Christmas Traditions: DEAR SANTA . . .

Dear Santa...

When I was in middle school, all the girls were wearing "mod watches." They were neon colored with over-sized clock faces and wide bands, and I would do anything to have one. That Christmas, my sister and cousins started opening their presents from my aunt and I was excited to see mod watches in all their hands. I tore off the wrapping and opened my box to discover my very own...silver ID bracelet??! A very dainty bracelet with my name engraved on it. I put a brave smile on my face but inside I was devastated. 

Every decade, sometimes every year, there is always that one hot toy or item that one of your kids is bound to want when the holidays roll around. For mine, I can remember a mad scramble for Teddy Ruxpin for my son, while I scored a Tickle Me Elmo before Thanksgiving for my daughter. 

Here are just a few of the items at the top of most kids' lists to Santa Claus over the years:

Way back at the turn of the century (the 20th), kids wished most for  a rocking horse (when I became a mom, there was no way I was going to trust my child's life on one of those). By the time my sister was old enough to have one, it was stationary but rocked on springs. 

Can you believe that in the 1920's, Radio Flyer wagons made their debut? Practically every kid wanted one for Christmas (I wouldn't know, I wasn't born yet). Radio Flyer is still selling wagons today, and is a favorite for parents taking their kids to outings to the park, zoo and other all-day venues. Also popular was the Yo-yo.

Have you ever seen the movie Christmas Story? Young Ralphie tries to convince his parents to get him a Red Ryder BB Gun. But in the 1930's, it was the thing for every young boy to wish for Christmas. Also popular were Sock monkeys and those little green Army men.

I remember playing with a Slinkie when I was growing up, but I wasn't a child of the 1940's when it was at the top of every child's wish list. Back then it was made of metal, but it never worked as well as the TV commercials showed it, making it all the way down the stairs. Also popular on Santa's list were Lego's and the Magic 8 Ball (it really told your fortune).

Although I didn't get my first Barbie until the 1960's, Barbie and her friends were introduced to the world in the 1950's. Back then Ken had plastic hair and Barbie had a waist. Also popular were Fischer Price Little People and Mr. Potato Head (but all you got were the face pieces - you had to provide your own potato).

The next time someone asks for a text pad, show them what it looked like back in the 1960's. This Etch-a-Sketch was one of the most popular toy in stores back then. As a side note, GI Joe made its debut so that boys could play with action figures and Barbie could choose from a larger dating pool than just Ken & Alan. Also popular was the Easy Bake Oven.

While I desired that Mod Watch in the 1970's, others were fascinated by the Rubik's Cube. That is, until some genius figured out the cube could be solved mathematically, which took all the fun out of it. The Nerf Ball and Star Wars action figures were popular back then as well.

The 1980's introduced the Cabbage Patch Dolls. A parent was mighty lucky to snag an original from England, while most were able to make their children's wishes come true with those made in the U.S. Also popular were Teddy Ruxpin and Transformers.

Those familiar with Sesame Street recognize this popular Christmas toy of the 1990's - Tickle Me Elmo. With his infectious giggle, riddles and wiggle, he delighted children all year 'round. Also popular were Beanie Babies, Barney, Power Rangers and Tamagochi.

With the new century came higher Christmas budgets. Gaming systems replaced games, and XBox 360 competed with PlayStation 3, while the Wii offered everything from Yoga to race car driving, Disney adventures to TV game shows. Of course, dolls will never go out of style as Bratz Girlz were introduced in the 2000's as well.

Which pretty much takes us to modern day. While there is plenty of time for Christmas shopping, I am out of the loop when it comes to shopping for the kiddies and knowing what's hot and what's not. I have a 2 year old grandson who can't sit still. Any ideas out there?

By the way, my Mod watch story: the reason I didn't get a watch like all the other girls was because my godmother wanted to get something "special" for me, so she gave me the ID bracelet. Of course I was a young teenager and did NOT appreciate her gift until much later. Not one of those girls has their watches any longer, while I still have that bracelet.

Did you have a special one true wish that Santa would bring you? Did it come true? I'd love to hear about it.

Challenge #30 Midway: Opt Theme...Fur, Fluff, Feathers OR Fins

It is the 15th of the month, and that means it is time to see what the Merry Maidens have been up to with their adorable images from Imagine That Digistamp, our guest sponsor this month! However, before we start I wanted to let you all know that this will be the last time you will see a card from Petra, one of our Merry Maidens. Petra is so very talented and we are very sad to see her go. I hope that you will join me in wishing her the best of luck as she moves on to new adventures in her life.

Right now though, it is time to get back to our midway...

Clicking on any of the image names will take you 

to their spot in the Imagine That Digistamp store.

Christmas Sled

 Happy Howlidays

 Snow Mice

While team members had the option of working with any of my Décosse's Dynamite Doodles papers, I did create a special set called A Touch of Frost: Animal Tracks. Check out the preview...

Everyone who links up a minimum of two cards during the month of June will earn ONE of the digital papers from this set. The specific paper up for grabs will be shown during the winner announcement post. Additionally, one random winner will earn the full set of papers.

Have your say in determining which paper will be offered to those who link up a minimum of two cards this month by completing the poll below.

DIGI PAPER POLL
Please click "like" to choose the ONE paper that you would like offered up to participants who link up a minimum of two cards during the month of June. Poll will be open until June 30th, 11:59 p.m. EST. Please note that you can get a better idea of what the actual paper looks like by bringing the preview ABOVE up in the lightbox.

