Sunday 1 December 2013

Christmas is all around us...

Dear readers, Merry Christmas anticipation to you all and welcome to count down the days with me as I turn Music & My Mind into a Christmas calendar blog from this day till the 24th!

As Christmas is by far my favourite holiday – I usually start expecting it in September already – I knew that I wanted to some Christmas blogging in the Advent calendar style. One post for each day, that is to say. My initial idea was to share one of my favourite Christmas songs each day, but then it expanded as I wanted also to write about the things that I see and celebrate in the Christmas season. So I'm going to do both: for 24 days, I'm going to share a song and my thoughts. I'll make some effort to have the song match with the theme of the post, but if it doesn't, I won't sweat about it.

I'm going to start off with a fun Christmas tag! Feel free to fill in the tag yourself, either in a comment or, even better, in your own blog.

1. What's your favourite holiday movie?

Love, Actually without a doubt, though I have to say I don't really know many other Christmas movies... RENT is a close second; I guess RENT it's not "officially" a Christmas thing, but the story does begin and end on Christmas Eve, and the "appreciate each day you have" message goes very well with the Christmas season don't you think?



2. What are your favourite Christmas colours?

The silver and white of snow, the green of spruce and the brown of gingerbreads.





3. Do you like to stay in your PJs or dress up for Christmas?


I like to dress up nicely on Christmas Eve (because for some bizarre reason, in the Nordic countries we do most of the actual celebrating on the Eve) but change into pyjamas when we start to open the presents, which happens in the evening after the Christmas dinner.



4. If you could only buy one person a present this year who would it be?

That would be Mimi, my little puppy! She's only five months old so this will be her first Christmas and I know she'll be so very excited about the wrapped-up presents and will make us all happy.

Little Mimi! Isn't she lovely? Picture taken by me

5. Do you open your presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning?

On Christmas Eve, the Christmas morning isn't really a thing in the Nordic countries.

6. Have you ever built a ginger-bread house?

My sister and I did it a couple of times when we were kids, though we used ready-made pieces that we just decorated and glued together with the sugar stuff.



7. What do you like to do on your Christmas break?

Listen to lots and lots of Christmas music, just walk around and soak up the lovely atmosphere, read good books with something warm to drink, spend time with family and friends, light candles...



8. Any Christmas wishes?

I wish for snow and a chance to get to sing Christmas carols.

9. Favourite Christmas smell?

Fresh spruce needles.

10. Favourite Christmas meal or treat?

There's a traditional, warm Christmas drink up here in the north which doesn't have its own word in English but is sometimes translated as mulled wine. It's not exactly the same thing though. Anyway, it's red, warm and spicy, and can be alcoholic or not (I prefer the non-alcoholic alternative). In Finnish it's called glögi and the word derives from the Swedish glödgat, heated wine.


I'm getting the Christmas feeling in my fingers while writing this... So let's finish off the first calendar post with the song of the day: Christmas Is All Around from the lovely film Love, Actually.




Tomorrow's post will be about the things that I celebrate about Christmas, so welcome back then!

1 comment:

  1. I LOVE Love Actually! I want to record it off TV some day to um... rid it of some naughty bits. But for now I just have to content myself with getting it from the library every couple of years and watching it when the kids are abed.

    My favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas, though, and I also love It's a Wonderful Life and The Santa Clause. Some people consider While You Were Sleeping to be a Christmas movie too, as it mostly takes place around Christmas. It's delightful.

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