A Christmas Tag

What's your favorite Christmas movie?
There's SO many good ones to choose from..  Here's a list of some of my favorites:

• Any Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer movie
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Home Alone
• The Santa Clause 
• A Christmas Story
• A Charlie Brown Christmas
• Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

*Also, my mom has made me a bit addicted to the Hallmark channel this time of year, so pretty much any Christmas program featured is a good one too.

Do you open presents on Christmas morning or Christmas evening?
Christmas Morning

Do you have a favorite Christmas memory?
Not really a specific one, but I always enjoyed when we'd go to my grandparents house on Christmas Eve and have a family get together and open a couple presents with all of my cousins. Then on Christmas morning we'd get up really early open presents, eat breakfast, and watch Christmas movies.. nothing to spectacular. 

What's your favorite festive food?
I don't know if I have a favorite, but my dad always gets assorted nuts that you have to open with a nut cracker. Otherwise my mom does a lot of baking and her Christmas cookies are to die for. 

What's been your favorite Christmas gift?
I don't know if I have a favorite. I enjoy every gift I receive, no matter who it's from or what it is, it's the thought that counts and quite honestly, my favorite 'gift' would be spending Christmas together with my entire family. Family is so precious and we tend to get so caught up in our lives throughout the year, that we tend to lose sight of what's most important. I think Christmas is the perfect time to get together and cherish all of the memories we have had together while creating new ones. 
I'd like to add a second part to this question: What is one gift you'll never forget?
One gift that I will never forget would probably be a sweater I received from my dad when I was entering middle school. My parents had just got divorced a year or two previous to this particular Christmas and my dad moved out of the smallest apartment ever, into a house of his own. I don't think my dad did much Christmas shopping when my parents were together; he probably let my mom take care of that. Since money was still quite tight we only received one or two gifts and one of them was this yellow sweater that had buttons that reached from the bottom of my neck across to my armpit. I still remember it being the most itchy kind of fabric I have ever worn, but that sweater had a lot of meaning in it. Thinking about it now brings tears to my eyes, because he tried his hardest to pick out something that I might like, and for a divorced father to go clothes shopping for his only daughter ... oh man, the feels I just incorporated.. I think it's time to move onto the next question before I start sobbing over these emotions I've kicked up.

What's your favorite Christmas scent?
Probably the classic apple and cinnamon scent; otherwise the smell of Christmas trees.

Do you have a Christmas Eve Tradition?
Not really... like I said earlier we used to go to my grandparent's house on Christmas Eve and all of my cousins would be there and it was so lovely. Unfortunately, we haven't done that since my grandma passed away. However, I do go to an evening service at my church, since my dad plays trumpet and they dim down the lights and pass out candles. 

What tops your tree?

The tree in my apartment - nothing.

The tree at my dads house - an angel either myself or one of my brothers made when we were young.

The tree at my mom's house - Not too sure, it was a star for the longest time, now I don't know what it is.

As a child, what was the one (crazy, extravagant) gift you wanted but never got?
I really don't remember which is a bummer because I'm sure there was a lot. . . It's okay Santa (mom & dad), I forgive you. 

What do you think is the best part of Christmas?
Being with family and loved ones. The Christmas programs are always a plus as well! They are so fun to watch and always put me in a festive mood. It brings us together as families and for some of us, this may be the only time we get to see certain people. I cherish the time spent with those I love and I think that it is important and a good reminder of how we need to appreciate what we have and who we have in our lives. Christmas is a time where we set our differences aside and think about one another. I find it important to think about those who might not even have a family to go home to or buy gifts for. I ask that you all think about these people during the holidays and try to spread a bit of holiday cheer, whether that be donating money/volunteering your time, buying gifts for those who are less fortunate, or even saying a simple "Happy Holidays" accompanied by a warm smile will make a difference; It's the small things in life that can make someone's day. 

With that being said I hope all have a wonderful Holiday season, and remember to be selfless; "It isn't the size of the gift that matters, but the size of the heart that gives it" - Eileen Elias Freeman

Much Love! Xx

Winter Pinspiration

After doing an 'Autumn Pinspiration', I felt that it was only right to do one for winter. The weather so far hasn't been ideal; normally I enjoy the warmth and rain, but this is not like the Midwest at all. Over the weekend it got up to 60 degrees fahrenheit .. normally it's in the twenties this time of year, and this gloomy weather is bringing me down. I enjoy having snow throughout the month of December, so I'm hoping that Jack Frost will get it in gear and bring on the snow ASAP. Without further a do, here is what usually makes me happy this time of year, and hopefully this post will bring some Holiday cheer.

I have never gone ice skating, but I really want to; hopefully some of my friends will be up for it when I go back home. There's an ice skating rink that is located down town and is actually outside instead of in a hockey arena. They provide skates, for a fee of course, and I believe they sell hot chocolate; although I'm not 100% sure. It sounds like the best winter activity and I'm so excited to try it! I just hope the weather starts getting colder and snow starts falling from the sky ASAP! Wow - that is something you'll almost never hear from me! Other than ice skating, I enjoy being outside in the snow: making snowmen, building snow forts, having a snowball fight, tubing, driving around on the snowmobile trails etc.

All of the winter accessories that you get to pull out from your closet are always so exciting: scarves, mittens, that cute winter jacket, and of course knee high socks. I get cold quite fast during those brutal winter months that are drawing near, that some times I end up going out looking like Randy from "A Christmas Story", when his mother dressed him in his snow suit. . . not the prettiest sight, but at least I'm nice and toasty! (:

Sometimes I wish that I grew up in a small town that goes all out with their decorations. I think it just looks so lovely and festive. I've often heard stories from my mom that when she was younger the shops down town would decorate the square and Christmas lights would hang over the streets and walkways. In addition to the decorations, you'd be able to buy yourself a hot beverage, while you walk up and down the street popping into different shops or peering through shop windows to see Christmas toys and goodies [Much like in Christmas movies].

Growing up, my mom had the loveliest Christmas village that we would use to decorate above our kitchen cabinets, and let me tell you, at night when it was dark and that tiny village was light up in our kitchen, it was absolutely gorgeous and I wouldn't think of a better way to get you in the Christmas spirit. It was always a tradition to set it up together, but it took a lot of work and it was time consuming so I'd always imagine what it would be like to live in a place like that. There was an ice skating rink, a church, houses, and my favorite; a candy shop that made chocolate and/or fudge in the front window. Unfortunately, my mom now lives in an apartment and there is no place to put them, so they sit in a box in storage collecting dust. I hope someday in the near future I'll be able to bring them out and light them up at night like all those years ago. Just thinking about it brings warmth to my heart. 

So there you go, that is everything (for the most part) that represents what warms my soul throughout these chilly months. (:

What is your favorite Christmas tradition, or winter activity?

Much Love! Xx