We have three happy winners so far, and I’m ready to make one more blog reader’s day with this prize package that includes a 7″ x 10″ Stillman and Birn Alpha Series sketchbook, a Pitt Artist Pen, a Pigma Micron pen, and a MOO eraser. To enter the giveaway for Day 4, just leave a comment here on the Everyday Artist blog. Be sure to include your name (at least first name and last initial).
Let’s mix things up a bit with the comments. Think about Christmases past and the stories that are told in your family each year about crazy things that happened on Christmas. Did a cat knock over a fully decorated Christmas tree? Did the oven break while the turkey was roasting? Did a blizzard knock out the electricity?
In your comment, tell us a about a family Christmas disaster.
Today’s prize includes:
- A wirebound 10″ x 7″ Stillman and Birn Alpha Series Mixed Media Sketchbook (Donated by Stillman and Birn, value: $24.99)
- A black Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen with Superfine Nib (Donated by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff, value: $3.70)
- A Sakura Pigma Micron Pen, size 01 (Donated by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff, value: $2.99)
Giveaway rules:
- The Everyday Artist Christmas Giveaway week starts December 16 and ends December 22, 2020.
- To enter the drawing each day, leave a comment on that day’s giveaway post. It can be a simple “Please enter me in the giveaway” or (preferred) answer the question of the day with a personal comment.
- Please include your name in your comment, so I can be sure to identify the winning entrant. (First name and last initial is okay.)
- NOTE: All comments must be approved before they are published, so there may be a delay between the time you write/post a comment and it shows up here.
- One entry per person for each daily giveaway.
- US addresses only.
- Winning name will be drawn at the end of each day using a random number generator.
- All winners will be announced at the end of Giveaway Week.
- For more detailed rules, click here.
52 Comments
We never had a disaster, thank goodness!
One year when making our Christmas stollen, the potato peelings were put into the disposal, and it overwhelmed the drains, and flooded our basement. Does that qualify as a disaster?
I would say so! Definitely not what you'd like to be tending to on Christmas day.
Denise L.
If we had any disasters, thankfully I’ve forgotten them! This COVID-infected year, however, will probably be memorable for many years!
It's a toss up between the fire when my dad put pine boughs in the fireplace with the damper closed (a fire department incident); the fire when a dish towel dropped on a hot burner shortly before company arrived (fixed that one myself); and when Oldest Kid jammed the garbage disposal with potato peels about an hour before Christmas Eve dinner (which was really our "Christmas dinner" with the kids that year). It produced a great deal of colorful language on the part of his father, which resulted with a bar of soap put on his dinner plate, and we wouldn't let him eat until he had at least made an effort to "wash his mouth out with soap!"
Nothing major here although I did once leave all the Christmas nutroll in the garage instead of bringing it down to my daughter's in NC. Fortunately our PA weather stayed cold so I could retrieve it when we returned a week later and it was in great shape. Just like being in the freezer during that time. But of course then WE had to eat it ourselves, which was not exactly a disaster.
joan LeBel. disaster–tree falling after being completely decorated x 2 ! That was a hard day but all was fixed soon enough.
These are wonderful prizes Leslie. Thank you for doing this–such fun!
One Christmas our cats knocked over the tree, scratched open a few presents and ate (and pooped out tinsel). It was a disaster I thought would have only happened in a movie! Only happened that one year. 🎄❤😸
My grandkids loved this story when I shared it with them!
I cannot remember any disasters, but many good get-togethers with family 😄 Lisa Kelly
No big disasters that I can remember. But then I try not to remember the bad things.
One year my extended family was coming to stay with us from several states away. All day, they had to drive white-knuckled through a huge blizzard to reach us. We were snow-bound for several days in our home, four families sleeping on all available sofas and cots. Crowded but memorable!
All of your giveaways are lovely and generous, thank you for the chance.
At my parents Christmas party, I was playing in my room, jumping on my bed, up and down, up and down, childhood fun. I fell into the headboard and split my nose, ouch! Luckily the doctor was invited to the party and so was available. My dad took me to his office and he stitched me up. The party went on….. I hadn't thought of that in years. Lovely holidays to you. Tammie L.
