Supernanny Rules

25 opinions for b5media Lifestyles Holiday Blogging Awards

• b5media Lifestyles Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 6, 2007 at 7:33 am

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• b5media Lifestyles Holiday Blogging Awards at 7 Babes a Blogging
  Dec 6, 2007 at 7:35 am

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• B5 Lifestyles Channel Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 6, 2007 at 7:45 am

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• Lisel Stone
  Dec 6, 2007 at 10:51 am

  http://didisignonforthis.blogspot.com/2007/12/day-of-tree.html

  Today was the day of the Christmas Tree. I LOVE Christmas. It is my absolute favorite time of year. Some of the best memories from my childhood are of Christmases spent with my huge extended family. I loved traveling up north or west to Iowa to my relatives’ homes where it was sure to be cold and likely to have snow on the ground. I loved getting to see all my cousins, piling up together and watching The Year Without a Santa Claus, singing along with the Snowmeiser and Heatmeiser. I loved the way my grandfather would bang out hymns on the piano, bellowing at the top of his lungs, and insist we all join in. I loved the wide-ranging, often impassioned adult debates over dinner, the ones that we children watched and learned from.

  My all-time favorite year was the year of the Evil Bunny of Death, the persona a dramatic elder cousin attached to a purple bunny balloon my grandparents had bought little Nell, the youngest cousin. That whole Christmas, the specter of the Evil Bunny hung over every event. You never knew where he might turn up, causing all of us to roar with laughter at the antics and cleverness of our showman cousin. Those years were magic. Now having young children of my own, my happiness comes from watching their emerging understand of Christmas and seeing their wonder and joy at the marvel of Santa Claus and the birth of a babe in a manager. I want for them everything that I had those Christmases ago.

  One of my favorite parts of the Christmas season is decorating the tree. I have a vision in my head of what my Christmas tree should look like. It should be of ceiling-grazing height, lush and full with no holes, fragrant, triangular in shape and preferably pine. We always get a real tree for Christmas, no artificial stuff for us. Oh, I understand the appeal of a fake tree; they are easy, don’t dry out, and after an initial hefty investment, free. But they don’t offer an opportunity for the whole family to bundle up every year and go on a search for that picture perfect, living symbol of Christmas. They don’t bring the feel of a real tree, that sense of something earthy and organic that warms our winter-chilled souls and speaks of rebirth and spring to come. They don’t remind me that this is the season to remember our mutual creator and celebrate the gift of life. They are cold and too, well, artificial.

  My husband’s grandmother lives on a large rural plot of land populated by white pines and cedar trees. Being a child of the depression, she can’t fathom why we would spend our hard-earned money buying a tree when there are perfectly serviceable ones on her land for the taking . She made it clear over Thanksgiving that she expected us to come over and cut down one of her trees. She even walked her land and earmarked her favorites for us to select among. How could we refuse?

  Trying to be a good sport and not wanted to offend anyone, I agreed that yes, we should go and cut down one of her trees. So we pack up the kids and travel the 30 miles or so out to her place to get our tree. After much deliberating, my husband selected a seemingly acceptable cedar, cut it down and we brought it home.

  I thought I would be OK with it. After all, I don’t insist on the absolutely perfect, designer-decorated, color coordinated, be-ribboned and be-bowed, opulent but generic tree that is so popular these days. Who ever thought to put a giant bow on top of a Christmas tree? I don’t pretend to understand that and it’s not my style. I like homey trees decked out in a hodgepodge of ornaments ranging from heirloom glass beauties to the glittery, macaroni encrusted monstrosities made in my son’s preschool class. I like to take out my ornaments each year and be reminded of that Christmas in San Fransisco when my sisters and I all received Chinese lantern ornaments, or the year that my son was born and we received a bevy of baby’s first Christmas ornaments. I like ornaments that mean something and tie the family together. That’s the whole point of Christmas, isn’t it? For us all to remember our love for one another and reaffirm our connections to our faith, families, and all mankind?

