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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

A Little Giveaway for the Christmas Season....Come Enter! & Genealogy Too

And with that it's time for the Fifteenth Sluggy's Boring Blog Giveaways for 2020!     
Here's a short little Giveaway to end this Dumpster Fire of a year.   You only have a few days to enter this one so don't delay!   

This is one of my many favorite Christmas tunes.  Though not a traditional carol written for the season, it comes from a 1944 film, "Meet Me in St. Louis", about a year in the life of the Smith Family of St. Louis Missouri in 1903.  Any nostalgic subject matter was popular here in the USA during World War II and this film starring Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien, Mary Astor, Marjorie Main among others was a smash hit back then.     

This song was written for the film by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane.  In this clip, Esther(Garland)is trying to comfort little sister Tootie(O'Brien)who is upset about a possible move by the family from St. Louis to New York.(Spoiler Alert-the Smiths don't end up moving and all attend the St. Louis Fair of 1904.)

*Incidentally, the film was directed by Vincente Minnelli and this is when he met Judy Garland and fell in love with her.  The couple was married in 1945.  


On a Genealogical note if  you are into that sort of thing--When Judy was 18 she had a brief affair with one of my cousins, Songwriter Johnny Mercer(8th cousin 2 x removed on my maternal grandfather's line)while she was waiting for fiancé Songwriter/Musician David Rose to get a divorce from Comedienne/Actress Martha Raye.       

Let's take a look at what is in the Giveaway Box this month.........




2 x Kokie nail polish(bright blue, lavender)
1 x BenGay topical pain reliever
1 x Wild Harvest bag of Breakfast Blend coffee
1 x Pantene shampoo
1 x Schick women's reusable razor
1 x Lady Speed Stick deodorant
1 x Colgate Total SF toothpaste
1 x Oral-B toothbrush
1 x Aveeno small tube of lotion
1x 12 pack of ink pens
1 x Freeman face mask
1 x Conair hair brush
*I also put in some Dove chocolates after I took these photos.*

Close up shots of these goodies..........







Depending on where you shop, the winnings have a reg. retail value of between approximately $50-$60.
*Please note-the bag of coffee has a Best by date of December 18 on it.  It's still good but you'd want to use it right away.

Here's how this is going to work........
* The giveaway is open to ALL readers.
* There is a limit of ONE ENTRY PER PERSON PER DAY.
* Only VALID entries will be posted.  A Valid entry is a limit of one per day and I MUST HAVE VALID CONTACT INFORMATION FOR YOU(either you are on the Giveaway Contact List which I maintain, your comment is connected to a Google/Blogger profile which links to your email address or you email me directly(my email is in the side bar on the Blog)your email address.
IF YOU ENTER THE GIVEAWAY AND DON'T SEE YOUR COMMENT AFTER A DAY OR SO(Give me time to post the entries each day)THAT MEANS YOUR ENTRY ISN'T VALID DUE TO ONE OF THE ABOVE REASONS AND IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIX YOUR ENTRY!
I will no longer spend time hunting down folks.  If you want to win, read ALL the rules and do the work.

From all the VALID entries I receive I'll pick a winner at random and the winner has 48 hours from when the post goes live to contact me with their full mailing address.

In your entries I'd like to hear about your plans for Christmas if you have any.  Real vs. Fake tree?  Do you bake for the Holidays and what...pies, cakes, cookies or ?  What's your favorite treat to eat at Christmas?  Any family traditions you like?  Any family traditions you'd rather not? lol  Just leave a comment about anything Holiday related really.

If you are on my Giveaway emails list just leave a comment and your name(with last name initial please)to enter. If you aren't on the Giveaway emails list make sure you leave your email in your comment OR email me your email privately after you leave a comment(my email is in the side bar area under "About Me").
I'll leave this giveaway open until December 19th Saturday at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. On December 20th, Sunday, I'll draw the winning entry and post the Winner.  If you are the Winner please let me know if you'd rather me mail it ASAP or wait until after Christmas to mail to give the shipping employees a little break. ;-)

*Please note these rules*
I'll post the name/ID of the winners on this blog on  and those persons have 48 hours from the time stamp on that post to contact me privately via email(my email addy is listed on my "About Me" page, as well as on my side bar).

