Holly Jolly Holiday Tag

I was tagged by Cate to do this really fun, 15 question Christmas blogpost. Normally I never get tagged, so I'm pretty excited for this one. 
Thank you Cate! *throws glitter snowflakes* 
(I can you know, I have glitter snowflakes, and multi coloured little Christmas trees). 


1. Do you start your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or wait until last minute? 
I generally start my Christmas shopping as humanly possible, but there's always stuff I end up getting past halfway December. 
I keep on telling myself I will do better the next year, because I hate crowds, but I never seem to manage O_o. 
This year I started Christmas shopping on September in Tokyo, because I was in stores that had the PERFECT things for some of my friends. 
And then I did some more in Lille in October and ordered some more online. 
I also made a few earlier this month. 
Now I'm stuck doing the rest, oops. Wish me luck!!!

 

2. If you could be in any Christmas movie, what would it be? 
Prep and Landing, because it's my favourite. 
It's hella dieselpunk, which doesn't hurt. 
 Basically, you can catch me shouting "It's so tinsel!" during the entire Christmas season. 

 

3. Which do you like better: Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? 
Neither, I feel like they are both too hyped up, mandatory and stressful. 
I kinda feel bad for saying this, but Christmas Eve is usually filled with some kind of last minute shopping, amidst rabbit crowds and Christmas Day is usually rushing to get to some kind of family affair or other. 
I wish things were a lot more relaxed, you know. 
Bah humbug! 
I suppose I like the lead up to Christmas, with all the beautiful lights out in the street, Christmas markets (on weekdays, on weekends they are a special kind of overcrowded Hell) etc, much more than actual Christmas itself.

 

4. When does your family (or you) put up your Christmas tree and who decorates it? 
Well, IF we put up a tree (some years we just can't be bothered) we put it up somewhere after Sinterklaas (December 6). 
Likely the first weekend after. 
And we take it down as soon as Bert goes back to work after January 1st. 
We have two trees. 
A medium sized dark green one (about 1,50m high I would hazard a guess) with all sorts of randomness in it. 
And then a small gold tree on top of a book shelf. 
This year, as you can see from the photo, that's the “kraken tree” haha. 
I'm generally the one that puts it up though, although Bert is in charge of getting everything out (it lives on a high shelf and he's tall) and getting the dust out. 

5. White lights or coloured lights? 
I like both. I guess it depends on where they'll be put up? 
Our tree is a dark green one full of multicoloured ornaments, and most are all different ones, so in ours coloured lights work best. 
But if we had a tree with a few “uniform” set of ornaments, we'd probably go for white lights I guess. 
If there were lights in my gold tree, they'd definitely be white, because its full of gold stars and very few other things. But it's too small for lights really. 

6. Are you guilty of peeking at your presents or do you like the surprise? 
If someone gives me a wrapped present I will put it under the tree and not peek. 
Family members just tend to randomly give me an envelope with money for Christmas though, and I'm allowed to open it whenever I'm given it. 
It's going straight in my (travel) savings this year! 
 Bert tends to just buy me presents and leave it to me to wrap them as well, so there's not many surprises going on I'm afraid.



 

7. Would you rather live in a gingerbread house or in Santa's workshop? Santa's workshop, a gingerbread house would be really bad to live in considering the winter cold and horrid rain we get here in Belgium! 
It'd be a soaked puddly mess in no time! 
That and, much like Cate, I'd probably wouldn't be able to stop eating it! That also wouldn't help in keeping it house-like.
The workshop seems like a pretty cool place, I could paint toys all day amongst the elves! :) 

 

8. Tell us your Christmas Eve traditions! 
My husband and I go to his parents, we have dinner there and exchange small gifts and that's it. 
Bert and I do have more Christmas traditions in general. 
I always visit at least one Christmas market with a friend and Bert and I always go to the local Christmas market in town together. 
And I always take photos of Christmas decorations in town. 
Just like I take about a million other Christmas photos, especially now that I'm on instagram haha.

 

9. If you could be under the mistletoe with anyone who would it be? 
We don't really have the mistletoe tradition actually. 
I think more and more people may start doing it because it is gaining foothold here, but we certainly don't join in. 
Do you guys know how hard it is to get mistletoe? Its pretty darn hard! 
But IF I could choose anyone to be under the mistletoe with, I'd pick Bert, my husband :). 
Admittedly, that's an older photo of us with Santa, because we haven't been to the Disneyland Paris Christmas season in a couple of years now. I guess we need to start taking Christmas selfies together in order to have Christmas photos together! :)
Who knows, maybe we even find mistletoe somewhere to pose under ^^.

 

10. What tops your Christmas tree? 
A battery operated star I got at HEMA this year. 
We used to have a solid star, but it always made the top of our tree fall over and that just looked ridiculous. 
So this year I decided to buy a much lighter model. 

11. Can you name the 12 days of Christmas? 
You know, before this question I didn't even know they had names. So no. 
12 days of Christmas is not a tradition local to Belgium I don't think. 
Or it may just be me, because in my family Christmas was never a very big deal at all. 
I did google them because I was curious, but I didn't get much wiser between all the song lyrics and historical and theological search results. If anyone knows the answer, do leave it in a comment please! :)

 

12. Have you ever gone Christmas carolling? 
Nope, I do see carollers out more and more though! So the tradition is definitely getting a foothold in Belgium. 
But we don't get them door to door or anything, just out on Christmas markets and then organised performances at venues. 
Mind you, I have a HORRIBLE singing voice, so me not going out carolling is a public service ;). 

13. Do you countdown to Christmas? If so, how many days left? 
I countdown to Halloween each year starting September. 
Does that count? 
 But Christmas, no, I can't say I do.

 

14. What are some foods and treats you can count on having every holiday season? 
The little stollen cakes they have at HEMA, candy canes and gingerbread. 
Also a gingerbread latte, but I've not had one this year, yet. 
Oh and Christmas cake! 
I MUST have Chirstmas cake! 
That photo is of a home made one my mother in law made a few years ago. She makes a Christmas dessert every year, but it's not always the cake. 
I have cake each year though, not an entire one mind. Unless it's a one person portion Christmas cake.

 

15. How has Christmas kept its magic for you as you've grown older? 
It hasn't. 
But like I said, Christmas was never a big deal in my family, so it wasn't that magical to begin with. 
Whilst I enjoy things like Christmas markets, and all the lights out in the streets, etc, I still think Christmas is a mass commercial holiday with little or no magic left to it if you're an adult. 
I do try to get into the jolly, festive spirit as much as I can, and it's not like I don't succeed, because I do. But it's just that I don't find Christmas magical. Not like Halloween in any case. 
Mind you, if I had children of my own I would put in the effort of making it really magical, so they don't grow up to be as blasé as I am about it. 
In any case, doing this sure has given me a bunch of Christmas cheer! 
I'm not gonna lie, I am super excited about doing more Christmas make-up looks and visiting three Christmas markets later this month. 
And I'm also pretty excited for my painting class' Christmas eve (which isn't on Christmas Eve exactly of course). 
I have plenty to be excited about even when I don't feel it's a magical holiday :). 
So it's definitely not like I'm not enjoying myself!

 

I tag Val, Bree, Dan and Birdie and Madison (you could do a YouTube version for Vlogmas!), and everyone else who wants to do this! 
Make sure to let me know when your post is up so I can see and comment!

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