Today, we are in the middle of a winter storm, unusual for where I live, but I'm loving the snow! I did get up early this morning and ran out to buy some last minute groceries. It still hadn't started snowing yet so my husband and I grabbed the kids and ran to Lowes Home Improvement to buy our Christmas Tree! We like Fraser Fur trees the best and that's what we got this year. 😀 It started snowing right when we arrived and by the time we left it was REALLY coming down. I took my toddler straight home, but my husband ran one last errand with the older kids. By the time they got home, the tree was packed with snow. LOL It's sitting up in the tree stand now with most of the snow shaken off of it, but it has quite a few blobs in the core, so we'll let that melt out and the branches to drop before we decorate it. 

Hooray! This is just about my single favourite time of year (other than the coming of spring, which happens to coincide with Easter) — although I don't start decorating or listening to carols or doing anything else too Christmassy until 1st December. If Christmas gets stretched out too long, it's not so special any more.

Gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Always on Christmas Day in my family. I haven't actually celebrated Christmas in person with my family for many years, being on opposite sides of the world, and I always work over Christmas (the work I do, caring for others in a Christian environment, is part of Church in the biggest sense as far as I'm concerned, so it doesn't upset me). But I will go and see my family early in the New Year, when flights are cheaper!  In the meantime, I have gifts to post to my mum and dad and sister — new recipe books for them to try out, so I'll post them well before Christmas! — and I will open my own on the 25th.

Real or artificial Christmas tree? Used to be a real pine (mmmm, the lovely smell) when I was little, but now it's always artificial. My current tree is a miniature wooden one made by a fair trade collective in Bali!

When do you decorate? As I said, 1st December onwards. Decorations traditionally come down after Twelfth Night, but I read somewhere that it's OK to leave them up until the start of February, which I did last Christmas and I may just do it again.

Favourite songs? Almost anything genuinely Christmassy, i.e. preferably with the Nativity in it! My favourite carol overall is possibly O Holy Night, but there are too many wonderful ones to pick from, really. Some fancier choral pieces with a Christmas theme that I love are What Sweeter Music (John Rutter), O Magnum Mysterium (Morten Lauridsen) and Lux Aurumque (Eric Whitacre).

Favourite music album? Didn't really have one until about this time last year when, visiting Carlisle Cathedral, I bought The Cambridge Singers Christmas Album — John Rutter's choir, conducted by him, singing a huge variety of ancient and modern carols from Britain and western Europe — and it absolutely blew me away, especially the old Latin carol Personent Hodie. Had it on the stereo constantly for weeks and can hardly wait to play it again (but once again, not till the start of December). I also have a few lovely albums of traditional English carols as collected and arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams, my favourite composer, which I'm looking forward to hearing again.

Favourite movies? I've honestly never watched very many Christmas movies — they're not a major tradition where I come from, and I don't watch movies or TV very much as it is. I've seen a few adaptations of A Christmas Carol, but none so far that I'd say are "the" definitive version. For a non-Christmas-but-seasonal treat, I do always watch the sweet little early 1990s animation of The Mousehole Cat, an adaptation of a Cornish folk tale set on 23rd December. And I'm thinking it's about time I re-watched the little 1979 animation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — the main drawback of it, in this context, being that it doesn't include Father Christmas!

Favourite books? A Christmas Carol is definitely my favourite Christmas story (apart from THE Christmas story, obviously). I haven't read it for a few years and must do so again this year!

Favourite tradition? What, apart from all the ones already mentioned... I love seeing all the Christmas lights in the towns and cities (we have some lovely ones in my home town here in Cheshire). Also, I'm helping to organise a Christmas hymn sing at my workplace on 12th December, with favourite carols interspersed with readings of the Christmas story, a bit like the traditional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, best known from the annual performance by the choir of King's College, Cambridge (it's televised every year as Carols from King's). We don't have any boy trebles to do an opening solo of Once in Royal David's City, mind you...  But I'm hoping it will go well nevertheless.

Favourite foods or recipes? Well, it was always a massive barbecue lunch where I grew up. In this hemisphere... well, roast turkey is quite nice, but I do now have a fondness for pigs in blankets (cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon), which is not something we had back in Australia. Mince pies are also good, but I prefer Bramley apple pies (very English). Oh yes, and every year Marks and Spencer (posh supermarket chain in the UK, as many of you will know) does a spiced Christmas tea, which I love and I always buy a few boxes of it. A couple of years ago I got in there on Boxing Day or soon after and they were flogging off the remaining stock at half price, so I bought enough boxes of it (it always has a long "best before" date) to last the next 6 months!  