We had planned a ski trip to the mountains for Christmas one year, but one of the kids passed out at her Christmas concert a couple days before and then came down with the flu the day before so we canceled the trip. Luckily we were able to rebook it for later in February.
Thankfully, not any disasters I can think of – the only unique family Christmas story told to me, was that I apparently decided to make an entry into this world early, thereby ruining my Mom's Christmas dinner. She thought she had eaten bad turkey! But, it was just me trying not to miss the festivities, i guess 😉
One year on Christmas my Dad received a phone call from the Sheriff's dept. My uncle was on his way to our house and hit a telephone pole. He ended up being okay, though.
A sad story, I’m afraid. My Dad died on December 17, so we were unable to celebrate our tradition of attending Midnight Mass with him that year.
Chuck G here. We are blessed. Never had a disaster on Christmas.
Thankfully, I don't recall any disasters!
My personal disaster was having the flu and missing the family time at the Grands, my blessed mother stayed with me and was a wonderful nurse.
I made nut rolls and put them away too warm and they all got moldy
Becky
When my children were toddlers and we had a new kitten, we averted disaster by tying the tree to the wall so that none of them could knock it over 🙂
One year while we were stationed in England, we lived in a fairly new house but they just don't have very large refrigerators, just half size like college fridges. We bought a turkey and did our best to squeeze it in the fridge. We went to bed and next morning got up to cook our turkey only to find the door had not closed properly and the dog got hold of the turkey!!!
When I was home when I was in graduate school, we were all sitting around the Christmas tree and all of sudden it just fell over. It was heartbreaking because so many old glass ornaments that were my great grandparents broke.
Lucky me – never had any Christmas disasters, only wonderful memories w/family!
Like dropping the turkey coming out of the oven? Thankfully no. But Covid just might qualify as the biggest disaster of all. Many lonely people the Christmas for sure. Bless you Leslie.
One year in a very small East Texas town (before cell phones) we had Christmas dinner all but set on the table waiting for the rest of our friends and family from a nearby town who were to arrive at any moment. An hour passed, no one came, well into the next they arrived having driven a considerable distance to get to our home. There was a huge train wreck on the tracks that seperated one side of the town from the other. The only road coming through town crossed that track.
Two consecutive years in Seattle we lost power while the turkey was roasting due to heavy wind and rain storms. But I agree with Brenda, Covid will be the one we all will remember. Joyce
I guess I can say I remember no disasters or just too old to remember. This year will rule as a disaster since we can’t gather as a family so will celebrate alone. This too shall pass.
One Christmas my husband drove 2 hours to pick up my mother and then 2 hours to bring her back to our house for Christmas. By the time they arrived, I was feeling terrible. The next day we realized I had the flu. My better half drove her back home, 2 hours to her house and then 2 hours back home. He never complained one once! Happily this was the only "worst" Christmas we ever had.
Have never had a disaster at least one I can remember. Jeanne B
Our dog ate the frosting off the entire pan of cookies that had been planned as gifts.
One year, I turned the oven on to pre-heat, not realizing my “getting older” mother (who didn’t really cook anymore) stored her pans and pot holders (!?!?!?) in the oven! We just about had a fire! 🤪
I cannot recall any disaster at Christmastime. 🤷♀️ I'm very thankful for that.
Barbara L -Happy to say I have not had a Christmas disaste. I did have a very wintry drive on very icy roads in the Pennsylvania mountains to get home for the holidays. Thankfully it did not turn into a disaster.
We DID have a fire. On the table. When the battenburg lace thingy for the rolls met the decorative tea lights.
Barbara L – commenting is becoming a disaster, but happy to say no other disasters at Christmas.
Nice give away today
The worst Christmas disaster for me was in 1977. I lost my brother on Christmas Eve. I don't even remember when we finally opened presents but it was so hard because there were presents under the tree for him.
