I can’t believe that its only 10 days until Christmas! I came across this fun Holiday Survey on Julie’s blog and it seemed like a great way to share some of my favourite treats and traditions of the season.
Nothing warms you up like a nice mug of hot chocolate. Even better if it has marshmallows or whipped cream in there too. I don’t like egg nog itself, but I do love egg nog flavoured things – like these Egg Nog Scones I made yesterday. Delish!
Santa usually wraps his presents and sets them on the couch with all our stockings lined up.
Always! I have a little ball of it hanging between our kitchen and dining room at the apartment.
December 1st!
One year we woke up on Christmas morning to see that the river we lived on had completely froze with no snow on top. It was like a sheet of clear glass. We laced up our skates and my dad took us all the way up and down the river. I’d never seen it like that before and I’ve never seen it since. It really did feel like it was magic when I was little.
A BBQ! Now that we have a porch at the new apartment, I’m longing for some outdoor cooking.
We have our big family dinner with my grandparents and my mom’s side of the family on Christmas Eve, so we always have a few presents to open then. We also do a $5 gift exchange game after dinner, so everyone at least gets a little something.
My family likes to put up all the special ornaments from over the years, but on my own tree at home I keep it very simple with a few styles of ornaments – gold and red balls, felt gingerbread men, red berries and cute pinecones. Someday I’ll have a bigger tree and have more room for more keepsake decorations.
Love it at Christmas!…but then by January 5th, I want it gone. In Canada we’ve been known to have snowstorms as late as April, so once that New Year comes along we’ve got it for awhile.
I have a pre-lit fake now and so does my family because we all despise putting on the lights. When we were little we used to have a real one that we’d put big coloured lights on. As lovely as the smell always was, I’ll never forget finding needles everywhere for weeks after Christmas.
The memories I have the most from Christmases past have nothing to do with gifts, but one year that stands out was when my dad and grandpa put together a big three storey Barbie house for me. My sister and I would play with it for days on end.
Spending time with my family. We live all over the place these days and having some time to sit down and be together is more special than any gift we get.
My Great Aunt’s Christmas Carrot Pudding. The Christmas spice smell in the kitchen while it is steaming is amazing. Topped with her brown sugar sauce and freshly whipped cream, its the best.
Having my grandparents and great aunts stay over on Christmas Eve night. Its nice to everyone under one roof for the night and then get up to have breakfast together.
I have a little rustic star that I bought years ago. I love that its made with little twigs and brings in the woodsy decor of the rest of the tree.
Giving a gift is so much more rewarding than receiving. Its even better if you find something for them that they wanted but didn’t ask for.
Its a little bit melancholy, but I’ve always loved Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.
I used to eat candy canes when I was a kid, but now I prefer them in recipes, like my family’s Peppermint Bark or the White Christmas Crunch I made this year.
My all time favourite is Christmas Vacation. My sister, brother and I used to watch it almost every week leading up to Christmas when we were little. Now a year doesn’t go by that I don’t watch it.
Our family favourite has always been Its A Wonderful Life. We watch it every Christmas Eve after all the company has left after our big family dinner.
Cookies and milk were always set out for Santa, along with some carrot sticks for the reindeer.
When I was little I had the hardest time waiting until we could wake up our parents – my dad would lend me his watch for the night and I would stare at it the entire time. These days we at least get to sleep in a little. Then its time to open our stockings and presents.
After all the presents are open we have a big Christmas breakfast. The past few years I’ve made Morton Family Strata from one of my favourite Christmas movies, The Family Stone. My dad also makes his perfect egg english muffin sandwiches and we have some leftover treats from the night before.
I’d rather go to a small shop or a mall and see everything for myself. I only resort to online shopping it I can’t get something in a store.
I like to send out a Christmas card, but I do like reading letters from other people to hear how they’re doing.
I’d love to hear your answers to these questions too! Share a few in the comments section!
