Final Farm Contest

[Karie McBrian]

Holidays for me are difficult. I work at a police station so someone has to be there even on the holidays. This year I have Christmas Eve off.
So our day starts at 6am, getting up, packing up the truck with all of our "Perfect" gifts! Off we (Ryan, Trent & I )go to the farm. Its about an hour drive if the roads are not slippery!
After feeding (about 80 horses) we clean our 8 (or so) stalls and head out on the road. We have another 2 hour drive from the farm to reach my dads house. (stopping on the way at my moms to shower ha ha) We spend hours and hours with him and his family and exchange gifts and fill up our bellies with lunch. After tearfully saying good bye we head to my moms house for her get together. After eating (yes again!) and exchanging presents and spending many hours with her
we hit the road again (someone has to feed those horses in the morning) and head the 3 hour drive home.
Once we are home we try and get some sleep... Try is the key word.
Christmas morning we get up early again and unwrap presents at home and then of course head to the farm. All 12 of our horses get an apple and a candy cane for christmas in thier morning grain So we feed, clean, try and get your jacket out of Perfect Circle's mouth. Then we hit the road again the hour drive home for a quick shower and then head to Ryan's dads house (We lost his mom in September) for an late morning get together. After eating brunch with them and exchanging gifts I get to head to work. So when you guys are sitting around and relaxing - think of me and my crazy schedule. I just wish I had more time for the family. Once you have horses (and kids) your whole life will change. Maybe next year I will get Christmas Day off from work. That would be incredible. I have worked the last 4 Christmas Days.
MERRY CHRISTMAS

OH... my son decided to start a new tradition today! He locked the doors of the truck (ok 30 MPH winds and a temp of 24 = below zero temps) while he was inside it! I had just turned the truck off, and sat the keys on the floor while I put my gloves back on. I forget to pick the keys back up. He played with the headlights and steering wheen and accidently hit the lock button. We tried to have him get the keys (so he could press the unlock button) and he got stuck next to the steering wheel and decided he wasn't about to help us anymore. He is only 22 months old so that is expected. So needless to say.. I called 911 and asked for help. The tow truck beat the police officer out and unlocked it for us. It cost $50... What a way to start the holidays :rolleyes:

[Biff Tannen]

How's this for tradition . . . .

My old man was a fan of horse racing (actually more like a bad gambler!) and we used to go to Santa Anita and Hollywood Park all the time when I was a kid. Almost every Christmas we'd open our presents, have breakfast, and then I'd walk down to 7-11 or even Luckys (for those that don't remember, Luckys was a supermarket chain that eventually got bought out by Albertsons) anyways... I'd buy the Herald or LA Times, sometimes both and once I got home my dad would go through the Handicaps for opening day at Santa Anita...

Needless to say, the rest of Christmas morning was usually spent looking at horses names and jockeys and my little brother and I pretending to be Bill Shoemaker, Chris McCaron, Eddie Delahoussaye or Laffit Pincay Jr, riding home a winner... and my dad yelling at us to shut up!! . . . And my mom and my sisters making fun of me, telling me that I'd have to stop growing right now if I wanted to be a jockey....

It was alomst every Christmas until I turned 11 or 12, because my mom was afraid I'd catch on to my old man's habits... So, she threw away a gigantic BOX FULL of all the programs I used to keep from every trip to SA or HP and told us we can't go there anymore until we're old enough to make our own decisions! I remember her telling me it was for my own good!

Its not the typical Christmas tradition...but its spawned my fondness and love for thoroughbred racing. I don't think one can forget the awe of horses running down the stretch and watching it eye level from the rail as a little kid . . .even to this day (and now that my mom realizes I'm nothing like my old man!) she still asks me if I want to go to Santa Anita for opening day. In fact, she's going to be there on Wednesday and if I didn't have to work I'd be there as well!

Happy Holidays everybody!!!

[Faith Powers]

Our holiday traditions start the day after Thanksgiving. We do not go shopping, we bake cookies! My neighbor comes over and her, my mom and I start with the press sugar cookies, which only take about 1/2 hour to do. We then move on to the favorite, the FROSTING cookies! My neighbor, Meg, and I will punch out various shapes, star, bell, tree, Santa, and a horse of course! Then we will bake, and then, we FROST. We always make ridiculous color combinations, like a Santa could be orange and purple Sprinkles are dumped in excess everywhere. Mess = GOOD! After cookies, we make candy. We melt these soft kind of candy (I don't know the name) and we pour them into molds, freeze, then enjoy.

