Hello, hello, hello, everyone! *rubs her hands together before snagging a mug of hot chocolate* I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas this year! (And please tell me y'all had snow. I wanted snow so badly this year, and all we got was cold. Plain ol' boring dry cold. So I hope y'all got to enjoy a white Christmas!)
Christmas may be over, but the fun is just beginning over here! Sisters Three put together a Christmas-themed blog tag and tagged me right before Christmas, so I finally have a chance to share with y'all my Christmas favorites!
the rules
Use the Christmas Favorites Tag banner
Link back to www.sisters-three.com
Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their post (Thanks so much, Sisters Three!)
Tag eight fellow bloggers
And have lots of fun!!!
the questions
Favorite Christmas Memory?
Um. This shouldn’t be so tough, but it really is. Now, had you asked least favorite Christmas memory, I could manage. (*coughs* Christmas isn’t always the easiest time of year for us, despite how much we love it.)
Really, I think my favorite memory is just a jumble of feelings and a few memories from when I was really little (like 3-5 years old kinda little). Before my dad’s parents stopped celebrating Christmas (for a myriad of reasons upon which I will expound if y’all are curious), before we were sick almost every December, before my mom’s brothers and their families turned our routines upside down, before my nana had a heart attack last year…
Back when everything was warm and exciting and carefree and bright and cheerful. When everything was simple, because I was a simple child. My grandy would have this fun fake snow we could play with (because #south), and her house would always be decked out (especially the halls *winks*), and she would always have such fun treats. And it would always be late and dark and cozy at my nana’s on Christmas Eve. *sighs* Good times.
Favorite Christmas Treat?
EGGNOG. (You never saw that coming, did you?) And fruitcake (yes, really. I even wrote a book about it). And turkey and dressing and e v e r y t h i n g.
Favorite Christmas Tradition?
Gosh. Traditions are spotty these days (due to the reasons listed above), but some of the semi-traditional traditions I love are (1) picking out new ornaments every year, (2) looking at Christmas lights, (3) decorating the house on October 31st (we are r e b e l s), and (4) making gingerbread houses (or, as we did this year, ugly sweater cookies)!
Favorite Christmas Song?
This question is unfair. Do not whatsoever make me pick a favorite!!! I love them all!!! But, just to highlight a few…
“Carol of the Bells,” “The Christmas Waltz,” “Christmas in Killarney,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Silent Night,” and “The Christmas Song” are just a few of my many favorites!
Tell us your favorite funny Christmas story…
Okay, this is hard...*sifts through those childhood memories* Eh, I can’t really think of anything that would be genuinely funny to y’all, but what a l w a y s cracks me up is this video (or was it two videos?) of me and my cousin waaayyyyy back when we were three years old. I’d share it here just for the heck of it, but I doubt I could find it and send it to my computer. So just close your eyes and imagine for a moment…
My cousin Caleb was chattering with our uncle about the presents, and he was just SO cute and hilarious (don’t tell him I said that *chortles*) explaining to him how we have to wait to open them and whatnot. And then I, show-off that I was, recited the Pledge of Allegiance...only to end it with my trademark “With liberty and justice for the goose.”
Don’t ask. I don’t know where in the world that came from, but from age three to age five or six, that’s what I said. “For the goose.”
Favorite Christmas Movie?
This is a no-brainer: “It’s A Wonderful Life.” We watch it every year, so in a way it gets old...but in another way, I still tear up every time and just get so invested in this precious film. I love it.
And I have a strange fondness for the. cheesiest. non-romantic. Christmas. movie. in. history.
“Homeless for the Holidays.”
This low-budget Christian Christmas movie came out in 2009, I believe, and follows the journey of a man from #1 on the corporate ladder to homeless for Christmas. It’s so cringe, but it’s also has such a beautiful message, and it took on a new meaning for me when my dad lost his job during Covid. We were never close to losing our house (we actually paid it off during that time) or anything, but it was still a different experience. No insurance, no steady source of income, plenty of Covid unemployment bonuses (thank God) but just as much uncertainty as well. But God provides, just as He did in the movie!
And we mustn’t forget the classic “The Santa Clauses” film series that I will always adore, and “Christmas with the Kranks,” which is just so much fun!
Plans for Christmas this year? (Yeah, not a favorite but still fun!)
Well, Christmas is over, so I guess I’ll be explaining what exactly we did rather than what we planned to do...but whatever.
On December 23rd, we (meaning my family and my uncles and their families) went to my nana’s for lunch and gift exchanging...which, y’all...was such a gift. Such a blessing. I take it for granted every year and get my panties in a wad if we don’t do everything “just so” (I am high maintenance, folks, and routine is my lifeblood), but whether we celebrate on Christmas Eve, December 28th, or December 1st, or in the middle of July...it doesn’t matter as long as my family—every single member of it—is there. Last year was by far the worst Christmas—worse than the first Christmas without celebrating with Dad’s parents, worse than the Christmas with the flu, worse than all the Christmases that weren’t “just so”—because my nana was in the hospital miles away, having narrowly escaped dying on Christmas Eve, along with my papa. She insisted (because she is nothing if not stubborn) that we celebrate without her and eat, open presents, etc., but we did so with heavy hearts.
This year, everyone was there, and I cannot put into words what that means to me.
Anyway, let’s move on before I start crying again…
On Christmas Eve, my siblings and I exchanged presents, my dad and papa went through the hassle of fixing our frozen pipes (because it’s actually cold on Christmas for once...but no snow, unfortunately), and we watched “The Nativity Story” as we do every year.
And lastly, on Christmas Day, we got up bright and early (make that dark and early, because I was up at 3am and couldn't go back to sleep, so everyone got up at 4:15am) to open presents from our parents. Then we attended church, where my mother played the piano during the worship service and I read the Christmas story (which was SUCH an honor)! And then we went home, prepared food, and went back to my nana's to eat dinner with our extended family on my papa's side.
And naturally I came home and went to bed before 8pm. I was exhausted.
I’m actually not going to tag anyone for this since Christmas is over, and y’all may not be interested in doing this tag now, BUT if you do, PLEASE feel free to steal this tag! (Just link back to me if you do!) I'd love to hear all about your Christmas favorites and what you did to celebrate this year!
Before I sign off, may I ask a quick favor? If you have a minute, I would love for you to take this short (or, well, it can be short if you only answer a few questions) survey and share your thoughts and opinions on my website, my blog, my writing, etc.! Thank y'all SO much!!! I am so excited to begin another year with y'all!
Y'all have a very happy New Year, my lovelies! I'll see you in 2023!