Disclaimer--This giveaway is open to those with mailing addresses within the US only.  As the cost of postage to foreign countries has gotten too high I am sorry to say I can no longer afford to mail boxes outside the US.  These giveaways are not sponsored by any companies.  I pay for it all(the cost of items given away and the postage to mail it all)out of my own pocket.

***PLEASE NOTE***

Please make sure there is a way for me to contact you in your comment.

If you're not a registered Blogger User with YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION on your User page, please put your email addy in your comment or email me your email addy privately when you leave a comment so I can get a hold of you. If your Blogger associated user profile is a GOOGLE one make sure your email info is linked to your profile.

So let's get this Giveaway started. Good luck to everyone!!!


Sluggy

36 comments:

  1. We have a fake tree which thankfully we put up a few weeks ago. Don't have the energy to do it now.

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  2. Our plans are to stay home and avoid the family. Brother in law tested positive yesterday and sister in law has no sense of smell or taste. We assume the three kids are also infected. We’ll drop off presents and play ding dong ditch.

    Jen G.

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  3. We are going to stay home, do some cooking and take it easy.

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  4. This year I will be at my daughter's for Christmas. We'll make potato soup and cornbread for dinner Christmas eve and then commence to make Old Fashioned Brown Sugar Sugar Cookies which we affectionately call chicken cookies. It will be good to see all my kids and grandkids.

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  5. We had to cancel our plans so now it is just the two of us but we are making the best of it and planning good food ( : Thanks for the giveaway! Merry Christmas
    Bonnie

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  6. My plans are to stay home away from people. I have a tiny fake tree. Merry Christmas!
    Michelle D.

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  7. Had my husband put deer and lighted trees on the deck so I could enjoy looking at it from our family room. - can’t see what is out front.
    Mary G

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  8. We have both a fake tree and a live tree, one in each of the decorated rooms. I LOVE getting up early and turning on the lights. Nothing better than coffee and tree lights!

    Deb
    CT
    sgibson seventy one at Comcast dot net

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  9. Just wanted to say thank you for the Christmas card and you're right, if we go on like this people will start talking! All the best Sluggy. Anna

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  10. This year is fake,I prefer live. We go look at lights in our PJS and drink hot chocolate (Hubby and me now days) This year we are giving the kids 5 varieties of cookies and buckeyes. Total of 36 dozen each variety.I like mincemeat pie, Hubby wants a chocolate yule log. We will have prime rib roast for Christmas eve. Merry Christmas

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  11. Since I was a small child, Hershey's Kisses and Miniatures have been a part of my Christmas stocking. I don't have a stocking, but I have always had these two candies. For the last 20 years or so, Cella chocolate covered cherries are high on my list two. We had other candies but these have endured.

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  12. Hi! We are celebrating Christmas, just differently. This year, we're making due with a slower, less busy season. I've baked a little, we've watched a couple of holiday movie favorites, planned out our online holiday visits with family...

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  13. 100% a fake tree. Always LOL. I put ours up waaaay too early for a real one!

    Michelle F.

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  14. Nice food and wine and my husbands company. Christmas movies and contentment is our plan.
    Best wishes to you all.
    Pam in Texas.x

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  15. Hi! I'm trying to make all my cookies gluten free this year so my son can eat what ever he wants (and I don't have to have them hanging around after Christmas) The plan is for a very, very quiet Christmas this year

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  16. I put up a small tree and that will have to do. Merry Christmas!

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  17. I have a total of 6 fake tree of varying sizes. We are probably staying home on Christmas Eve and Day. My sister will be here Christmas Eve. She doesn't live with us but might as well. No clue what the main meal will be but we already have a bunch of snacks.
    Amy

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  18. Also the coffee in this box is very good.

