Christmas in July 2013 - day 11 / Jour 11 - Christmas Journal writing topics List 5

List 5 (From MHH 2009)


1. Eggnog----Yum! or Yuck? (feel free to elaborate with specific memories of tasting eggnog for the first time, making eggnog, always remembering your grandmother having eggnog, etc...)
2. Candy canes- lick?chew? throw away? --- Have you ever read the childrens picture book called The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg? Check it out from your library this month! There is also a DVD of this story starring Tom Bosley and Florence Henderson - maybe your library has that too!
3. Christmas Carols- keep the traditional or please write some new ones? ---Music is such a strong memory trigger, talk about how the music of Christmas colors your celebration. Are there Christmas songs that make you tear up, that you dislike, that remind you of a specific time or person?
4. Gift bags?- reuse? or never use? --- Wrapping gifts is a ritual for some people and a last minute chore for others. The invention of gift bags changed the wrapping landscape for some. Some welcome the chance to be greener and re-use, some just think it is holiday sacrilege. Where do you fall in the great gift bag debate?
5. Salvation Army bell ringers- admirable or irritating? Have you every been a bell ringer? or volunteered to be the "face" of a charity during the holidays collecting money or anything else?
6. What smells remind you of Christmas or mean Christmas to you? ----Smell is also a powerful trigger and can bring us back to a specific time or place in an instant.
7. Are there dishes that you only make or eat at Christmas? What are they? Maybe include the recipe and history of the dish?
8. Do you give charitable donations at Christmas time? Do you give to the same organizations? Do you choose different ones each year? Do you give your time or your money? What does giving mean to you at the holidays?
9. Friutcake- Yes, please! or not with a 10 ft. pole? Fruitcake is always on the grocery shelf at the holidays- are you one of the ones who buys it? Have you ever attempted to make it? If you always make it then include the recipe.
10. If you could spend your Christmas in another country, what country would you choose and why?
11. Do you like to entertain at Christmas? DO you have a yearly event for friends like an open house or holiday party? Or do you prefer to concentrate your celebrations with family?
12. How would you describe your style of Christmas decorating- traditional, country, whimsical, country, north-woodsy, child-like? Has is always been this style or do you change every so often? Does this style echo your style of decorating your home in general?
13. Are the arts a regular part of your Christmas season? Do you always go to a holiday play, concert, show, ballet or movie during the holiday season?
14. Have your ever been kissed under real mistletoe? Is mistletoe a part of your holiday tradition? Real mistletoe or pretend?
15. Do you consider yourself a practical gift giver or a creative one? Do you like shopping of a list made by the recipient or just your own ideas? Do you think there is a difference between a gift and a present?
16. Do you think YOU are an easy person to buy gifts for or a challenging one? Why?
17. If you have a pet do you include them in your Christmas? DO they have a stocking and get gifts like all your other family members?
18. Are homemade gifts a part of your holidays? Do you enjoy receiving homemade gifts in a different way than a store bought gift? Are you know for giving a certain kind of homemade gift - like fudge?
19. Do you have holiday dinnerware? If so, tell how you choose it, the pattern and why you love it!
20. Snow at Christmas- essential? a nice touch? a pipe dream but a dream nonetheless?
21. What was your most disastrous Christmas?
22. Tell about your feelings about Christmas Cards--- are they a joy to write or a burden? Do you have a ritual for writing them out? Do you look for a certain kind of card each year, is it a search for the perfect card? Do you write out a letter to everyone or a hand note in each? Does your Christmas card list change each year? Has you Christmas card sending changed thru the years?
23. RE-POST- How do you feel about Christmas newsletters sent by people? DO you love hearing their news? DO you think they are just "brag letters"? Do you write one yourself?
24. Black Friday- I am right there with bells on, knocking down the doors or I wouldn't shop on Black Friday if you paid me?
25. Christmas Stockings- tell about your families Christmas stockings.. are their stories behind them? are they homemade? have you always had these stockings or have you changed them- why? What are your stocking traditions? Do you hand them on the mantle, lay them under the tree? DOes everyone in your family get stockings or just the children?
26. DO you decorate things other than your home for the holidays? Like-- your office, your car, your aquarium?
27. Do you decorate outside in your yard and your home? Tell about the decorations in your yard and outside? Do you add or change to it year after year? DO you do the outside stuff or does your significant other take are of that?
28. When does it really start feeling like Christmas to you each year? Is it the day after Thanksgiving? when your tree is up? When the presents are all wrapped? When the family is all gathered together?
29. Do you have a ritual for taking the Christmas tree down each year?
30. Do you think Santa is sexy?
31. How do you usually spend the day after Christmas? Do you have a tradition for that day? do you spend it -Shopping? at the movies? with family? traveling?