Reindeer Games – from Russo
Reindeer Games – from Russo

Reindeer Games – from Russo

Temperature was down to 37 this morning at the Gipper, which was not quite low enough for a winter wonderland (or sleeves for YHC), but cold enough for some reindeer games.

As a kid, if you asked me what the best part of Christmas was, the easy answer was presents. From Legend of Zelda II: Adventures of Link to a Commodore 64 and its floppy disks, from Castle Grayskull to Optimus Prime, nothing beat the joy of ripping open wrapping paper, fumbling to tear apart boxes, and hoping you wouldn’t have to deal with the nightmare of shrink wrap. I got really, really good at feigning joy when clothes or books were the end result.

As I got older, the best part of Christmas (besides the whole Jesus in a manger thing) moved from gifts to sleeping late because there was no school for two whole weeks, then to holiday parties, and then again to where it currently resides: eating. And more eating. And then eating some more.

But because the gifts are a staple of the holidays, YHC was in a giving mood today, serving as the MC for a few rounds of Dirty Santa!

Warmup (All IC, either 12x or 21x to honor today’s date as a palindrome – 12-22-21)
– Seal jacks (not plank jacks)
– SSH
– Cherry pickers
– Grass grabbers
– Imperial walkers

Thang
Your basic Dirty Santa / White Elephant. The rules are simple:
(1) Each HIM picks a number.
(2) Number 1 picks a random gift/exercise from Santa’s bag (in this case, Santa was slumming it with a quart sized Ziploc) and performs said exercise while the other HIM perform the standard (e.g. merkins).
(3) Number 2 has a choice: Number 1’s chosen exercise, the standard, or a new “gift”. If he chooses either of the first two options, the one who had their “gift” stolen can steal or select another mystery “gift”.
(4) Around and around we go, until all HIM have a chance to select.

The “gifts”:
-10 merkins
-20 jump squats
-30 squats
-8 Hand release merkins
-20 hello dollies
-20 leg lifts
-30 monkey humpers
-25 plank jacks
-4 krakken burpees
-8 SMCs
-15 murder bunnies
-20 bear crawls
-10 diamond merkins
-50 high knees
-24 Apollo ohnos
-15 scissor kicks
-12 star jumps
-20 freak nastys
-1 burpee
-2 calf raises
-20 hip slappers
-12 hallelujah squats
-2 gas pumps
-33 cherry pickers
-6 donkey kicks

Between rounds, Pax also moseyed around the courthouse and square to provide for some strategizing.

A mosey back to home base, COT, name-o-rama, announcements and prayer closed us out.

T claps to Fletch for also playing Santa and gifting us with his famous hot sauce.

I don’t often have a chance to make the Gipper because of weekly commitments, so I appreciate you all joining me and letting me lead you all.

One final note: I had an opportunity to watch The Chosen’s Christmas program, and the theme was “People must know”. People must know about the wonder of the Nativity, and who Jesus is, and how blessed we are with a Savior.

My goal in the new year is to use that theme of “People must know”, not only regarding the gospel, but also about the benefits of F3. We all know them, and have been EH’ed at some point, and if you’re reading this, it stuck with you. I challenge us to continue the EHs, step out of our comfort zones, and spread the word.

SYITG