Coloured or white lights? We always had coloured ones when I was little, but now that I'm grown up (sort of), I usually prefer white and/or gold ones — more sophisticated. Where I previously lived in Kent (south-east England), the nearby town, Sevenoaks, always had all-white Christmas lights in the streets, in the shapes of silver snowflakes and stars, and it all looked incredibly beautiful. I don't have any Christmas lights to put up at home at present, though.

Do you celebrate Advent? Not traditionally in my family, but I have a few Advent calendars this year. One has the Christmas story day by day (you can't get very many Advent calendars like that in this country, sadly), one has my favourite brand of chocolate, and one is a "Tea Advent Calendar" with a different tea bag / herbal infusion for each of the 24 days. (Only in England...)

What do you want for Christmas? Peace on earth, goodwill to men (or people)!!! Oh yes, and a new smartphone.  

EDIT: Apologies for multiple attempts at posting this. The formatting kept going funny!

Posted by: @fantasia

Today, we are in the middle of a winter storm, unusual for where I live, but I'm loving the snow!

Meanwhile, here in the far north (relatively speaking), we are approaching the end of November with nary a snowflake to be seen (we had some around Halloween but none this month so far. It would be the first November on record without snow).

Great start to the thread, SnowAngel!

I  tend to get nostalgic this time of year, remembering snowy Moonlit nights in the small  town where I grew up, and happy times with family and friends.

A newer tradition around here is local NarniaWebbers gathering at a Christmas tree farm to select a tree, take it home, and decorate it. It's great fun.

Great topic, @SnowAngel!  

Posted by: @stargazer

A newer tradition around here is local NarniaWebbers gathering at a Christmas tree farm to select a tree, take it home, and decorate it. It's great fun.

Wonderful idea! My question is, though, how do you choose to which house the tree is going? Draw straws; take turns; spin and point in a certain direction, then head that way?   Seriously, that sounds so much fun with the other NWebbers!  

Well, just in time for the Christmas season. I will go ahead and answer the following questions.

Presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

My family has a tradition of opening one present on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas day. On Christmas day, I start opening the stocking stuffers, and open the rest of the gifts.

Real or Artificial Trees?

We've been doing artificial trees for years (there's usually concern about needles dropping and sap dripping). Our Christmas tree usually comes with lights already set. We have different ornaments we put on, including a nativity, different angels, and even a Star of David made out of popsicle sticks. I also have a Charlie Brown Tree, where it comes as a set with a tree, a red bulb, and Linus's blue blanket. So it's kind of like we have two different trees: one in our living room and a Charlie Brown Tree that I usually set up in my bedroom.

When Do You Decorate?

I usually start decorating around December 1st. I kind of like having some extra time after Thanksgiving here in the US to get ready.

Favorite Songs?

I have mentioned on the forum before that my favorite Christmas songs are a toss up between "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Angels We Have Heard On High."

Favorite Music Album?

I actually don't know if I have a favorite Christmas album. There's so many to choose from. Though I do like to listen to Frank Sinatra and Handel's Messiah and the Nutcracker (classical music around the Holiday Season). Even though Messiah was originally intended for Easter, it's been played around Christmas time, especially the most famous piece, "The Hallelujah Chorus"

Favorite Movies?

There's so many Christmas movies to choose from. Hallmark Channel has been playing Christmas movies since October (yes, that's right, Christmas movies started playing in October). Yesterday, I've watched a new Hallmark Christmas called Christmas in Notting Hill, and William Moseley, whose best known for his role as Peter in the Walden Narnia Film Trilogy, starred in it. My reaction was, "Wow! Imagine that! One of the Narnia stars in a Hallmark Christmas movie!" Then there's also the classics, It's A Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas. Then A Charlie Brown Christmas, which features Linus sharing about Baby Jesus (that's actually super rare for a Christmas Special). Then of course, we can't forget how many versions of A Christmas Carol there has been over the years.

There's been talk about whether The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe is a Christmas movie. In some aspect, it kind of is. The Walden version was released in December and even the way it was advertised seemed like Christmas (the snow and the lamppost have been associated with Christmas). I could possibly watch all three versions- the 1979 animated, the BBC and the Walden around the Holiday season. 

