Merry Christmas Tag!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

I thought I would add some Christmas spirit by doing a tag.

Just as a side note: sorry about the blog design going back to normal. After Christmas Day I'll try and battle with the blog HTML again!

Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year!

1. What is your favorite Christmas memory?

Hmmm...I always love thinking back to when I was really little, and I believed in Santa (I was informed when I was 5 of the truth!) and we used to leave a mince pie out for Santa and a carrot for Rudolf. Santa would always leave us a note and I used to get so excited!

2. What is your favourite Christmas tradition?

Advent candles with chocolates, cup of tea and the Christmas story on the nights leading up to Christmas.

3. Do you do Christmas baking? If so, post one of your recipes.

I’m not very good at that sort of stuff, but my sister makes a mean golden syrup pudding. So good. Do you all really want the recipe?

4. Do you send out Christmas cards? If so, are they store-bought, or home-made? Do you like to use 'cute' ones, 'inspirational' ones, 'elegant' ones, or combinations? 

Yes, we do send out Christmas cards; usually we make about 30 home-made ones. I tend to go for cute and elegant. Do they even go together?!

5. What is your favorite Christmas song or carol, and why?

I love O Come O Come Emmanuel. The way this family does it is so super cool. I think it’s done a little too fast, but its blue-grass and I l.o.v.e it.

I love the song because it’s so focused on Jesus saving us and what He came to Earth for rather than focusing on the baby.  

6. Do you go somewhere for Christmas or stay home?

Well, to say truth, we have been all over at Christmas time. In New Zealand (North and South Islands), in Australia, in England, in a house-bus, in a half-made house, in a friend’s house and lots of other places. To me, it’s wherever my family is.

7. Do you usually have guests for Christmas?

Well, in NZ we usually had someone staying with us for a long period of time, so I guess we did. And at other times we either invited others or just had a family Christmas.

8. Do you do volunteer or charity work of some kind at Christmas? If so, tell what, and some of the lessons or memories you've gotten from the experience.

No, we don’t usually do charity work at Christmas; if you’re gonna do charity work you can do it all year round, not just at Christmas!

9. Do you give gifts at Christmas? If so, are they store-bought, home-made, or a combination? Which do you like to give best? Which would you rather receive? Why?

We used to give a lot of gifts when we were little, but now we don’t really do them. Sometimes we do little gifts and usually they are store-bought. But I love receiving home-made gifts! It shows that a lot of time and effort was put in to the gift. However, if someone was to buy me a store-bought gift, it wouldn’t make me think any less of them!

10. Do you use a Christmas tree as part of your decorating? Why or why not (give specifics)?

Yes, we do Christmas trees! I think they look pretty and they are so much fun to decorate. If I had to go without a Christmas tree one year though, I wouldn’t mind all that much.

11. Do you get snow where you live? If so, what are your favorite snow-related activities? Why? If not, what do you imagine your favorites would be, and why?

Wow, all these questions! In NZ we didn’t get snow at Christmas, seeing as it is a summer Christmas. But here in England, we do get snow and this year we had A LOT of it. My fave thing to do with/in the snow is take pictures. So picturesque!

12. What is your favorite Christmas story? Please post it if you have access to a copy.

The ultimate Christmas story....Jesus is born of a virgin to save the world of its sins.

13. Is your birthday also in December? Do you know someone who's birthday is in December? If so, is an effort made to make it special and separate from the Christmas celebrations? If so, what are some of the ways you/they accomplish this?

I don’t have a b-day in December, and I don’t know anyone who does either...accept one! But she has gone away and won’t be here for her b-day:-(

14. What are your favorite Christmas/Winter color combinations? (Ex.: Red and Green, Red and Black and White, Red and Gold, Green and Gold, White and Silver, etc.)

Hmmm....I love blue and silver/white and I love white and gold. So pretty!

15. Are there some special ways you focus on Christ at Christmas?

Yes, we don’t focus on presents and try and focus on why we celebrate Christmas every year = Jesus.

We praise God through Carols!

This tag is for anyone who wants to do it and feels like answering some Christmas-sy questions!