My birthday was last Sunday and my son brought my 2 granddaughters over to wish me a happy birthday. I asked them about their experience getting a Christmas tree this year with all of the Covid concerns. They proceeded to tell me this story that sounded like it came right off a Chevy Chase movie it was so crazy! They went to the tree farm and chose a beautifully shaped tree tagged for sale. They cut it down but couldn't get any assistance bagging it or hauling it. So they drove it up to the building, paid and hauled it home. When they took it out of the truck in their driveway, they noticed it was covered with white stuff. When they chose it they thought it was just frost but now they saw it was fungus or something. So my son googled it and discovered it was insect nests and eggs that would probably hatch when they took it inside. They didn't want to go back to that busy tree farm (where they had waited an hour just to get in) so they took it to their town refuse dump and went elsewhere to buy another one. When they got back to town they noticed the original tree was no longer at the dump. And when they pulled in their driveway they saw it strapped to the roof of a car just down the block. My daughter-in-law then saw on Facebook that one of her friend's sons had picked up this "perfectly good Christmas tree" at the dump and did anyone need a tree?! My son and his wife followed the saga of that tree on Facebook the rest of the day as it was discussed and traded around. They watched it travel down the street on the hood of another car like a bad reminder that wouldn't leave!
Oh, my gosh! I wonder who ended up with it and is now frantically calling an exterminator.
I have quadruplets. They are 32 now, but there was a disaster the year they were 2. We woke up and the kids opened their gifts. I had put all the gifts for others out on our three-season porch and the door was closed and locked. My husband and I were in the kitchen getting breakfast ready when we realized that it was way too quiet in the playroom. We went in. All four kids had climbed through the cat door into the porch and were opening all the gifts. One of our daughters had a Lenox candlestick in each hand. Yes, we re-wrapped every gift. I wish we had cell phones back then so I could have quickly and easily taken pictures.
They must have thought they hit the jackpot!
Can't remember any disasters at Christmas. Thank you for another great give away.
Thank you Leslie for your generosity and may you and your family have a very Merry Christmas. For our disaster: Our furnace went out at about 3 am Christmas morning while all of our kids were back home. Fortunately we have very kind repairmen who came about 9 and had it working again.
In my early twenties my roommates and I shared a home away from family and decided to prepare our first independent Christmas dinner. The turkey came out of the oven, golden brown and smelling wonderful–bag of giblets intact in the cavity!!
Not a disaster really, just a bit traumatic for my cats. The tree was set up under the heater vent and every evening when the furnace kicked on, strange sounds would come from the tree. I'd go inspect only to find both cats staring at the tree in terror. It took a few days but eventually the culprit was found, sitting brazenly on a package…a tiny tree frog had hitchhiked from a colder climate and would start croaking every time his hideaway warmed up!
My parents kept the presents from Santa at the home of childless friends (so we couldn’t peek). One year a blizzard hit on Christmas Eve, preventing the friends from being able to get their car out to transport them. After my siblings and I were asleep, may parents trekked the 2 miles to their friends’ home with sleds. They lashed the presents to the sleds, and got them back to our house.
Now, that's love!
One year I was in charge of the Dinner and everything went along great until that evening when my husband ended up feeling sick. At first we thought he might have food poisoning, but I had been very careful with all the cooking. Later we found out that he had kidney stones and that was what was causing his stomach upset. I felt so bad for him but was relieved that I had not caused his discomfort with my cooking. Ginny K.
Our Christmas has always been wonderful, no disasters!
A few years back we lived in the foothills of the Coastal Range in Oregon. Our small farm was half way up a dead-end road that was very steep in parts. That Christmas we had snow and being Oregon we also received a large dousing of freezing rain!! The power was soon out but thankfully we had a wood stove to keep the house warm and the cook top was gas! For 2-3 days before Christmas only a couple of our neighbors could make it up and down our road. One was Mr Brown, and with his large four wheeled truck loaded with wood he make it up and down our hill and into our small town 2 miles away. He would fetch every ones mail and packages that UPS and USPS would drop off at the feed store and at the post office. Then he would pick up essentials from both the feed store and the small grocery store in town. Then he would carefully drive back up our hill and deliver them to everyone! He was such a kind man, tall and quiet with a wonderful laugh.. what a blessing. Others of us checked in on each other making sure those that were older where fine and had power or generators. After Christmas it started to thaw enough to allow us to get the tractors out to clean off the road and driveways. It was a wonderful Christmas and great memories watching our neighbors caring for one another. Thanks for the give away for for helping me bring back a wonderful Christmas memory!
Please enter me in the giveaway.