Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Christmas Tag

Per.pri has tagged me for Christmas and so it is with festive joy that I respond and also tag a few of my other blog buddies in return to keep the tag going. Tris, Ally, Amanda, Laura and OC – consider yourselves tagged for Christmas; I look forward to reading your answers.

"When people say 'Christmas' you immediately think..."

Nativity and the school Christmas play. For some reason I have very strong memories of being at school and enjoying the anticipation of Christmas… the hours spent in the playground looking up at the cold grey skies and hoping that I’ll be getting the present that I’ve most set my heart upon (which tended to be Lego when I was a boy and still is Lego now if I’m honest). It also makes me remember the excitement of spending Christmas Day and Boxing Day with all the family at my grandparent’s house and the constant buzz of visitors and neighbours popping in. It also, rather annoyingly, makes me think of Slade. And Noel Edmunds. Urgh.

"Favourite Christmas memory..."

My favourite Christmas memory is wanting a Lego spaceship one year. It was way too much money for my parents to afford so we did a deal whereby they’d give me twenty pounds for it as my Christmas present and then I could put whatever other Christmas money I received towards buying it afterwards. I have to say that the thought of just getting money for Christmas was hard to get excited about and I recall writing off Christmas that year with a sad shrug. When it came time to receive the money I was told to close my eyes and hold out my hand. Sure enough I felt the feather touch of paper being placed on my palm but when I looked it was a fake £20 note as drawn by my sister. Ha ha – good joke. I was told to close my eyes again. This time the Lego set itself was placed in my hands. My face must have been a picture. Suddenly Christmas was back on again. Absolute result. Best Christmas ever.

"Favourite Christmas song/carol..."

This is easy: In The Bleak Mid Winter in honour of my gran who always cried when she heard this. And oddly Silent Night which always made my granddad cry. I never knew why it made my gran so tearful but I did learn why Silent Night upset my granddad so much. During WWII he took part in the North Atlantic convoys. One night one of the ships was hit by a U Boat and a lot of men were thrown into the water. Unfortunately due to the U Boats there was a black-out so all the sailors knew that there could be no lights on and no stopping to rescue anyone… the sailors in the water knew they were going to die and all sang Silent Night as their comrades sailed by.

"Favourite Christmas movie..."

Hmm. Quite a few. Traditionally Mary Poppins or Half A Sixpence come onto the TV at some point and I’m quite a sucker for them. Since the three Lord Of The Rings films were released during this time of year though they now have a Christmas feel to them and indeed Karen and I have just spent the last few weekends watching the extended version of each to get ourselves into the festive mood. Harry Potter is also a Christmas favourite.

"Favourite Christmas character..."

Difficult. I never went overboard on the Elves or the reindeers. However, I’m quite partial to the Christmas Carol story so I suppose Scrooge would be a good one. I have a soft spot for redemption stories.

"Favourite Christmas ornament/object..."

I quite like Crhistmas snow globes and have a musical one that features a long limbed Santa – he looks like a character from a Tim Burton animation.

"Plans for this Christmas..."

Shut the door, turn up the heat, and just enjoy being with Karen, Ben and Tom. We’ll get up when we’re ready. Spend the entire morning opening presents and then eat a luxurious dinner. The whole day will be one of chilled excitement – if that’s not too contradictory.

"Is Christmas your favourite holiday?"

I’d be lying if I said no. Especially now that Karen and I can enjoy it through our kid’s eyes. But I’m also partial to the summer holidays because I love the sun and love travelling to new places.

22 comments:

Rol said...

Thank you so much for not tagging me with this! You just made my... erm, Christmas.

Steve said...

Rol, as I always say: it's the little gifts that mean the most... ;-)

The Hitch said...

Steve
Lovely Christmas, just you the wife and kids, lets hope its cold (+:
Nice set of thoughts.

Good ham goes realy well with turkey, as a gourmand you probaly know this.

Steve said...

Weirdly Hitch, the wife and I (after watching Nigella boil a ham in her programme yesterday) were discussing the possibility of doing the same for Christmas... I don't usually beleive in omens but maybe a ham is calling to me somewhere?!

-eve- said...

I like snowglobes too!

Blessed Christmas... :-)

Steve said...

Thanks Eve - same to you too! :-)

Casdok said...

Lovely list! AS my son is autistic, when someone says christmas to me, the first thing i think is. Oh no, there will be no trains running!

Steve said...

;-0 Even without the trains I wish you and yours a very happy Christmas!

Glenda Young said...

Steve, hoping your first family Christams as a foursome is awesome. Crikey, that almost ryhmed.

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Hi Steve

Struggling to find time to respond at the mo', but thank you, I think!

Steve said...

No pressure Laura! I'm sure your answers will be worth the wait!

Anonymous said...

I like Silent Night too.

The thing that makes me cry every Christmas is that little film "The Snowman". I know he is going to melt at the end but every year I drip into my champagne as I watch it.

The lego story was very lovely!

Steve said...

Hi Reluctant Blogger, glad you liked the Lego story. I love the Snowman too - Christmas just isn't quite the same without it.

Old Cheeser said...

Some great answers Steve and YES I will respond to your challenge, in due course - NO PRESSURE! Not that I've felt any at all to date - lol.

Like you I was a Lego fan when I was a child and had loads of the stuff. Loved it! I think it's one of the best kid's toys ever - so much opportunity to be creative and inventive. I used to have two drawers' full of it under my bed and get it out at nighttime to make more wonderful constructions. It's a wonder my eyesight hasn't suffered as a result. Your Lego pressie story is very touching too!

I think there's a massive boost from having kids around for Xmas and it definitely makes the whole thing a much more enjoyable occasion...so, enjoy!!

Steve said...

I very much look forward to your responses OC!

I must confess Karen still kindly furnishes me with a Lego set for Christmas and it's usually a race between me and Ben to see who gets theirs built first! Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without Lego for me...!

MOTHER OF MANY said...

Christmas seems to have arrived early in our home due to the influx of Christmas pop songs on the video channels that Fiona loves to watch on TV.
Beauty is also fascinated by them and will come running in to listen even to the point of leaving her beloved computer. Greg Lake's I believe in Father Christmas was on last night and I had forgotten how good it is, the video whilst looking dated was also very good. Beauty was fascinated by the camels.

Steve said...

Hi Ally, from what I remember of the video it's also very apt considering what's going on in Iraq and Israel & Palestine...!

Daisy said...

steve...every year since my son has been born i give him a snow globe for christmas...he still loves them and every year looks towards opening that gift on christmas eve...i don't know how or why it started but it seemed to work for us...

Annie G said...

Hi Steve, this is a great post as usual. I was moved by your grandad's chilling WWII experience.

Steve said...

Hi Daisy, there's something about snowglobes that are very festive for me. I know I should be embarrassed about liking them but they look really beautiful amid all the other decorations. And they're always a good talking point too.

Thanks Annie, I think like a lot of war veterans my granddad carries a lot of ghosts with him.

The Sagittarian said...

Steve, I'll get onto this, can't guarnatee you'll learn anything tho!

Steve said...

Hey Amanda, I'm sure it'll be very educational no matter what you write! ;-)