I listen to CD’s by King’s College Choir and The Cambridge Singers during the Christmas season.  I especially like choral music for the holidays. There is something about it which is so appropriate for the time of year. Some of the best music also includes the Waverly Consort, a group which no longer exists, but the recordings are still great for listening. I attended two concerts by them years ago at the college that I graduated from. I am glad that I got to hear them in person.  🙂

Hodie by Ralph Vaughan Williams is one of my favorite holiday CD’s:

Hodie is Latin for “today”.

I also recommend A Vaughan Williams Christmas if you enjoy choral music.  🙂

Does anyone here still use the 1960’s style Christmas lights?  I use them on my Christmas tree, although the star on the top has the more modern smaller lights. I just wondered if the people here are as old fashioned as I am. I have an artificial tree because a real one would be a fire hazard in an apartment.

Here is an interesting history of Christmas lights:

https://oldchristmastreelights.com/1960s_lighting_sets.htm

@narnian78, my parents used to have some, but after moving with them a number of times during which the light bulbs kept getting broken, they decided to part with the lights. It was easier to get mini lights for the house and Christmas tree. Although there is something very cozy about those older lights.  

My sisters, mom, and I are having a Christmas cookie decorating party with several ladies from church this weekend and we are looking forward to it with pleasure. Last year, a couple of girls from church hosted us and another girl from church for a cookie decorating party, so we thought it would be fun to host them this year...plus a few more ladies that my sister decided to invite. All those invited are currently planning to come, so this year the party will included over a dozen ladies, should be lots of fun and cookies.   I am currently trying to figure out how much frosting to make and whether we should also have melted chocolate to decorate the cookies with...I'm lean towards yes.

This week we got a "new" turntable for my mom's stereo (the one my mom had was damaged in a move and couldn't be repaired) and are enjoying a number of Christmas records that belonged to my grandparents and great grandparents on my mom's side of the family. My grandparents gave us a bunch of the records last year when they downsized and we've been looking forward to using them this Christmas season.  

SnowAngel

Does anyone here have unusual ornaments? I have ornaments of lighthouses and birds, and they really look beautiful on the Christmas tree.  I even have one with Narnia quotes and some astronomy ornaments of the planets. Christmas decorations of all kinds are available on the internet. I generally prefer resin and pewter since they are not as fragile as glass, but glass is often the prettiest. 🙂

I recently did a blog post about a strange Christmas video I've come across. I don't think anyone's read it besides my proofreader. Would anyone on Narniaweb care to be the second? I had fun writing it. Here's a sample. 

It begins with four kids, Marie, Janet, Will and Eddie, decorating a nontalking Christmas tree at their daycare center for an upcoming party. All is not well. “Decorating for Christmas isn’t work,” insists the narrator (Yeah, about that…) “but to these kids, it was an awful chore.” It turns out the kids are sad because their parents have to miss the party due to work. In fact, their parents have to work so much they’ve missed all their (the kids’) last birthdays. “I hate elevators!” shouts Will. “It’s all the fault of elevators!” That…is a sentence. “Every time my mom leaves me to go to work in the morning, she goes up and up in an elevator and then when she comes down at the end of the day, she’s tired and worried and doesn’t even smile at me! Elevators keep taking our parents away!”

Animation Station: A Wrapping Menace, an Exercising Cat and a Talking Christmas Tree | The Adaptation Station.com

Wonderful!!!  😆 😆 😆 So 1985.

What was the name of that "Portland Department Store?" And may I link to the post from my blog?

@cobalt-jade You may. According to the Island of Misfit Christmas Specials (the site where I learned about The Talking Christmas Tree) the department store was called Mieier and Frank. 

The Island of Misfit Christmas Specials

This is another great collection of Christmas carols by the Cambridge Singers:

@narnian78 Splendid! I love John Rutter's music. 

We don't have any specifically Narnia-themed ornaments, but we do have one lamppost ornament that I adamantly insist be considered a Narnia ornament  

I've written another blog post about a Christmas movie, one that I genuinely love this time. (It's based on a book I love too.) Narnia fans might be interested to know that one scene in it reminded me of The Silver Chair, the part where Puddleglum says the man tied to the chair is probably going to be the death of them but that doesn't let them off following Aslan's signs and releasing him. 

