The Christmas Tag

It wouldn't be Christmas without fitting in a festive tag post on the blog, and as I still haven't got the strength to take the photos I need for my other Christmas posts, it seemed like a good a time as any to give The Christmas Tag a go. Read on to find out what my favourite Christmas movie is, what my most memorable Christmas moment was, and where I would love to spend the holidays.

1. Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

Both! We always have a fake tree in the living room, and I have a small real tree in my bedroom so I can still enjoy the festive cheer while I'm resting. I'll share photos of them later in the month when all the decorations are up.

2.What is your favourite Christmas film?

Being a Christmas addict, I love Christmas films, and I honestly don't think I can choose just one. My all time favourites are probably Santa Claus The Movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Home Alone, The Family Stone, Christmas With The Kranks, and Little Women, but there are loads of others I adore, too.

3. Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

No, I haven't done that since I was little. Growing up, my parents let my sisters and I open one present each from under the tree on Christmas Eve after we'd come home from the family Christmas gathering in the evening, but now we're all grown up and have no kids in our immediate family, we prefer to wait until Christmas morning. I have started giving myself a Christmas Eve box of goodies on Christmas Eve, though... does that count?

4. What is your all time favourite holiday food / sweet treat?

If we're talking savoury, it would have to be hot turkey and stuffing sandwiches, or my sister's roast potatoes. If we're talking sweet treats, I couldn't pick just one. I love my Mum's apple pie, my sister's squidgy chocolate log, and my apple and blackberry trifle which we've made each Christmas for  as long as I can remember. They might not sound particularly festive, but it wouldn't be Christmas without them in my family. I'd pick them over mince pies or Christmas pudding any day of the year.

5. Be honest: do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?

I personally love giving gifts more than receiving them... probably because I'm a bit of a shopaholic, and love to shop! I enjoy hunting down the perfect gifts, spending the time gift wrapping them, and spoiling my friends and family. There's also the satisfaction of seeing their faces light up if I've got the present right. It makes me happy to make others happy.

6. What is your favourite thing about Christmas?

There are so many things I love about Christmas, but I think my favourite thing about it has to be spending quality time with my family, and actually sitting down to a meal together on Christmas Day. We only sit around the table together two or three times a year, so it always feels really special. We always end up laughing until our sides hurt and someone almost chokes on the turkey, and of course, you can't beat a traditional turkey roast with all the trimmings, can you? I also really love seeing houses adorned in colourful Christmas lights, decorating the tree with my family, and watching all my favourite Christmas movies on repeat.

7. What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?

In all honesty, I prefer spending Christmas at home, but I would love to experience Christmas somewhere cold with heaps of snow on the ground, and icicles hanging everywhere, at least once. Somewhere where snow would be falling heavily all day long, and we could keep warm in front of a roaring log fire with mugs of hot chocolate in our hands, while wearing chunky knit sweaters and cable knit socks in between treks outside to walk in the snow, have epic snowball fights, and go tobogganing down tall snow-covered hills like big kids. It would be a place where we could take a horse or reindeer-pulled sleigh ride in the snow, travel by husky-led sled, and spend the nights gazing up at the Northern lights from a glass-roofed cabin. I think my dream location would probably be somewhere in Scandinavia, but anywhere I could do those things in the Northern Hemisphere would be fine with me.

8. Do you make New Year's resolutions? Do you stick to them?

I do make New Year's resolutions, but I don't make ridiculous, unattainable resolutions like dropping half my body weight overnight, or giving up my novelty handbag habit anymore because I know I'll just lose interest and give up a few days later. I like to make lots of smaller, more achievable goals for the year instead such as learning a new craft, taking a holiday, reading more books, or improving my photography because I'm far more likely to achieve them.

9. Most memorable Christmas moment?

When I was nine, which must have been Christmas 1994, my parents gave my sisters and I a Sega Mega Drive for Christmas. We'd never had a modern games console before that point because we didn't have a lot of money growing up- we had an old Commodore computer that we played on an old black and white TV and the games took like an hour and a half to load, so you had to clear your day if you wanted to play on it- so it was the most exciting Christmas present we'd ever been given. My sisters and I spent most of the day impatiently taking it in turns to play games like The Lion King and Columns (a game similar to Tetris), marvelling at the 'amazing' graphics, and enjoying the novelty of having our own modern games console for the first time. It felt like the best Christmas ever, and we played on that Mega Drive daily for years. Most of my favourite Christmas memories aren't defined by presents, but that's one Christmas I doubt I'll ever forget.

10. What is your favourite Christmas song?

That's a tough one because I love so many Christmas songs; I literally have hundreds of them in my iTunes library! It's so hard to choose, but I think I'm going to go with 'I Believe In Father Christmas' by Greg Lake. I grew up listening to it every Christmas, so the music just makes me feel so nostalgic and festive each time I hear it. It reminds me of decorating the tree with my Mum and sisters, and driving to and from my Auntie's Christmas Eve parties with that Christmas Eve excitement in the air. I love it.

If you decide to give The Christmas Tag a go on your own blog, leave me your links in the comments below so I can check them out! I'd love to read your answers!

What's your favourite thing about Christmas?