  Given all this, I thought I would be OK with the skinny little balding tree we brought home. Unfortunately and to my shame, I was not. I tried to be, oh I tried. I didn’t want to offend anyone and I didn’t want us to have to spend any money on a tree this year since times are beyond tight. But I just couldn’t stomach the thought of having this somewhat less than ideal object in my living room, the standing symbol of the season. It was too skinny, the bottom tier of branches was sparse, and its poor trunk was so small, it almost didn’t fit in the stand. I want the full, majestic, perfectly triangular pine beauty of the forest ( albeit one that is helped along with constant trimming and tending). My heart sank each time I looked at this little cedar and deep down, I was disappointed and feared this might be an ominious portent of the season.

  Having lived with me for five years now, my husband read the look on my face. He was gracious about it and, rather wisely, said that although he didn’t want to have to go get another tree, he would rather do it now than deal with an unhappy wife for the next three weeks. Smart man, he. So, after my children woke from their naps, we packed up again and headed to a local tree farm, spent an hour or so selecting that majestic pine, felled it, plunked down $35 and brought it home.

  I am happy now that we have the tree worthy of my high ideals. It will look beautiful in its spot in our living room and I will spend many an evening between now and Christmas curled up on the couch, gazing at it.

  I am, however, a little disappointed in myself, apparently a tree-snob. Why wasn’t the truly natural cedar enough for me? After all, isn’t this the time of year to remember the lowliest of us all? In rejecting this humble tree, have I shown myself to be frivolous, selfish, and ungrateful? Have I begun to buy into the commercial-driven image of what Christmas should be? Am I one step away from that color-coordinated, steel and plastic altar to a credit-card god tree from Wal-Mart, all tied up in a bow? Have I put too much stock in the appearance of Christmas and lost sight of its meaning? Or is it just that I want to make my Christmas all that I dream it could be? Something to ponder.

  Posted by Lisel at 9:12 PM

• Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 6, 2007 at 6:16 pm

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• Blondie Writes
  Dec 6, 2007 at 7:48 pm

  http://anythingparenting.blogspot.com/2007/11/christmas-is-in-air.html

  Christmas Is In The Air
  With Thanksgiving arriving in no time, Christmas is only a short month to go. Do you have your holiday shopping started? Some people are done, but the real Christmas shopping starts the day after Thanksgiving. The day of Thanksgiving, we spend time with family and friends celebrating a time of giving. Some of the men are hoping the Detroit Lions will give to the Green Bay Packers. However, families gather around the table or the television to enjoy a feast made for a king.

  The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, yams, potatoes, corn, dinner rolls, gravy and everyone’s favorite, pumpkin pie with whipped topping. As we feast on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy a day of football, the kids will play and pictures will be taken. Families are getting together to draw names for exchanging gifts at Christmas and drinking a little holiday cheer.

  Christmas is a special time when the Thanksgiving Day parades roll out the sleights with Santa Claus who is ready to greet the little ones and hear what they want for Christmas. The parades are beautiful with all the Christmas lights and decorations. Stores are unveiling their Christmas windows and families are bundled up warmly to start the holiday season.

  The one thing we forget sometimes is those less fortunate than we are. Some people have no family and nowhere to spend the holidays. Some of the little ones do not enjoy a Christmas Day of receiving presents from Santa Claus. The family just cannot afford such a luxury of buying gifts. If everyone considers one child and buys one extra present to present to someone less fortunate, little ones everywhere can enjoy a Christmas present from Santa Claus. Imagine the gleam in their eyes when you take the time to say Merry Christmas with a gift that was left under your tree for them from Santa Claus.

  Plan your holidays and your shopping to include someone, maybe even an elderly neighbor who has no one to spend the holidays with, and see what a difference a little love can do to brighten someone’s life. Everyone deserves a little extra love at Christmas, some of us have more than enough to go around, wouldn’t it be nice if everyone had someone to spend the holidays with.

