T'was the Night Before...

Claudia here. What fun would it be if we spared you all the behind-the-scenes mayhem?

So late last night, I decide I should call whichever of my other teammates was responsible for writing this morning's post. There are, after all, lots of prizes to be given away today and I wanted to make sure, whose ever day it was, that she made room for a list of winners in her post.

Call Katie. She sounds like #$%!. I ask her if Tuesday is her day. "No." she coughs into the phone. I tell her she sounds horrible and to go back to bed. Then it occurs to me there's too much noise in the background for her to have been asleep. "What are you doing?," I asked. "Watching Eight is Great." (or whatever the name of that crazy show is). "You should be at home asleep. You're sick." "Thanks, mom." she says lovingly. We hang up.

Next Heather. Pick up the phone to begin dialing. Heather goes to sleep early (beauty sleep, you know), so I'm already pushing it at 9:10 our time. Realize I can't remember her number off the top of my head. Blame it on my dyslexia. It's some combination of 7s, 4s, and 3s. I know that because, of course... 4+3 = 7! No. We're not going back to Las Vegas. After a few tries, BINGO. "Heather, are you... It's me, isn't it? I just called to ask who is writing tomorrow and suddenly I realized it's me! Gotta go."

Phew, I made it. Here I am! Cheryl, you were spared.

It's a good thing today is mine, because I have a lot to say.

Santa was a hit! By hook or crook, with many irons in the fire, and lots of grace under pressure (ask Katie about the saying one day. She'd love to explain) my halls were decked and we were ready for Santa to arrive for Matthew's Birthday party. A quick review for the party planners in us all. And, if you're just tuning in you should know my son, Matthew, decided at Christmas that he was going to invite Santa to his birthday party.

Borrowed artificial Christmas tree from my in-laws. Pre-lit. It was perfect. Easy Peasie. Threw on some garland, ornaments, candy canes, and a few other chatchka. Holiday decorations adorned the mantle and were carefully placed in other visible parts of the house. Christmas music was playing, a welcome banner for Santa and friends, and a cut-out snowman for "Pin the Carrot on Frostie." The table was set in red and green with cups, plates, and napkins picked up at the after-Christmas sales in January. Even stockings were stuffed - one for each child attending the party to take home as a goodie bag.

We were set.

But no decorations or goodie bag could have begun to have compete with the arrival of Santa! He was perfect (with the exception of showing up in his Honda Element, instead of his reindeer sled). His beard was authentic, his wire rim glasses were an impeccable replica, and even his girth was the real mccoy. As it turns out, this Santa was contracted with the Macy's Day parade for 10 years. He does all kinds of modeling and photo shoots for Christmas paraphernalia, catalogs, and the like. Who knew?

He walked in the door (no chimney) and immediately took command of the room. He knelt down and personally greeted Matthew who actually didn't seem all that vexed by the whole thing. Santa took Matthew by the hand and led him into our side porch where the Christmas tree was set up and began greeting all the children. Some kids jumped right in. Others who were uncertain held back a little bit. But, ALL were quick to come around when they realized Santa had his red velvet sack of toys in hand!

Presents were handed out to all the kids, a portion of a book was read, and each kid got to ask Santa a question. What's it like living in the North Pole? How do you get in when there is no fire place? Is it hot or cold in the North Pole? What are the elves doing right now? Where's Rudolph? What's your favorite kind of cookie (chocolate chip and snickerdoodles in case you're wondering)?

Forty minutes and Santa was in... had check in hand (which by the way, he donates 100% of to the Salvation Army and last year he donated over $150,000)... and was out. The whole thing seemed magical and I genuinely think the kids enjoyed themselves. At that moment I felt like I was in the act of creating the spirit of 218. And what better feeling is there?

Take a look at some of the pictures...

And while we're on the subject of Santa... we have some prizes to give away. Two solid weeks of giveaways is what we promised and so that's exactly what it will be.

Let's begin with Saturday's 218 t-shirt. And the winner is...

Chaotic.

Visit the GallaRay to select the Ray design you would most like to have on a t-shirt. Then, email me your preferred size (cbeeny@lslog.com) and we'll get your shirt off to you in less time than it took me to mail off Brian's. Promise).

Next. The second digital key chain. The winner was selected by Tera for generating an especially creative idea about how to use digital photos. And the winner is...

Melanie

The Wilton Brownie Fun book, for a reader who pitched in and tried to help rename Cheryl's tongue twister of a recipe. And the winner is...

Tera

And finally... to one of the people who became eligible for the William Sonoma Brownie pan by revisiting us yesterday after 4:20.... The winner is...

Kat

who was first to post at 4:29

As for the piggy bank... still counting. Stay tuned though.

Oh, and one more pic. What do you think Santa is telling her?!?... (read Heather's comment in the comment section for information about this question and today's prize!)

Signing off until tomorrow when who knows who will show up...