The next traditions don't start until Christmas Eve. My family will either go to 4:00 or 10:00 mass, but from 6:30-9:30, we go to my grandmas house. There is usually only a small portion of the family there, about 10 people. My grandma makes creamed shrimp on toast (yuck!) and my uncle makes turkey lasangia. After dinner there is dessert and I always take a piece of each one if there is multiple desserts. We then open up gifts then head home.

On Christmas day, my mom gets me up at 9:00 and I am NOT allowed to touch any gifts until after breakfast and I have to be dressed! We open gifts then mooch around the house all day until we go to my uncle's house for dinner and gifts.

Merry Christmas!

[Lisa Strummer]

Having spent all of my "Santa years" on the racetrack bore an unusual, and probably somewhat boring to most people, holiday tradition for my family. I don't think I had one Christmas that I wasn't at the track. My entire winter break from school I was getting up and going to work with my dad, and back then it was a Christmas bonus for me being able to go to the track instead of being in the classroom.
When I was a kid I always got stockings for all the horses my dad had in training, which on average was about 20-30. In the begining, I would go to the mall and get those Christmas stockings they sell at kiosks, and have all the horse's names put on with glitter. After a few years, I realized since we had alot of claiming horses, it was better just to get plain stockings and only get names on the stockings of our stakes and allowance horses. I'd save up my money and buy each horse a bag of carrots, or peppermints, whatever the horse likes best, and when we left the barn Christmas Eve, I'd fill each stocking up. Some of the smarter horses knew what was in the stockings and would somehow get ahold of them and fling them off the nail the stockings were hanging on, it was cute. That little tradition ended up costing me ALOT of money every year but it was worth it. Every Christmas morning, my dad and I would go get a Racing Form and stop at the donut place that was always open, get to the barn at 6 and I'd give the goodies to the horses. We'd clean stalls, feed, water and hay then break out the donuts. We'd bulls**t with everyone in the barn for awhile, my dad would hand out everyone's Christmas bonus and then we'd go home to open presents.
After opening presents, my mom would usually make French Toast for breakfast and I'd play with whatever toys I had received, my dad would be reading the Form and eventually my dad and I would take a nap. Later on in the day, we head back to the track to check on the horses at feedtime, come back home and have dinner, which my mom always prepared for a family of 10, when there was only 3 of us, so there would be leftovers to take to the grooms the next day.
For a period of time we shipped the horses to Florida for the winter, I HATED spending Christmas in Florida, except for seeing the "big" horses that were stabled down there for the winter, it was a miserable experience for me, I didn't like having Christmas when it was sunny and 80 degrees!
Since my dad passed away I've never hung stockings. I miss it, even though if I'd do it now people would probably look at me like I was crazy! I guess it's too sad for me, though I always bring goodies for whatever horses I'm working with at Christmas time and coffee and donuts for the grooms. It's basically them same thing even with my dad gone, but I'm never 100% happy without my dad there. To this day it's not Christmas to me without reading the Racing Form after opening presents. How strange is that? LOL

[Laura Ferguson]

We have a number of Christmas traditions, some have obviously changed over time, but the longest running, perhaps, is the fact that every year, we go into New York City to view the Christmas windows and the tree. Some stores have disappeared over time (I miss the Lever Bros.' carousel. One year the horses were decorated as reindeer, the next, as chocolates, the next as medieval horses. JAL and its origami tree is another, KLM and its Holland village a third).

We go into NYC, and start with Macy's, who always has scenes from A Miracle on 34th Street in its 34th Street windows. It'll have another story around the corner. The best was the year it had scenes from A Christmas Story. This year was kind of lame, but the coolest window of the bunch had Santa and his reindeer being buffeted by the wind. This was illustrated by a tiny rollercoaster, with Santa and his reindeer, that careened crazily throughout the window. We usually go inside, and ride the old wooden escalators up to the 9th floor, to see the Christmas store, and then down to the 8th floor, where Santa and his wonderland are. This time, the line was insane, it was like being in a Christmas Story. We followed it, back and back and back, down employee only halls and photos of balloons from Macy's parades of yore. No intention of getting in the line at this point, mind you, just to see where it ends. It was at least an hour long.

