Hello!
Welcome to Blogmas everyone!
If you’re new to my blog, Blogmas is a way to blog throughout holiday season. Some bloggers like to do the entire month of December or stop on Christmas Eve or day. I tend to follow my regular blog schedule which is Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and that’s what I’m doing again this year.
And every year I usually do a wrap up of previous blog posts and the infamous Christmas Tag at the start of the month, but for 2023, I’ve decided to combine these posts in one post. This has become part of my tradition with Blogmas, so if anyone is struggling with ideas, you can do these posts too!
A Little Wrap Up – click here.
This post is like this one but has everything I discussed in 2021. These are actually great because you have a record of ideas you have done in the past. It’s also fun to look back on what you were interested back then too.
The Christmas Tag (2022) – click here.
This is a tag or survey I found back in 2014, I think. I’ve tried to do it every year, and for this year I’ve decided to include it at the bottom; I’m also taking out a few of the questions because I feel like I repeat my words every year, so this edition would be better to read as it will have ALL of the questions included.
Our Advent Calendars – click here.
I absolutely love advent calendars, and last year I found one that had mini holiday ornaments, and my nephew enjoyed it so much! Anytime he came over, he was excited to see what kind of ornament character would be next. He didn’t necessarily like the fact that we didn’t have anything to do after Christmas, but we told him we’d find him another one for next Christmas.
Spoiler alert: My mom found a 12-day calendar last year by Crayola for like $20 at Walmart after Christmas or NYE. We’ve been hiding it in the back of my closet for 13 months! I am so excited to see what he thinks about it, and the crafts we will be doing in those days leading up to Christmas.
Annual Holiday DIY Project – click here.
Another tradition I do is some kind of DIY project to give away to family and friends. I’ve done this every year, and I’d started them with my nana before she moved up north a few years ago. Afterwards, I began to do them alone for several years, like for this post. However, I have a new partner in crime this year as Nolan and I are doing a mixture of Gnomes and Reindeer ornaments. I’m so excited to share more about that project later in the month. I like to wait until the week of Christmas to publish this because majority of people have received their gift by then.
Games for the Holidays! – click here.
Last year I thought about what kind of games Nolan, and I could play. I mean, at the time I wrote the post, he had conquered Screamo easily, so my mom and I really thought about what would challenge him and of course have fun with Aunt Meg too. So, if you are curious about how a young child ranging in 4-8 years would finding interesting, click the link above and enjoy yourself!
Album Review: “Snow Waltz” by Lindsey Stirling – click here.
Whenever it is the holiday season, I really love sharing “odd” takes of beloved Christmas music, and for 2022, I chose Lindsey Stirling’s second holiday album, “Snow Waltz” and it was so beautiful, but comparing it to the previous which was called, “Warmer in the Winter” that came out in 2018. I’ve also reviewed that album and you can find that post here.
Depending on my schedule for December, I would like to do at least one holiday album, I’m not sure who’s it would be, but keep an eye out for that review. If you have suggestions of recently released holiday music, please let me know in the comments or on Facebook, Twitter and/or IG.
Top 7 Books of 2022! – click here.
The week of Christmas are usually full of blog posts that discuss my favorites of the year. As my annual reading goal continues to get higher, it is almost impossible to limit my favorites under ten or less, but I was able to figure out my top seven for 2022, and I’m still shocked by it, but I am allowing myself to go big this year, and as of now, I’ve decided on 16 books. We’ll see by the time this post goes live and to see the end results.
December Playlist – click here.
For my monthly playlist, it is the final post of Blogmas and is usually published on the last day prior to Christmas so I can enjoy being around family and hopefully rest up to begin my 2024 posts if I decide to do so. I’ll definitely give you a formal post on what I chose to do next year.
This playlist will have everything I listened to throughout the month of December. I don’t limit on how many Christmas songs or what I’m currently listening to at that point. Here are my Top 6 songs in last year’s playlist.
Now that we are done with that, let’s get into ‘The Christmas Tag’ for 2023. If you missed it, I said at the top, I was going to remove some of the “annoying” questions on the list. In my 2022 version, you will find all of the questions and my answers to them. If you are interested in participating with the tag, but do not have a blog, you share them in the comments below.
What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season?
I’d love to visit European countries that create Christmas Markets. I’ve seen many photos and vlogs about the impressive light displays and all of the food and sweets that come out of the colder months. I’d still like to visit London or Burges, Belgium as they both have wonderful reputations of creating very large festive markets, but I think it would be neat to visit a true Christmas market in Germany. My nana’s biological family is from there and I’d like to see the Christmas markets there and experience it as part of my familial tradition.
Favorite Christmas books?
I did change this question a bit, instead of talking about my favorite movie, I switched it to my favorite Christmas books. The end of November is usually when I’m heading into the last bit of my yearly reading goal, so I tend to check out various Christmas books.
However, I’d probably get on the Naughty list quickly, because I tend to enjoy the graphic romance books set around the holidays. I don’t feel bad about it, so I thought if you’re wanting to change up your Christmas reading material this you can check these books out. All links are fixed for each book; two are available on Kindle Unlimited (Alexis Winter & Melanie Karsak) while the other isn’t (Kennedy Fox).