 Now check out what the Merry Maidens came up with to inspire you. Marji once again created two and Diane Louise completely finished the inside of hers so we're showing it as well. Clicking on the names will take you to the individual blogs where you can check out the details for all these wonderful cards.

inside of card...

So if you haven't entered already, what are you waiting for? It is time to link up your Christmas and other holiday cards for June. Whether you choose to link up two Anything Goes themed cards simply to earn your free paper this month, or you choose to also follow the optional theme to have a chance at the sponsor's prize, it is completely up to you! 

Here is a refresher of the details for this challenge...

Please remember that this is a CARDS ONLY link up. While we've had some lovely tag entries in the past, we've sadly had to disqualify them.

Challenge #30

Optional Theme:  

Fur, Fluff, Feathers OR Fins

What would Christmas be like without our furry, fluffy, feathery or finned companions in our lives?! Have you ever watched a dog with its head stuck in a Santa hat or packaging as it snuffles its way across the floor? Or, how about having to anchor a Christmas tree so that your cats don't bring it down? Our animal companions add an extra heap of joy to most Christmases. That is why we want to see a Christmas card that features an animal that one might have as a household pet. Dog lover, cat lover or somewhere in between, what will your focus be?

In order to have a chance to win the prize from our wonderful guest sponsor this month, make sure that your Christmas card has an image of a household pet as the focal point (i.e., cat, dog, bird, mouse, rabbit, hedgehog, ferret, fish, turtle, etc.). IMPORTANT: If you do follow the optional theme, be sure to add FT after your name so that we include you in the draw for the prize.

Remember, you don't need to follow the theme to link up your cards and earn a free paper each month, have a chance to win a special mini kit of digi papers and have your name thrown into the year end draw for some extra digital goodies. You only need to follow the theme if you want a chance to win this month's sponsored prize of a $10 gift certificate to the Imagine That Digistamp store.

If you are new to this unique challenge, you can find out the impetus behind why I started it under the 'Introductions' tab.  As this is a different kind of link up where we have both an anything goes Christmas option and an optional theme to follow, be sure to read all the details and rules you need to know in order to participate, by checking out the 'Challenge Details' tab (both tabs located at the top of the blog).

You can find the Challenge Details Summary along with the link up for 
Challenge #30 by clicking HERE.

 Don't Forget, if everything goes according to plan...

• If I can pull it off, I'll try and get another winner announcement done.
• Our new challenge will start on July 1st.
• Other special posts may be published throughout the month.  Be sure to sign up to have our posts delivered by email or follow us through Bloglovin' so you don't miss a thing!

We look forward to seeing you participate!

Challenge #27 Winner Announcement

Hello to all our Christmas crafting friends! I'm popping in to announce the winners and our top three Stocking Stuffers from Challenge #27. We had only 41 entries in our March challenge. Hopefully, people will start getting into the swing of adding to their card stash and joining us as we creep up to the half year mark!

Are you one of those lucky peeps?! Let's find out!

NANCY S.

Nancy, you are the winner of a $12.00 gift certificate from A Day For Daisies, our guest sponsor for March (chosen by miniwebtool.com based on all eligible entries).

Nancy, please send an email to the_12_moc_linkup {at} outlook {dot} com (or click HERE to bring the address up in your email program), with the subject, "12MoC Challenge #27 WINNER" to make arrangements to receive your prize. Please note that it may take me several days to get back to you. Thank you for your patience. In the interim, please grab a copy of the winner badge below for your blog.

Next, it is time to get on with showcasing the top three. With so many wonderful entries to choose from, it is always such a difficult task for the design team. We did however settle on three awesome creations. So, without further ado, here are our Stocking Stuffers for Challenge #27:

EDWINA

ANS

JACKIE

Congrats to our top three Stocking Stuffers! Edwina, Ans and Jackie, please grab a copy of the badge below for your blog.

Everyone who links up two cards each month is eligible to receive a free digital paper. All those who linked up two cards during the month of February have previously been mailed their paper. If you thought that you had linked two, but did not receive a free paper, please contact us and let us know and we'll look into it for you.

The 10 individuals who linked up a minimum of two cards each during the month of MARCH, qualifying them to receive the digital paper from that month, will receive the Stars on Green Background paper which received the majority of the votes! I have included the watermark of it, below...

 

To all of you who linked up during March, thanks ever so much! We are so happy to have all of you with us and hope that you'll continue to link up your holiday cards as you work on your stash for 2017!!!

Papers will be sent to the email address that qualifying participants used when they added their cards to the Link Up. I'm hoping to get them sent by the middle of this month.

As always, we are going to have a random draw from all the entries and give out a set of six digital papers to one lucky individual. The papers are all made so why not have an extra prize! Here is the watermark for the full set...

The winner of the An Angelic Nature Mini Kit is 

EEMELI

(chosen by random.org)

 
Eemeli, please send an email to the_12_moc_linkup {at} outlook {dot} com (or click HERE to bring the address up in your email program), with the subject, "12MoC Challenge #27 PAPER KIT WINNER" to make arrangements to receive your prize.

Well folks, that is it for today. While you are here, please be sure to check out the details for our current challenge going on now (if you haven't already), with the Optional Theme this month of "Fur, Fluff, Feather or Fins". You can find out all the details along with the link up, by clicking HERE.

Please join us again on June15th when the Merry Maidens will be here showcasing their cards for our current challenge. I'm also hopefully going to get the winner announcement for #28 done sooner rather than later if I can manage. Also, Pat will be back with a special traditions post on the 23rd as well. Other special posts may be published throughout the month; so, be sure to sign up to have our posts delivered by email or follow us through Bloglovin' so you don't miss a thing!

Until next time,