On to Lord and Taylor's, which always has the classiest windows. Usually they do different Christmas in NY themes, but this year it is Christmas around the world. Of course, they start in NY, and then go to Vienna for a concert, Paris for dancing, and at the end, a kind of It's a Small World with different nationalities. There's always little scenes that you miss if you rush through, so we always take our time, to see everything that is moving, or in the corners. Comically, this year, the security guy isn't with the program. You always start on one end and work your way to the other (and I mean always). This guy wants everyone to go the opposite way, which means you start with the finale, and everyone is confused. I take advantage of the confusion to sneak through the regular way, which turns out to be much, much faster.

We left and went to our next spot, the public library, where the lions proudly wear their Christmas wreaths on the main steps, and then around back to Bryant Park, where the public has finally discovered the skating rink back there. Skaters of all levels, from the clinging on the wall to the showing off in the center, are there, with Christmas music in the background. We then go to Grand Central Station, which has a train exhibit in the Transit store, and all sorts of lights. Apparently, if you go at the right time (we didn't), there is a light show as well. Time for a tasty pretzel from one of the vendors.

On to Rockefeller Center and more skaters and the tree! I love the tree, and this year's was the best in a while, perfect from every side. This area is always jam-packed with people. Across the way is Sax Fifth Avenue, and while their windows are usually lame, this year's, about a story with Snowpeople, is pretty good, with lots and lots of snowmen everywhere. The building is decorated in lit snowflakes, and once the sun goes down, music is played and the snowflakes go on and off in time to the music. So cool! Radio City Music Hall is nearby, and this year, the soldiers that normally stand over the entry way (and are perpetually shot down by a cannon and bounce back up) are gone! Apparently, they are replaced by a giant 7 and 5 for the 75th anniversary. Boo. Hopefully, next year, they'll be back. Across the way are giant ornaments, light bulbs and other Christmas decorations.

Of course we wander into FAO Schwartz, and check out the public space Christmas displays, with little animals and the like, and other stores along Fifth Avenue. Part of it is tradition, but some years, it is really so you can thaw out. If it isn't too cold, we venture into Central Park and view the skaters on that rink - it is the biggest of the three.

Later that evening, we drive through Rutherford, my old town, and Scotch Plains, my parent's town, and do an informal judging of the Christmas displays. There's a best lights, a best newcomer, best display, but the championship is always awarded to the house with eight million different themes on one lot, jam-packed with snowmen and candy canes, and lights and Santa stuff (bonus points for John the Baptist heads, as we always call the disembodied Santa heads). Challengers to the championship always get an honorary mention, and we make sure to seek them out the following year. It's just fun, with all of us in the car, slowing down for the best houses, and then heading home for dessert and hot chocolate.

Christmas Eve is always great, because we have company and get to open some gifts, but I think the NYC/Christmas light contest is my favorite.

[Sean Furney]

Well our Traditions start right after Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving we get out and start hanging the lights. The display is slowly getting bigger as this is only our 3rd year of putting lights out.

Then about two weeks before Christmas we drive around and pick out a tree. Being in Oregon we have an advantage over most others with some nice fresh trees. Nobles are the trees we prefer because they hold up well to all the heavy decorations. Although with my two year old in the house this year we decided to keep the nice decorations put up so they stay in one piece.

Usually about this time we also go out to Toys R Us and go shopping for Toys for Tots. One of the things I really want to teach my kids is to help others that may not be as privilaged as we are even though some years are better than others. Even if we can't get much we like to chip in.

Then comes Christmas Eve. My wifes family always let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve so we have done the same of course being careful to make sure that what they open doesn't need one of the other presents to go along with it. We also make a run around to all the best locations to check out the people that must spend weeks decorating. I have found in the various places I have lived in the country that one rule applies there is always a group of people that want to out do Clark Griswald to be the Christmas light king.

Christmas Morning there is one rule for the kids. They can get into their stockings before me and my wife get up but they aren't allowed to touch the presents until after we get up. Of course no waking us up either this is punishable by loss of all presents(Got to have at least one day a year to sleep in). Then in the afternoon we head over to my Parents house for the first of the meals. I call this the warm up meal. We usually open the presents before the meal so the kids will actually eat. We hang out for awhile after the meal the timing of this time directly corresponds to how long I think I can stay awake before I need my after meal nap.