A Very Bossy Christmas: An Enemies to Lovers by Alexis Winter
The Best of Us: A Best Friend’s Brother, Snowed-In Romance by Kennedy Fox
Shield-Maiden: Winternights Gambit A Shadows of Valhalla Prequel (The Shadows of Valhalla) by Melanie Karsak
Are you on the Naughty or Nice list?
Honestly, I think I’ve done very well this year. Of course, if you’ve just read the question above, I guess a few of you would believe I belong on the Naughty list…
Have you ever had a white Christmas?
Yes, but I doubt we will have one this year. I could be wrong though; the Midwest tend to get hit with unpredictable snowstorms in the past. Our snow usually comes late December, right around New Years.
I’d like it to snow this year so my niece and nephew can enjoy the beauty of fresh white snow around the holidays. Whether or not they’d get to actually play in it is a bit up in the air, but still, it would be interesting to see their faces, especially Kimber’s, since she is a year old now.
Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve?
It really depends on schedules. Last year we had Nolan on Christmas morning, and this year we had him for Thanksgiving, so it’ll either be on Christmas Eve or after Christmas. I will probably have to wait as that’s part of my tradition with my folks. Even though my sister does not live with us anymore, our parents can’t help themselves and barely make it to Christmas day in the first place. So, it is perfectly expectable to wake up before 7am, unwrap presents, eat breakfast and take a nap afterwards!
What holiday tradition are you looking forward to most this year?
I really enjoy doing advent calendars. Ever since I bought that Harry Potter advent calendar a couple of years ago, my parents became obsessed with it, even though neither one has read the books or watched the films (although I am still trying to get them to watch at least one, but no luck yet!).
Last year, we found a calendar of mini Christmasy ornaments, that actually fit really good on my little tree. My nephew Nolan LOVED this! My mom thinks I need to find another one like it, but I’ve run out of room on my tree, and we have another one for him I think he will enjoy just the same.
Hands down, what is your favorite all-time Christmas food and/or sweet treat?
I really love cinnamon rolls Christmas morning. There are times where I like a savory and a sweet breakfast. My mom knows this, so every other Christmas she will surprise me with orange rolls. They are kind of the same, but the flavor is straight orange and they are so good! However, my folks disagree, which is interesting because they both love orange flavored foods, but this is too much for them. I’ve never been able to understand it.
Be honest: do you like giving or receiving gifts better?
I definitely love creating homemade little things and then giving them away to close family and friends. I do miss making them with my nana, but I know she loves the fact that Nolan has been doing them with me. I am constantly transported back to my childhood whenever my nana would be adventurous and be fine with a good chunk of her kitchen flooring being covered in silver glitter around her side of the kitchen table…
Fun fact: when my mom allowed Nolan and I to paint pumpkins for Halloween, she accidently found that exact bottle of glitter in one of the bags of paint my nana gave me before she moved a few years ago. He LOVES glitter and my mom does not; she wouldn’t let me use it on crafts after I went solo. My mother’s face was hilarious as she instantly regretted the whole thing!
Are you a pro-wrapper or do you fail miserably?
Thanks to journaling, I’m able to get better at folding paper and lining everything up. I never thought I’d ever get to this point, but I find it somewhat oddly interesting fact.
Most memorable Christmas moment
Last year, it was so cute of my nephew helping me decorate my Christmas tree and making it look as pretty as the family tree in the living room. He was asking what this one was and why there were mini photos of Aunt Meg and Mommy in miniature Christmas tree ornaments… We don’t realize how much Nolan looks like my sister until these types of photos pop up. We have said he looks like his daddy, but really, he looks like his mom with all of his facial expressions.!
What makes Christmas special for you?
I remember watching my parents and aunts, and uncles open their presents at my nana and papaw’s house and roughly half the time they were opening an envelope. I was always terrified by this, because the kids would get toys and clothes (although most of us never thought of clothes as a great gift!) and the adults would receive this little envelope.
Now as an “adult” I am part of that, but I still get books, journaling stuff, and new clothes, but I’m watching my little niece and nephew get excited about their gifts, I am able to look at my childhood differently, I remember the joy of peeking what was under the tree and finding the ones with my name on them. Nolan passed out our presents last year and he was thrilled to do it. He was excited when he saw his stuff, but I think he enjoyed seeing papaw receive gifts from Santa Claus as well.
Kimber isn’t old enough to understand the spirit of Christmas, and I love being able to show it to her. I am going to have my feet (hands, haha!) full in a couple of years because I’m going to have two little helpers with my DIY projects. I’m excited about it, but I’m also prepared to not participate in Blogmas in the future. By the time Kimber is three, they’ll be fighting over days and projects with Aunt Meg and I’m semi-ready for it.
Well, that’s it for this post.
I know there was a lot of content. I can’t say it would’ve been better if I’d keep them separate, because you all should know I like to ramble and I have failed miserably on trying to subdue that trait. Anyways, I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
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