BLOGMAS Day 11: The Christmas Memories Tag (Husband & Wife Edition)...

Welcome to Blogmas Day 11 lovelies! I actually made up this tag myself and thought it'd be a nice touch to also have Si answer the questions so you can see the comparison of childhood memories between me and my hubby :).

Feel free to do this tag yourself and let me know if you do it either via the comments section below or on Twitter (@GemsGemz86), I'd love to see your answers :).

1. What is your very first memory of Christmas?

Gem - My first memory is something that used to happen every Christmas Day when me and my sister were kids and I mentioned this in 'The Christmas Tag' that I did on Blogmas Day 1. When we finally woke our parents up to go downstairs to see if 'Santa' had been. My dad would lead us downstairs and the living room door would be shut and he'd always say 'let me have a look first to see if HE has been'. He did this for years and even when we started to grow up, as a joke. I don't think he wanted to stop, ha! This just stands out to me as something that I always remember.

Si - I'm not very good at putting memories into chronological order, but one of my earliest memories would be going shopping with my mom and dad in town and all the Christmas lights were on and there was music playing in all the shops. I remember choosing a horrible yellow jumper as a present!

2. What was your favourite thing about Christmas as a child?

Gem - Probably the whole believing in Santa thing and the magic of it all. I still feel that Christmas time is extremely magical, I get so excited every year, there's just something about it. I can't specifically remember 'believing', but I know I did and it must have felt amazing at the time to think that what you were told about Santa was true. I can't wait for my children to enjoy the magic of Christmas and Santa for as long as possible :).

Si - Everything. Me and my sister used to start playing Christmas songs in late October to get excited. I loved the decorations and the mood. I also loved how TV programmes had Christmas specials.

3. What did you do at Christmas as a child that you don't do now?

Gem - Leave cookies and milk out for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph?

Si - Apart from be sober? I do quite a lot of similar things to be honest. I'm quite nostalgic and like tradition. I don't stick a mince pie and some sherry out for Santa any more though, he gets enough without me feeding him too.

4. What do you do at Christmas now that you didn't do as a child?

Gem - Buy for a lot more people and drink mulled wine and hot Pimms and apple juice :).

Si - I suppose Gem's traditions that I've picked up over the years that I didn't do as a child, like having a stocking with some presents on the bed to open as soon as we wake up Christmas morning.

5. Did you prefer Christmas as a child or at your age now?

Gem - This is hard because like I said above the whole believing in Santa is what Christmas is about as a child really. As an adult I probably appreciate it a lot more as I now buy presents, buy food, decorate the house etc. Apart from believing, Christmas hasn't really changed for me. It's still my favourite time of year and I just love the general excitement that's in the air.

Si - I would say I preferred it slightly more as a child but only a smidgen.

6. Have you ever been away for Christmas? If not, where would you choose to go if you could?

Gem - I haven't been away for Christmas Day but I went to New York just before Christmas in 2010 for a few days with Si, but we were back before Christmas Day. I think it would be amazing to experience Christmas Day somewhere else, even if it was only the once. New York would be an amazing place to be on Christmas Day. I'd love to go skiing during the Christmas season too, maybe just before Christmas Day though.

Si - We went to New York for a few days, just before Christmas in 2010. We went from the 15th to the 20th of December. I've never been away for the actual day though. I would love to spend the actual day in New York. There's something so magical about New York, especially at that time of year!

7. What Christmas traditions do you remember from school?

Gem - In junior school, we used to have Christmas plays which were always fun to be honest. I used to love being in the chorus, singing and dancing :). There also used to be a postbox for Christmas cards and it'd be emptied each day and the cards would be given out. Everyone loved that, at the end of each school day, taking a pile of Christmas cards home! Oh and the Christmas disco. Junior school was great! I don't really remember any specific traditions in high school apart from we might have a few 'watch a video' days towards the end of term.

Si - I went to a Catholic school so we had Christmas mass at the nearby church, which as an 8 year old, made me incredibly bored. We also used to do nativity plays, which I love, but I only ever got parts like the donkey.

8. Have you ever seen any Christmas pantomimes?

Gem - Yes and they are great! So much fun for all of the family. I've seen a few over the years but I seem to remember Aladdin and Jack & The Beanstalk being a couple of the ones I've seen :).

Si - Yes, quite a few with Gem.

9. Be honest, what's the worst or strangest present you've ever received?

Gem - People are normally quite good when it comes to buying for me so I'm normally really lucky and of course, grateful. However, my mom especially but Si too knows that when it comes to bath and body items, I don't mind trying out new products and new brands. However, you know those sets that aren't branded and they have names such as (I'm making these up) bubbly bath & shower gel or creamy body lotion and that is literally their name, no brand or anything, these are items that normally stay in my bottom drawer until I'm desperate. There's something about them that I'm not overly keen on and they have so many ingredients in them too.

Si - No gift is a bad gift really. I can't think of any I've received that have been strange either.

10. When did you stop believing in Santa and what was the reason?

Gem - As I got older, I kind of just figured it out. I don't remember my mom or dad actually sitting me down and having to explain it to me. However, I do remember at a young age that I wrote a note on top of my stocking before I went to sleep and it said something like 'Santa, if you're real, please sign here'. Lol, it makes me laugh thinking about that now. In the morning, I woke up and there was Santa Claus's signature, blatantly in my mom's handwriting!