Favorite Books?

A Christmas Carol, and the Christmas story (with baby Jesus)

Favorite Tradition?

I don't know if I have favorite tradition. One would be family gathering, and we kind of been considering to do a Feast of Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve. I am of Italian descent, and that's a tradition in Italy.

Favorite Foods or Recipes?

Cranberry Orange Bread, Peppermint Bark, Oreo Truffles (which are crushed Oreo cookies formed into balls and dipped in chocolate), sugar cookies, gingerbread, gingerbread cookies

Colored or White Lights?

It varies, though I use like white and blue lights, I can leave them out for the rest of the winter. Though you only get to use red and green at Christmas.

Do you Celebrate Advent?

I've done it for a number of years. I have a  advent calendar that has been used every year, where you open a door and it has you look up scripture verses. I actually did a Tea Advent Calendar one year, where there was a different tea each day. Our church has started doing an advent wreath, where each person would light a candle for each week of advent.

What Do you want for Christmas?

Well, peace on earth and good will towards men.

Posted by: @jo

Wonderful idea! My question is, though, how do you choose to which house the tree is going? Draw straws; take turns; spin and point in a certain direction, then head that way?

Sorry; I realized later that my reply was ambiguous.

Glumpuddle and his family host the event each year, and the tree is set up and decorated in their home.

And just as I mentioned the lack of snow, we received some later that night, just enough to cover the ground - but it's already gone.

We got a little bit of snow last week, our first of the year and it was pretty coming down in the dark.  

We decorated on Friday after Thanksgiving as usual, with an artificial tree as has been our norm for several years now. We got warm white lights for the tree this year and they look very nice, the white lights we had last year were way too bright and these are much cozier. Colored lights are on the banister with stockings and in a few other places around the house, which I really enjoy, and this way we have white and colored and everyone is happy.  

One of my sisters made peppernuts yesterday, the first of the Christmas cookies. A couple of the siblings had to go three stores looking for anise extract to make them the right way, last year I had to make them with almond flavoring and they were not peppernuts. I am pleased to report this year's cookies are definitely peppernuts.  

Currently Michael Card's The Promise is playing in the living room, love that album.  

SnowAngel

Well, well, it is Christmas once again, innit? 

Thanks for starting us off, SnowAngel!

We're still waiting on snow, but the chances are pretty good this year... this winter is supposed to be the coldest in 20 years for a lot of parts of the U.S., so I'm hoping for a blizzard of epic proportions. 

That's awesome Narniawebbers are getting together for Christmas! 

Christmas decorating has officially completed, as usual the day after Thanksgiving. This year I took some trimmings from the Christmas tree and am using it to "accent" my room decor to give it that rustic Christmas look. 

And once again, George C. Scott's version of the Christmas Carol is my all-time favorite Christmas movie, but I still maintain that LWW counts as one too! 

28 DAYS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!

All right! You know I said earlier how hard it is in the UK to find an Advent calendar that has the Christmas story or any kind of, you know, actual Christian theme? I do have one that I buy every year — it's called "The Real Advent Calendar" — but I have to buy it direct from the manufacturer, as none of the supermarkets here stock it. (One used to, but they don't any more.) Well, just today I was in Marks and Spencer — very expensive posh supermarket that I don't normally shop at, but I was buying some shortbread in a fancy tin for a Christmas gift — and I found they have an Advent calendar with a Nativity picture on it!  Not with the story included, but it does have little cardboard figures on the back to cut out and make your own Nativity scene, which is definitely something. So I bought it, by way of supporting M&S so they'll hopefully do this again every year.

(And no, of course it has nothing to do with me being a greedy guts and loving M&S chocolate. )

My Christmas tree is artificial and has multicolored lights with the small bulbs like those used in the 1960’s. I have ornaments mostly of birds and a few of lighthouses which are made of resin, pewter, and some are made of glass. I turn the lights on for just a few hours in early evening and usually shut them off around 10:30 PM. It is very nice to play Christmas carols while watching the lights on the tree. 🙂

I thought we were done decorating except for a small amount of greenery, but once the greenery box came out one of the sisters just kept finding more places to decorate.  

Gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? One gift on Christmas Eve, stockings first thing Christmas morning and then larger packages after breakfast.
Real or artificial Christmas tree? Sadly, we have an artificial tree.
When do you decorate? Day after Thanksgiving, it's only way to decorate for Christmas and fudge is a must have to complete the decorating experience.   We also always have chili for lunch.
Favorite songs? What Child Is This?, O Holy Night, Joy To The World, Hark The Herald Angels Sing, O Come O Come Emmanuel, The Promise and Immanuel by Michael Card, and Lowborn by Wolves At The Gate.
Favorite music album? The Promise by Michael Card, Christmas Songs by Fernando Ortega, Christmas EP by Ashes Remain, Christmas 1984 by Mannheim Steamroller, August Burns Red Presents: Sleddin' Hill, and all three of Sovereign Grace Music's Christmas albums.
Favorite movies? Top five movies: Stalag 17 (1953), Battleground (1949), We're No Angels (1955), Fitzwilly (1967), and Never Say Goodbye (1946). TV show episodes: Scarecrow and Mrs. King's The Long Christmas Eve (S1 E10) and The Six Million Dollar Man's A Bionic Christmas Carol (S4 E10).
Favorite books? One Shenandoah Winter and Tidings of Comfort and Joy by T. Davis Bunn and a bunch of kids books like The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
Favorite tradition? Fudge on decorating day, Advent calendar, stockings on Christmas morning, or the random gifting that happens at our home during December because someone just can't wait any longer to give a gift.  
Favorite foods or recipes? Peppernuts, fudge with walnuts, sugar cookies...all the sweet things.  
Colored or white lights? I enjoy white on the tree so that the ornaments show up more, but colored lights are a must  everywhere else.
Do you celebrate Advent? Yes, we have a daily calendar that's older than I am (definitely a family tradition), and usually a wreath on the table with the candles, but we haven't got the candles this year. 
What do you want for Christmas? This one's hard because I just spent too much on Black Friday going through my wish list.   But I am always hoping for another eyelet newsboy cap and more westerns, film or book, for my collection. 

Christmas is coming fast...just three more weeks.

SnowAngel

I work retail, so Christmas for me starts early, and by the time it actually comes, I'm tired of it.

But this year I switched to another store in the same chain, which has much less Christmas decor, and the sound system is older so I can't really hear the songs, and I have to say, I like it better. Not that I'm bah humbug but less is more in this case.

Gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Christmas Day

Real or artificial Christmas tree? Real one. But this year we got a new dog who is very active, so I'm not sure we will get a tree because the pup might knock it down,

When do you decorate?  Depends

Favorite songs?  The classic music ones, like The Nutcracker Suite. They're not overplayed.

Favorite tradition?  We like to walk around Seattle Center and see the big model railroad display in the Center House.

Favorite foods or recipes?  My husband likes to make creme brulee. For Christmas Day, meatloaf and mashed potatoes. This sounds pedestrian but it's the only day of the year I make it! For gifts, all kinds of cookies, scones, breads. This year I created a new sweet bread with raisins, cranberries, and nuts.

Colored or white lights? both

What do you want for Christmas? It feels silly to say "Peace on Earth" but really, that's it. But, for me, a sturdy foldable table so I can do my crafts.

Our local NarniaWebber Christmas gathering was this past weekend and was a lot of fun. The weather cooperated and a good time was had by all.

A house a few blocks from Glumpuddle's features one of those fancy computer-controlled light displays set to music that you can listen to on your car radio (I've noticed more and more of these in recent years). The 35-minute show featured a mix of sacred and secular Christmas music, and a few other songs that are not related to the season but were still visually impressive to watch in lights (for example, the opening song to the original animated Lion King). There were also a couple songs from Frozen.

There were several songs I quite like, including "Christmas Canon" from Trans-Siberian Orchestra and a newer favorite, Noel by Lauren Daigle.

We usually have a white Christmas, but with temperatures expected to climb to 50F/10C this week, we may be cutting it close.

I was going to start baking Christmas cookies this past weekend, but sugar didn't make it onto the grocery list for the week.  Oh, well, I will make cookies this weekend instead, although there is some danger in waiting...I might will keep adding to the cookie list.  

I started reading One Shenandoah Winter by Davis Bunn yesterday, I already have two books I am actively reading, but decided there was room for one more in the stack. I last read One Shenandoah Winter during the 2018 Christmas season, seemed like a good time to read it again.

I think I finished my Christmas shopping for this year and I just have two more gifts to wrap, everything else is already wrapped and under the Christmas tree.  

SnowAngel