http://chixe.com/notes/ Chixe Thread: It just isn't Christmas without... en Fri, 21 Nov 2008 04:34:25 +0000 http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-102187 Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:20:47 daviddemchuk 102187 <p>Social anxiety.</p> <p>Twinkling lights.</p> <p>Overspending.</p> <p>Ghost stories.</p> <p>Sugar cookies.</p> <p>Tryptophan.</p> <p>Leftovers. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101999 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:39:55 shadowsun7 101999 <p>Lamb. Mint sauce. Dinner with family, and feel good Christmas music.</p> <p>Giving presents.</p> <p>:D </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101952 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:31:07 Rich 101952 <p>Annoying people singing christmas songs knocking on the door. Freezing cold. Longstanding family issues being brought back into focus. Being woken up at 6am by an excitable 14-year-old.</p> <p>Love me some Christmas. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101948 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 01:57:33 dreamweaver 101948 <p>All of these replies are great; I really like to see what "makes" the holiday for everyone! Thanks for sharing. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101931 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:10:52 Tyme 101931 <p>Being around the people I care about. All of the holidays are about that to me now.</p> <p>Of course Christmas wouldn't be the same if I wasn't cussing out those "some assembly required" presents... </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101819 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 05:56:39 animejulie 101819 <p>Going Christmas shopping with friends and hanging out at my parents' house on Christmas Eve. Decorating the tree used to be on the list, until the dog started knocking over the tree. The tree is now in retirement. It was always depressing putting it away after the holiday, so I guess I don't miss it too much. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101790 Tue, 11 Dec 2007 02:34:00 bloglily 101790 <p>staying up really late on Christmas Eve, putting together some toy whose parts get smaller and smaller as you drink more and more glug (which is not spelled like that, but the only time I've ever seen it written out I had already had so much of it to drink that I can't remember how it's spelled) that swedish stuff my husband loves. </p> <p>swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve.</p> <p>fruit cake. (Tasty fruitcake, in the best British tradition, not that nasty stuff that's studded with nuclear-colored dried/candied ick.) </p> <p>skiing! We always go skiing right after Christmas. It is such a good way to clear your head. </p> <p>singing in the choir at church on Christmas Eve. It is a sacred and beautiful time. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101712 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:13:05 Gnorb 101712 <p>It's just not Christmas without family, or my waking everybody up at 5:00am so we could open presents. </p> <p>I've been doing this since I could remember. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101678 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:24:58 Oli 101678 <blockquote><p>Decorating the Christmas tree with my sister</blockquote> No offence to your sister, Sara, but doesn't the tree look a little funny with a real person on it? </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101676 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 13:19:26 Sara 101676 <ul> <li>Decorating the Christmas tree with my sister</li> <li>Eating my way through the boxes of chocolates that Dad brings home from work</li> <li>Eating Panettone and Pandoro breads with my family while sitting by the Christmas tree in the evening.</li> <li>Listening to several very old and very annoying Christmas CDs that I loved when I was a kid.</li> </ul> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101605 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 02:18:06 JPhill 101605 <p>- A Christmas tree decorated like crazy by my mom<br /> - All of the holiday decorations around my parents house, again by my mom<br /> - Little kids running around the house when all the family is over<br /> - Lots of treats like cookies and brownies, etc.</p> <p>Those are the things that stand out each year for me. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101582 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:49:20 Ollie 101582 <p>- Untangling the lights while swearing that we packed them up very carefully last year.<br /> - And yes, finding the broken bulb while cursing very loudly.<br /> - Making and drinking Mulled Wine for that warm, spicy feeling.<br /> - Attempting to dress the tree without it descending into an argument about something petty and unrelated.</p> <p>I'm not much of a traditionalist and me and my partner just take the day as it comes. I guess the one thing I always do, and enjoy doing, is cooking the lunch. But aside from that, just taking a day off and relaxing. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101580 Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:02:52 carmodyarc 101580 <ul> <li>Eggnog</li> <li>Dad cursing while we try to force the tree through the door</li> <li>the mind-numbing never-ending search for that one lightbulb that's fried and causing the whole string to malfunction</li> <li>swearing up and down that this year we are going to replace these damn lights</li> <li>More ham than we could ever possibly eat as a family</li> <li>More alcohol than we could ever possibly drink as a family</li> <li>The sudden, uncomfortable realization that we are out of alcohol... again</li> </ul> <p>Oddly, all the Christmas stuff I remember and try to recreate each year doesn't actually happen on Christmas day. For me and my family it's all about the week preceding Christmas, that's when we have all our fun. </p> http://chixe.com/personal/notes/10052/p/1/#response-101577 Sun, 09 Dec 2007 23:47:25 dreamweaver 101577 <p>For me, it's just not Christmas without:</p> <ul> <li>The Christmas Tree Bread that my mom has been making every year for nearly 40 years (my entire life). It's a heavy sweet bread flavored with saffron and shaped into a tree, and she sometimes decorates the tree with dried cherries and other fruits. I make it now for my family since we're so far away from my mom, otherwise she'd still make it for us, just like she does for the rest of my family. The recipe came from Sunset Magazine way back when. My kids look forward to it every year, and my oldest daughter wants to help make it this year.</li> <li>Andy Williams' Christmas Deluxe on the stereo. My real father brought this LP home from Japan when he was in the Navy, and I've always listened to it every year since the time I had my own record player as a kid. The record cover was the kind that opened up, and there were pages inside with the lyrics to all the songs in English and Japanese. I played the LP until my husband and I didn't have a player anymore, and then I bought all the songs on iTunes and recreated it because it's just not Christmas without Andy.</li> </ul> <p>There are many other traditional things we do every year, but those two things are the absolute "musts" in our house at Christmas. What are yours? What kinds of food, music, or traditions just have to happen at your house for it to really feel like Christmas? If you don't celebrate Christmas, substitute your holiday! </p>