Si - Still believe.

Do you have a specific Christmas memory from your childhood?

Don't forget to like, comment and follow to keep up to date with the rest of my Blogmas posts :).

Thanks so much for reading lovelies!
Gem XxOo

BLOGMAS Day 1: The Christmas Tag...

Hi lovelies! I'm so excited to be doing Blogmas this year! This is my first year taking part, so I wanted to have a go as it'll be something fun and different for my blog :).

Through research I've seen that there are different versions of Blogmas, so just to let you know, I'll be blogging every day from the 1st of December to the 24th of December. I have already planned my posts so hopefully you'll all enjoy reading about what I get up to over Christmas, traditions, my loves etc.

I love reading your comments and reply to all so I hope you like my posts enough to comment, like and follow if you're feeling extra generous this festive season! I thought I'd start with 'The Christmas Tag' so you can learn a bit more about me and what goes on at Christmas in my life :)...

1. What is your favourite Christmas movie?

I actually have a few favourite Christmas movies. I'm not sure if anyone could choose just one?! I love Miracle on 34th Street, this is one I've watched year after year since it first came out. The Polar Express is another great movie, really magical and sucks you in from start to finish, to the point where you feel like a kid again. I love The Grinch, it's so funny, a real feel good, Christmassy comedy. I also like to watch Arthur Christmas, Elf and Nativity.

2. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Me and my sister always had this tradition when we were growing up where we were allowed to open one present on Christmas eve evening, before we went to bed. So we always used to open one from a friend and then the rest on Christmas morning. Our parents used to keep our gifts from them hidden away so it was a total surprise on Christmas morning but other gifts from friends and family were put under the tree when we received them :).

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?

I always remember when me and my sister were little that we'd wake up about 8/9 and go into our parents room and try and wake them up whilst opening our stocking gifts. Then when we finally managed to wake them up, dad would lead us down the stairs where the living room door was always shut and he would always say 'let me have a look first to see if HE has been'. We used to laugh all giddy and excited and then he used to open up the door and we could see our presents and we'd go running in. I even remember me and my sister had specific places where we would sit and our presents would be laid out ha ha. He used to try and keep that up for years, even as we were getting older as he knew he wouldn't be able to do it for much longer.

4. What is your favourite festive food?

I'm not a massive fan of Sunday dinners usually so when Christmas dinner comes around I usually really look forward to it and enjoy it as I don't really have those kinds of dinners too much throughout the year. I love cheese but even more so at Christmas time. Cheese always seems to be mentioned around this time of year. There's always someone in the family that will be like, 'ooh, we'll have to get a bit of cheese in for the cheese board' ha ha!

5. What is your favourite Christmas gift?

A trip to New York. This was an early Christmas gift from my hubby (after we were engaged but before we were married). It was in 2010 and he tried to book it as a surprise for just before Christmas but he was that excited he couldn't wait to the point where we were on the plane so he had to tell me a few months in advance. It was amazing though!

6. What is your favourite Christmas scent?

I'm not sure whether this question means scent in terms of perfume or a Christmassy scent so I'll answer both. Perfume scent has to be Gucci Rush. I tend to associate this fragrance with Christmas as I tend to receive it as a gift. It was my first designer perfume and I can't remember if I brought it myself or received it as a gift the first time, but it's soooo nice. One scent that stands out to me more recently in terms of a Christmassy scent is the Christmas Garland candle from Yankee Candle. It just smells like Christmas in a jar. Think real Christmas trees, pine and the outdoors and it describes this candle. It's gorgeous and so nice to have in the home at this time of year.

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?

I mentioned above about me and my sister opening a gift on Christmas Eve evening when we were younger. This doesn't happen any more as me and Si live in our own place now. As I've got older it's more about having some mulled wine or hot Pimms with apple juice and cosying up watching the Christmas soaps and a good Christmas film...in new Christmas pyjamas, of course! :).

8. What tops your tree?

When I was at mom's house it was an angel that she had since I was a baby and now we have our own tree, it's a star for the time being. Maybe when we have children we'll get an angel and have it for years like my mom.

9. As a kid, what was one (crazy, extravagant) gift that you always asked for but never received?

I was asking my mom about this earlier and she couldn't remember :/. So I'm not sure I can answer this as I actually can't remember asking for anything out of the norm!

10. What's the best thing about Christmas for you?

I really love the whole build up to it. From the end of October I start to get excited, as you start to see all the Christmas stuff in the shops, the Christmas adverts, Christmas songs start playing everywhere and people just start getting prepared. It's so much fun organising things with family and figuring out who's going where or who's cooking what. I love everything about Christmas! I love buying gifts and I really take notice of what people say when they mention casually 'oh, that's cool' or 'I really like that', even though they are probably purposefully throwing hints ha ha.

What are you most looking forward to this Christmas?

Don't forget to comment, like and follow to keep up to date with the rest of my Blogmas posts :).

Thanks so much for reading lovelies!
Gem XxOo