Christmas Countdown - 2016

[brent]

** OFFICIAL THREAD - CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN 2016 **


OK, Folks!
For the 10th consecutive year here at My Merry Christmas (and the 13th year overall) it is time to begin yet another Countdown!

Here are the statistics since we began the Season Countdown idea 12 years ago:
2004 = 1,217 posts (Christmas.com) = 3.3 posts per day.
2005 = Over 2,700 posts (Christmas.com) = over 7.4 posts per day.
2006 = 3,756 posts (The Christmas Place) = 10.3 posts per day.
2007 = 1,957 posts (My Merry Christmas, where the thread was not launched until July) = 12.1 posts per day.
2008 = 5,103 posts = 13.9 posts per day.
2009 = 8,231 posts = 22.6 posts per day.
2010 = 16,226 posts = 44.5 posts per day.
2011 = 31,091 posts = 85.2 posts per day.
2012 = 39,183 posts = 107.1 posts per day.
2013 = 59,747 posts = 163.7 posts per day.
2014 = 63,096 posts = 172.9 posts per day.
2015 = 56,859 posts = 155.8 posts per day.

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. For the first time since the Season count idea began, we did NOT set a per-day post record for the year.
What somewhat surprises me, though, is that we dropped below 2013's level as well. Have we peaked? Time will tell.
But, regardless, 2015 was still a fantastic year!


And now here we are ready to go again, at the start of 2016.


A word of explanation. We are running a dual countdown in this thread - one for Christmas Day and one for the start of the Christmas Season (November 13).
There seems to be general agreement that we look forward to the entire Christmas Season rather than just to Christmas Day.
But why November 13?
Well, it just seems about the right time to regard the season as arriving. That date is exactly 6 weeks before Christmas Day and is about the time the country at large is beginning to really get into the holiday spirit. Most of the stores have decorated. And starting the season then gives us exactly 50 days (Nov 13 through Jan 1) to enjoy being "within" the season, giving it a depth that is lacking with just the Christmas Day count by itself.

We also enjoy noting special "Milestones" along the way (see the chart below).

And there is one date you CERTAINLY do not want to miss! Many of us gather here on the evening of November 12 for our annual hour by hour and then minute by minute countdown to the start of the Season at midnight Eastern Time. It's something we really look forward to and is truly great fun!

Allright, Everybody.
Climb aboard once again to enjoy reading the posts and following the count, which begins today at 317* to the Season and 359* to Christmas Day.

* (Special note: 2016 is a leap year, and as such, we must wait another day for the Season to start and for Christmas Day to arrive!)


Here is a list of our Christmas Season and Christmas Day countdown milestone markers.
[ I have not modified it for Leap Year, but day 300 for both the Season and Christmas Day will be one day later than shown.
The Day 200 and Day 100 markers do not change.
The other markers change by only fractions of days, so there is really no point recalcualting. ]

CHRISTMAS SEASON MILESTONE MARKER CHART
January 17 = Day 300
February 12 = 1/4 mark
March 15 = 1/3 mark
April 27 = Day 200
May 15 = 1/2 mark
July 14 = 2/3 mark
August 05 = Day 100
August 14 = 3/4 mark
October 07 = 90 percent (The Home Stretch begins)
November 13 = THE SEASON ARRIVES!

CHRISTMAS DAY MILESTONE MARKER CHART
February 28 = Day 300
March 26 = 1/4 mark
April 26 = 1/3 mark
June 8 = Day 200
June 26 = 1/2 mark
August 25 = 2/3 mark
Sept 16 = Day 100
Sept 25 = 3/4 mark
Nov 18 = 90 percent
December 25 = MERRY CHRISTMAS!


- CROWN

As always, thank you for continuing to lead us through the year, Crown! Looking forward to setting new records as we make 2016 the best one yet!

 

[brent]

And now, an unexpected ** TRAVEL ALERT **.

A cousin who lives out of state died just before Christmas and his funeral is tomorrow. We will be leaving extremely early in the morning and HOPE to get back by the end of the day. If not, we will be spending the night on the road.
As such, we will need a Countdown Volunteer for tomorrow and (possibly) Sunday morning.
(I hate to start off the New Year this way but circumstances have dictated otherwise.)
Thanks!

I placed the opening numbers in my post #1, but here they are again for formatting:
Days to the Season: 317
Days to Christmas Day: 359

And just note how close we already are to our first Milestone of the year, the 300-day Season Window.
(See how nice it is to have a Season count? We are already a good seven weeks along in the count progress!)

Sorry for your loss, Crown. I would be more than happy to do this... I assume that nobody else has volunteered yet?

 

[Crown 84]

Thanks, Brent!
Our GOAL is to return late tomorrow evening, but I wanted to hedge my bet just in case.
Hopefully, tomorrow morning will be the only day needed.

 

[NcGunny]

New Years day is the official countdown for the Christmas season for me. Rethinking our tree schemes,outdoor decorating,trying new recipes,movies. LOL...okay Christmas ends for
most on the 26th of Dec. to me its a lifestyle.