The Best Christmas Pageant Adaptation Ever | The Adaptation Station.com

Alright let's do this

Gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?Christmas Eve in true German-Canadian fashion!
Real or artificial Christmas tree? Artificial
When do you decorate? Right after my birthday
Favorite songs? O Holy Night, Carol of the Bells and Saviour by We Are Messengers!
Favorite music album? The Christmas Sessions by MercyMe will always have a special place in my heart.  I also love A King is Born by Tommee Profitt.
Favorite movies? The Polar Express + Die Hard (it IS a Christmas movie, don't @ me)
Favorite books? not sure
Favorite tradition? my grandpa reads the nativity story every christmas eve before we open gifts.  I want to cherish this every year we still have him!
Favorite foods or recipes? turkey for sure.  last year we also made special stuffed mushrooms which were amazing.
Colored or white lights? Colored!
Do you celebrate Advent? Yes!

Posted by: @narnian78

Does anyone here have unusual ornaments?

We got a rooster ornament last year as a gift and we have several farm themed ornaments that are super fun. I really like both of my Snoopy ornaments which were gifts from my siblings.  

Our first Christmas cookie decorating party was a success, everyone had a great time and there was enough frosting. My sisters and I made sugar cookies, Swedish butter cookies with peppermint flavoring (I found the recipe in a cookbook that belong to my great great grandma, I don't know if she ever made them, but we enjoyed them), and oreo style chocolate cookies. Our guests brought gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies. I made buttercream frosting in three flavors; vanilla, chocolate, and coffee...and the coffee buttercream was a huge hit. We also had lots of sprinkles and mini chocolate chips for decorating. Everyone got a plate of cookies to take home and it was such fun to see what each lady picked. 

We currently don't have anything else planned until Christmas Eve, so now it's time to finish wrapping presents and finalize the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus. And get out the Christmas puzzles, I am so ready to spend an evening or two doing puzzles with my mom and siblings.

 SnowAngel

In Threads of Christmas Past I've talked about the connection of my father's birthday and Christmas in my memories. (He would have been 100 years old today! That still blows my mind).

HIs parents knew this and gave him Noel as a middle name. (Incidentally, in the '70s there was a razor TV commercial with the tag line "Even our name says 'Merry Christmas'" and I always associated it with my dad).

Now that my parents are gone, I appreciate all the more the things they did to make Christmas special for their kids.

I didn't mean to be depressing, just a little bit of introspection this time of year.

But on to the questions!

Gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? As kids, we opened gifts on Christmas Eve that were from family members, and then on Christmas morning we would receive small stocking-stuffer gifts from Santa. I appreciate the distinction, as it helped us realize the importance of giving as well as receiving, without destroying the 'magic' of Santa Claus. But now, my brother's family opens gifts on Christmas morning, and I like the look of excitement in his kids' eyes. 

Real or artificial Christmas tree? We grew up with artificial trees, perhaps because there were 5 small children, a cat, and a dog in the house. But real ones smell so nice. In recent years, a friend and his wife have hosted Christmas tree cutting and decorating parties for local NarniaWebbers, and those are a lot of fun.

When do you decorate? After (US) Thanksgiving.

Favorite songs? Far too many to name! But my go-to music for listening in the car (while looking at lights, or shopping, for example), includes Celtic Woman's A Christmas Celebration and Kathy Mattea's album from the '90s, Good News (especially her versions of "Brightest and Best" and "Mary, Did You Know?"). And best of all, they are easy to sing along to and I can belt out the tunes without worrying about others hearing me. 😉

Favorite books? Probably A Christmas Carol.

Favorite tradition? Christmas dinner with friends or loved ones, and driving around looking at the lights (when we were kids, my dad knew where all the good light displays were in our small town). Also, singing carols at Christmas Eve services. Candle-lit, a cappella renditions of "Silent Night" might be a cliche but it gets me every time). 

Favorite foods or recipes? All of them. 😉

Colored or white lights? It depends on my mood, but usually colored.

Do you celebrate Advent? Not in a high-church way, but in the sense of the anticipation of the coming of the day, yes.