The day after Christmas we have our meal for the immediate family which is cooking as I write this. Usually we will get some board games out and play while the meal cooks. Then the real meal and once again stuffed until it is just about nap time but there is one more thing that needs to be done before I get to fall off to sleep. We take the dark meat of the turkey(it seems nobody in my family likes dark meat) and take it down to a corner about 5 miles from the house where you can always find some homeless people and give it to them. This will be our second year of doing this and after the reception we got last year I am sure there will be many more to come. Then once again the long awaited after meal nap.

Well I will end my story here because I really don't want to think about taking down the lights yet.

[Ali Weasley]

This is kinda a touchy situation for me this year, as I just spent my very first Christmas away from home. It was rough, but I survived.

We spend Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. We have a good, old fashioned dinner with ham and taters and all the fixins'. The younger cousins run around like mad with their new toys while us oldies sit around the table and catch up on all our lives.

When my immediate family and I get home for the night, we always open one present, and it's always pajamas. My mom makes sure she washes them with extra fabric softener before she washes them, so they're always ready to wear and super duper comfy. This is my favorite tradition in my family, I think. (I still got them this year, even though I'm away, and she made sure I was wearing them when we had the webcam going.)

The next morning we roll out of bed whenever. The whole family is grown, so there's no mad rush to the tree anymore, but there's usually a buzz in the air that gets us up by 9 or so (which is quite early for me, if I have nowhere to be). My parents get their coffee, my brother and sister-in-law and I get spots on the couch, and we take turns opening presents. The cats usually end up in the middle of the paper and bows.

We soon head out to Nana's, but not before stopping at the barn to feed the "beast." She gets extra goodies, but we can't do much with her because Nana-stein is always in a hurry to have us over.

Presents are opened right away, because we still have some younger cousins who rush things along. We open them one at a time, going in a circle, and it takes forever but it's standard at this point. The women (and this is beginning to include me more and more, scary!) in the family usually bicker and the volume in our voices gets higher and higher as time progresses. It's a real treat.

We have tacos every year, and this is the only day of the year I'll put chopped up pickles on them. Nana always makes home made guacamole, which was much better when she had an avocado tree in her front yard, and it's always the best. We stuff our faces, and usually we're all ready to pass out, so we go our separate ways. That night my dad and I tend to curl up on the couch and watch one of the dvd's we'll inevitably get every year.

I really, really missed it all this year. But I'm hoping next year I'll be home and things will be normal.

[The Steward]

There are a lot of these that I really liked! Alysse's, Mark's, and Karie's too, especially

But the winners were Scott Pho handicapping opening day at Santa Anita (um hello why do you never come visit us there is a mob of SIMsters at Santa Anita every weekend) and Michelle's leaving the food and water for the dog and pony (HA!)

Congrats, guys!

Edit: I just found out I had ONE extra farm I didn't think I had, so CAROLYN won the third farm for decorating her dog! Congrats!

Guys, check your farms out and then email me what names you'd like them to have.

[Keith Maidlow]

Congratulations to the three winners. Farms are fun. Make them reasonable and we will come.

[Meagan D'Amoure]

Yay! Congrats, y'all! I thought everyone's stories were great.

[Michelle Calderoni]

OMG! YAY Thanks a honey bunches Em! I am so excited. I was so confused when Jolene called me this morning lol because I thought her pocket was calling again lol. Im thrilled.

[Kira Ravenwood]

Congrats you guys!

[Anne Conradt]

Congratulations, guys. I loved all the stories, and I'm really glad there was an extra farm for the doggie picture.....that's definitely the one I would have voted for. It was sooooo cute.

I also liked Scott Pho's story. By the way, Scott, I don't know you, but you've got quite a lot of talent as a writer. Your style reminds me of someone else here who writes occasionally. You should write articles. It's a good way to make money, and since you're so good at it, why not give it a shot? Cute story, and extremely well written.

[Laura Ferguson]

Congrats to all of the winners!

Laura

[Carolyn Eaton]

Oh My God!!!!! I'm so ecstatic! I Have a farm - Tosca Stables Texas - coming soon!!!!