 

[e_xander]

Happy New Year, MMC!!!!

Okay, I take part of the blame for the post count going down last year. Not having internet for the last 7 months, killed my 20 post per day average that I had going in years prior.

Happy New Year, Made!!

 

[e_xander]

Binger.. checking in... peace and joy to all

Happy New Year, binger!

 

[e_xander]

Happy New Year All!!!! Lets keep that spirit going!

Happy New Year, DoubleA!!

 

[e_xander]

Happy New Year everyone!!

Happy New Year, NcGunny!!

 

[e_xander]

2016!!!!! Wow - what happened to 2015............or for that matter, 2014 or 2013??!!! The first day of January is an empty page in a new notebook. What goes in that notebook is entirely down to you. Yes, there will be influences and things that can't be ignored but it's up to YOU to decide what goes in there and what is discarded as irrelevant. Aim to be the best you that you can be each day, do at least one act of kindness each day and be responsible for your little section of the world. Oh, and drink lots of water!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy New Year, Maureen!! Great advice!! See you around the forums!!

 

[e_xander]

Happy New Year everyone!
May 2016 be good to you.

Cherish every moment.
May the good times lift your spirits,
May you find strength when life gets challenging
Most of all, enjoy every thing else in between because this is life and we are blessed to be living the one we have been given.

View attachment 18069

Happy New Year, Festive!!

 

[e_xander]

Happy New Year, my Christmas friends!

2015 was pretty good, and I'm looking forward to this year. I hope it's a great one for all of you!

Happy New Year, brad!!

 

[e_xander]

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones, e_xander!

Same to you and yours, DYHWIH!!

 

[e_xander]

Happy new year e_xander.....by the way, how did you come up with this screen name ?
Praying you all have a wonderful 2016 !

Same to you CS!! I'm a huge Van Halen fan. And a buddy of mine in radio uses the name Alex Edwards so I started using it in reverse, hence the moniker, e_xander (Edward Alexander). I've been using it since the mid 90's.

See you around the forums!

Sean

 

[RachRon]

Here we go again starting anew , last year I didn't post much although I was always here looking around . It was a tough year for us after losing my mom basically on 12/26 I wasn't into much of anything . However it was sort of nice to come here and see posts from familiar friends . Hopefully things will look up for us this year .I am looking forward to the Christmas road trip I will be there with my wife and daughter . Counting the days !!! Happy New Year Everyone ..

 

[e_xander]

I love this poem - I use a variation of it to finish off my wedding ceremonies. Just before they walk back down the aisle, I say "may the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rain fall soft upon your fields and may the joy of living for each other trip a smile from your lips and a twinkle in your eye. May you have walls for the wind and a roof for the rain, drinks beside the fire, laughter to cheer you and may you know nothing but happiness from this day forward"....followed by "ladies and gentlemen may I ask you all to be upstanding once more and put your hands together for the new Mr and Mrs Whoever" It sums everything up perfectly

The Irish blessing! It's my Maureen's favorite poem!! Beautiful, Maureen!!

 

[Festive Spirit]

Here we go again starting anew , last year I didn't post much although I was always here looking around . It was a tough year for us after losing my mom basically on 12/26 I wasn't into much of anything . However it was sort of nice to come here and see posts from familiar friends . Hopefully things will look up for us this year .I am looking forward to the Christmas road trip I will be there with my wife and daughter . Counting the days !!! Happy New Year Everyone ..

So sorry to hear about your mum's passing. Praying that this year will extra good to you. The road trip will surely be a memorable experience!

 

[e_xander]

numbers are not important, if that was all this thread was about I would stop coming.
What is important is folks like you who stop by when they can sharing their ups and downs and enjoying the spirit of Christmas all year round.
Hardly anyone has time to be here to post often. What is great is that everyone keeps coming back when they need a touch of Christmas to this very special place.
Thanks for making this place special with your presence

I agree, CS, while its nice to see if we can boost the numbers, the quality of the posts and the heartfelt meaning behind them are what counts. Seeing what people are doing to keep Christmas in their hearts and counting down with everyone is what keeps me here.

Happy new year everyone!!

 

[e_xander]

I've been trying to get my gang to go with me to see Star Wars since our vacation started, but they've resisted, for some reason. Maybe today is the day!

I've seen it twice!! And if go again!! When do you want to go, Brad?

 

[Edge612]

Good morning all. I'm taking down the tree and then going to my in-laws for lunch. I hope you all have a wonderful first day of 2016!

I considered taking it down today and was like nah...I'm going to wait 2 more weeks till mid-January but I didn't put it up till Thanksgiving weekend so it's a bit too early for me to take it down.

 

[e_xander]

Merry is absolutely correct. And that's why I used the word "surprised" in my opening post rather than "disappointed".
There is no doubting the quality of our posts and our members year after year. We reside in one of the finest sites on the internet where it's always a pleasure to come in, sit a spell and relax among friends!

So once again: A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!!

Happy New Year to you Crown!! See you around the forums!!! Have a great day!! Thanks for all you do!

Sean