love the ones you mention though my favorite is The Holly and the Ivy.
ReplyDeleteONLY the animated Grinch for me, too. It's perfect as is. I'm glad you mentioned The Holly and the Ivy - it's an underrated Christmas carol for sure.
DeleteThanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Katherine!
Oh my gosh, 200 books? Like TWO HUNDRED. Teach me your ways! That's amazing.
ReplyDeleteO Holy Night is my favourite carol as well. It's just so beautiful. And thanks a lot, now I'm craving fudge...
This was a really cute post idea. :)
Ha ha. Yep, 200. It's a mix of adult, MG, and YA books. I don't have any big secrets, but I read fast, I always have a physical book and an audiobook going, I don't watch t.v., and I deleted all games off my Kindle, so all of those things help a lot.
DeleteO Holy Night really is such a lovely and powerful song. And fudge, I mean, you just can't go wrong there. I'm still hoping one of my neighbors or friends drops off a goodie plate with some on it! Yum.
Thanks for popping in, Ashley!
Fun post! Thanks for sharing your holiday favorites with us and congrats on meeting your reading goal. Very impressive! I do drink alcohol but I have to say that I actually prefer eggnog without it and I'm all about just pouring it from the carton and drinking, lol. Merry Christmas Susan!
ReplyDeleteSounds like we eggnog aficionados agree - straight, undiluted, out-of-the-carton eggnog is the best. I also have to say that I prefer the real stuff. I had to buy light eggnog the other day because that's all the store I was at had and it just wasn't the same. Eggnog is supposed to be as rich as you can get it!
DeleteMerry Christmas, Suzanne, and thanks so much for coming by and commenting!
Congratulations on meeting your goal!! It's a Wonderful Life if my husband's favorite Christmas movie too.
ReplyDeleteAll the love for O Holy Night!
ReplyDelete