• b5media Lifestyles Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 6, 2007 at 9:47 pm

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy and […]

• Celebrate the Holidays with the Lifestyles Channel
  Dec 6, 2007 at 10:16 pm

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy and […]

• Online Marketing Should Be Fun! » Holiday Blogging Awards 2007
  Dec 7, 2007 at 3:52 am

  […] must really love it. So, why not test your mettle against the best on the web and take part in the Holiday Blogging Award 2007 […]

• Anonymous
  Dec 7, 2007 at 7:49 am

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• kidsfunreviewed.com » b5media Lifestyles Channel Hosting Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 7, 2007 at 8:36 am

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• This Time, It’s Just Cash
  Dec 7, 2007 at 2:37 pm

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

• Kate
  Dec 7, 2007 at 4:09 pm

  Are other B5 blogs eligible?

  If so, I want in the “best post” competition for the spirit of the holidays:

  http://www.babylune.com/the-generous-december-group-writing-project/

• Mama Zen
  Dec 7, 2007 at 10:57 pm

  I’d like to enter the “Best Post About Christmas” category!

  http://thezenofmotherhood.blogspot.com/2007/12/generous-december-and-christmas-miracle.html

• Denise
  Dec 8, 2007 at 10:30 am

  I thought this contest was only for blogs in the B5Media Lifestyle Channel. Am I wrong about that?

• 2007 b5 media Lifestyles Holiday awards
  Dec 8, 2007 at 11:45 pm

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy and […]

• Kadi
  Dec 9, 2007 at 1:23 pm

  I’d like to enter my post in the “best post” category. http://www.kadiprescott.blogspot.com/2007/12/goodwill-towards-men.html

• Noreen Crone-Findlay
  Dec 9, 2007 at 11:30 pm

  Christmas is a very big celebration at our house, and at Hankering for yarn, too!
  Please enter me in the contest :)
  I posted a special entry with a LONG list of Christmas entries about tutorials I have written for Christmas crafting, projects I’ve designed for Christmas and pics of some of the decorations at our house.
  Here’s the link:
  http://www.hankeringforyarn.com/christmas-on-hankering-for-yarn
  Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!
  Noreen over at hankeringforyarn

• Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 10, 2007 at 9:18 pm

  […] join, submit your entry to the Holiday Blogging Awards host post. To be eligible, make sure that you include the link to be judged. Nominations will close at […]

• Ron Franscell
  Dec 11, 2007 at 1:21 am

  I read these personal holiday stories and it reminds me of Scrooge’s conversion! It’s funny how we KNOW what Christmas is all about, but then discover some new way of looking at it. A new way that’s better.

  I posted a similar tale at my blog for consideration in your contest to selct the Best Post ABOUT Christmas. Please feel free to drop in a take a look at The Ladder Guy

• Chloe
  Dec 12, 2007 at 12:59 pm

  I’d like to submit this post:

  http://www.tangledthread.com/a-handmade-tangled-thread-christmas/

  For consideration for best post about Christmas on a blog - what can I say, it’s my favorite time of year :-)

• Romona
  Dec 12, 2007 at 10:07 pm

  Thank you for hosting the Holiday Blogging Awards. I would like to submit my blog for your consideration. I just love christmas and it’s one of my happiest memories as a child. It was always the trimmings, music, the special treats that only appeared at Christmas, the decorating, the anticipation of Santa’s visit. The company that came and made the excitement that much more. We should never lose that childhood excitement… I’ve tried to reflect my love of the season in my blog and my personal website. Thanks so much, Romona

• Romona
  Dec 12, 2007 at 10:10 pm

  Sorry, an amendment to my previous post. I thought my blog address would show up in the comment section, so here it is…
  http://northbrookdesigns.blogspot.com
  Thank you..Romona

• Tracee Sioux
  Dec 17, 2007 at 8:59 am

  Gayla, I appoligize for missing the deadline. I moved last week. (I did mine for tomorrow - but missed the deadline by a weekend.)

• The Home and Garden Cafe » Blog Archive » b5media Lifestyles Channel Hosting Holiday Blogging Awards
  Dec 18, 2007 at 12:58 pm

  […] you have to do to win is submit your entry to our Holiday Blogging Awards host post. Be sure to include the link to be judged or risk disqualification. It’s THAT Easy […]

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