The Christmas TAG | Blogmas Day 9

Friday, December 09, 2016

I came across this TAG on a few blogs before and thought it was the perfect addition to my Blogmas posts this year! I really liked all the questions and as you know I'm a big Christmas fan so I feel this tag might have been made for me haha! Feel free to do this too, if you find yourself answering the questions below, consider yourselves tagged :)

1. What is your Favourite Christmas film?

Easy! Love, actually aaaaaall the way! I literally watch this every single year in the lead up to Christmas and never even get tired of it. So many good actors, so many lovely moments, so much truth, so funny too! Go and watch it immediately if you haven't already!

2. Have you ever had a white Christmas?

Sure! Growing up in Germany, having a white Christmas wasn't too much of a surprise. It kinda changed a lot during the past couple of years though. I don't really know the last time we had snow on Christmas Eve/ Day, but last year we had plenty of it on Boxing Day. However I remember white Christmasses as a child, building snow mans on Christmas Day and the magic of waking up to snow covered landscapes in time for Christmas.

3. Where do you usually spend the holidays?

I usually spend my holidays at home with all the family, eating good food at my aunts and getting tipsy on gingerbread liqueur. I only once didn't spend the holidays with my family and that was when I lived in London in 2010 and celebrated Christmas with my lovely host family.

4. What is your favourite Christmas song?

Probably gotta be 'Driving home for Christmas'. I know nothing extravagant, an old classic everybody knows, but I still always love when it comes on the radio and find myself singing along. 'All I want for Christmas' and John Lennon's 'Happy Christmas (war is over)' are also up there with my favourites

5. Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?

Of course, duh! I'm German and in Germany we celebrate Christmas mainly on Christmas Eve. So we will all sit together for a nice dinner, then there's some carol singing (if there's kids around.. we skip that part by now haha) and then all the children will have to leave the room because Christkind will come and lay the presents underneath the Christmas tree. When the bell rings the children are allowed back into the living room and will open all their presents. So yes, I open all presents on Christmas Eve.

6. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Ummm.. should I be able to answer this?! I don't know a single one! Oh no wait, there's Rudolph with the red nose.. but other than that.. I don't have a clue!

7. What holiday traditions are you looking forward to most this year?

As I don't have my own Christmas tree I'm always looking forward to going home and seeing the Christmas tree there. I think having a nicely decorated tree inside has to be my favourite holiday tradition. And my family's very own tradition of doing precisely nothing but stuff our faces and watch Christmas movies and fairytales or reading books with all the candles lit on Christmas Day is definitely the best thing about the holidays.

8. Is your Christmas tree real or fake?

See previous answer. But always real!!

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

Gosh , where to start? I love Nuremberg's famous gingerbread as well as everything containing marzipan.. On Boxing Day we often make oven cheese to dip slices of French baguette in and that's gotta be one of my favourites too!

10. Be honest: Do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better?

I honestly couldn't tell you! I love giving gifts, as I love seeing people's eyes when they open their presents and find something they really like, but at the same time I can't lie I'm still excited about opening up my own presents. What about you?

11. What is the best Christmas gift you ever received?

Hmmmm.. I think I've received a plethora of great gifts in the past 26 years. I remember the massive doll house I got for Christmas as a kid! Oh my god I loved it! I think I played with it every single day for years, making it the home of various Playmobil families. Then of course two years ago, I got my DSLR which is one of my most treasured belongings! I got good books, funny games and lots of good presents for the past 26 Christmasses and I'm grateful for all the great gifts received.

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

I always wanted to visit New York in the holiday season, ice skating at the Rock as well as in Central Park, marvel at Macy's Christmas windows and do some Christmas shopping while there. So that would be an absolute dream come true!

13. Are you a pro present wrapper or do you fail miserably?

I think I'm an OK present wrapper. I'm really making an effort with my wrapping and I think I'm doing just fine.

14. Most memorable holiday moment?

I still remember that one Christmas Day, when I was still a child and the whole family would go for a walk in the woods. My dad would pull me and my brothers on a sledge through the snow covered forest and everything looked like straight out of a fairytale! I don't know what made this so memorable, but it's the first thing that came to my mind so it must have felt very special for me then.

15. What made you realise the truth about Santa?

I honestly don't know! I think I must have just heard other kids say that Santa doesn't exist. I don't remember it as a big deal though.. My mum might remember differently but for me I think I knew quite early on and I remember that my mum swore me to secrecy as I have two younger brothers and obviously she didn't want me to spoil it for them. I felt like such a grown up being in the know haha :)

16. Do you make New Years Resolutions? Do you stick to them?

I tend to make some. And I tend to not really stick to them. At least not for much longer than say the month of January. Are you more successful with yours?

17. What makes the holidays special for you?

Being with all my loved ones! The calmness, how everything slows down for Christmas and New Years. Not thinking of work and just relaxing. Reading books and watching films. Finding time for the things you love and for which there's usually never enough time. Yeah that's what Christmas means to me :)

Are you guys as excited as me about Christmas? I'm looking forward to driving home for the holidays, putting my feet up and eating my body weight in biscuits, chocolates and oven cheese! Seeing all the family and being merry (there's lots of gingerbread liqueur involved in our Christmas celebrations..) and hopefully even some snow will let me recharge my batteries ready for the new year and all it will bring. Will you spend your holidays at home with your family or are you travelling for Christmas? Leave me a comment and let me know :)

Lots of Love,
Jess xx