Behind the Blog #32; Traditionally…

Behind the Blog is a meme to help bloggers connect their life and interests to the content showcased on their blog. The co-hosts, Faye, Kathe, and Melissa will provide a different topic, idea, or question every week that bloggers can relate to themselves and the books, films, or other media they find interesting!

Holiday traditions are wonderful. They are unique from family to family and they can build some of the happiest memories of one’s life. What are some of your favorite Christmas/holiday traditions? Or, what are traditions that you hope to start in the future?
In relation to books: Are there any books or movies that you absolutely must see or re-read during the holiday season? Are there any books or movies that you’ve seen/read that have some unique or unusual traditions?

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Christmas has always been a crazy time of year for my family as there are two families to work around as my parents are divorced and have been since I was very young. This, in a way, has made the holiday a very family-oriented one, but that is okay with me and while it is often stressful, it is something that I find myself looking forward to.

The tradition in my family then, is that we spend half of it with my mum and her side of the family, and half of it with my dad and his side of the family. This is usually split so that we have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve and then Boxing Day, though that sometimes varies (like this year!) When I was younger this was brilliant as it meant twice the presents, two Christmas dinners, and lots of fun and games to be had. Now, it means that I have twice as many presents to buy myself, but it is still definitely an enjoyable and good tradition and it is nice being able to get all of the family together.

At my mum’s, it is fairly common for us to have Christmas dinner with all the trimmings with her side of the family. It lasts for over an hour as we try to break between starter and pudding – and there’s a lot of talking, cracker pulling, and sometimes a gift or two – during it as well. Then we make headway to the living room and end up crashed out on the chairs and watching a film or two. Which is the perfect time for all the adults in the room to finally give up the ghost and nap for an hour or two! It always goes along these lines and it’s usually quite fun and interesting. On some years, we’ve also swapped the film for playing fun games but it gets decidedly more difficult now that the grandparents are getting on in years.

At my dad’s, it is very different. We’d have our Christmas dinner and then it would be up and time to play fun games such as Cranium, Pictionary, and the like! Lots of time spent together, chatting, and entertaining. Then, when presents were all given, it’s probably that we’d all have one present we simply have to play with straight away and so we’d get off to it! But it is the food, family fun, and all the games we play – usually up to very late – which is something I look forward to. It’s nice to be able to get everyone together and joining in! (A hard task when there is five kids, their loved ones, grandparents and parents – among others – all thrown in!).

When I get older and start my own family, I’d love to incorporate both of these traditions into my Christmas. The meal, the film, the games, – but hopefully no need for double presents – and simply being able to enjoy the presence of my family. The one rule that gets upheld during both Christmasses, is that we never watch live television. We don’t watch the Queen speak and we don’t watch the news or anything else. Christmas is our day and we like to keep it that way.

how do you spend your Christmas?

As for films, there are many that I love to watch and read over Christmas. So many that it would be difficult to list them all but here are just a few of my personal favourites;

As for books, these are the books I have sitting on my shelf at the moment that I’m really wanting to read this Christmas (though, I don’t see it happening as I’ll be too busy! – one I am in the process of though!).

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