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  19. Until about ten years ago, I always had a live tree. It was a disappointment for a year or two. Now, I am happy with a fake tree. One year, I even had a pink tree. That was fun.

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  20. I have a fake tree but I only put on lights, red berries and crocheted snowflakes. The traditional ornaments are all Campbell Soup ones and I just didn't feel like going with the old tradition this year. After Christmas I need to get to the store and get some new ones!

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  21. We bought a real tree for the first time in probably 15 years. Set it up upstairs for the cats and little Dexter immediately started eating the needles. He has IBD so immediately brought it back downstairs. We were a little concerned but luckily Daryl the dog didn’t think he should pee on it.

    Jen G.

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  22. I am rethinking my decision not to bake anything. I think I will do a couple varieties of cookies even though we won’t have family over. Mary G

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  23. The Christmas tradition I miss most is going home to Mama and Daddy the day after Christmas. Once, we went Christmas Eve and another time or two, we went Christmas Day. When we were children, we went to my grandmother's (maternal) the day after Christmas, so I wanted my children to have the same happy experience I did, and I wanted to see my family.

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  24. When the kids were younger we would always make our
    "Chicken" cookies on Christmas eve and then we would play games and watch TV. We would finish the evening by sleeping around the Christmas tree. Sleeping bags, couch, wherever you wanted. (As I have gotten older that sounds a lot less appealing). My kids were never ones to wake up early (my mom would call and ask if it was time to come over because we hadn't called her yet) so we never opened presents before sunrise. Reflecting back those were some of the very best years - I miss those little people!!

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  25. We have been using the same fake tree for 15 years. We got snow last night so it looks like it will be a white Christmas.

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  26. Our normal tradition is Xmas Hanukkah lasagna at my mother in law’s house. I might make a pot pie at home instead this year.

    Jen G.

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  27. I've never had a real tree before, just a fake one that gets duct taped back in the box every year. The only real tradition I have is taking my son to the store and letting him pick out whatever special ornament he wants. I put the year on it and he loves going back through them every year the tree comes out.

    Jess P

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  28. Not sure what the Christmas day meal will look like. Potato soup is on the menu for Christmas eve. I am guessing ham, sweet potatoes, green beans and baked pineapple. I'll be celebrating at my daughter's so I don't have to fret over it!

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  29. Cinnamon rolls are another holiday tradition provided by the mother in law. They’re a lot of work and we don’t need that many so I most likely won’t make them. We’re scared of the virus germs so we really don’t want any if they’re offered.

    Jen G.

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  30. We always have a egg bake and caramel rolls in morning -brunch with extras including punch (I have two of the large spigoted jars one is labeled “not for kids” wassail type). Helps get through the chaos of 9 adults and 12 grandkids! Later ham, sweet potatoes and the rest....... tons of goodies to munch on but not sure if much of anything is on this year. :(. Seeing what transpires next week. I have one son/daughter in law and their 6 kids who have totally isolated. Distance learning and they farm. They will come over for awhile. Two other families RN’s one in ICU and one daughter and fiancé work from home so ??? What a year.

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  31. The Christmas tradition I would rather not ever have was Daddy insisting we eat a proper breakfast before we touched one morsel of chocolate or candy cane. He used ever colorful curse word he knew and ranted about eating breakfast FIRST, every year. He made it miserable.

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    Replies
    1. That does not sound fun, kids can hardly contain themselves.

      Delete
  32. Apparently a new work tradition is faculty members give the staff money every year. This is my first time in an academic department and it feels weird after so many years in administration. Gifts there were either nothing or some IU merchandise like a hat or ornament (aka regifts).

    Jen G.

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  33. I am getting ready to go look at some Christmas light displays and eat pizza in my car because Gov Wolf doesn't want me to get "The Covid."

    Amy (cheapOHmom)

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  34. A Christmas tradition my kids look forward to is breakfast of chocolate donettes left by "Santa" next to the stockings. We will hopefully be making cookies this week now that the kids are feeling better.

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  35. We delivered homemade candy to some friends today... a little cheer in this crazy year ( :
    Bonnie

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