Y'all, I LOVE tags!!! Seriously though, they're some of my favorite posts to write. 😁 I was tagged by Savannah, (and later re-tagged by Miss Special!) but it was originally created by Julie @The Midnight Wanderer.

The Rules

1. Acknowledge who tagged you ✅
2. Answer the questions ✅
3. Tag friends & notify them ✅
4. Fill out this form to have your blog challenge post spotlighted on The Moonlight
   Wanderer’s December Newsletter! (Optional) ✅
5. Have fun! ✅

The Questions

1. What are some traditions that you and your family have leading up to the holidays? And what’s something new that you want to try this month?

Hmm . . . going to the Children's Village to find the 25 elves hidden around the buildings and gardens. Visiting the Historical Wyoming Governor's Mansion, which they always decorate so nicely! Decorating gingerbread houses with my dad, and seeing what ridiculous theme we come up with this year. 😂 Playing Christmas carols with my music teacher and her other students

I can't really think of anything new that I'd like to try . . . there's a church here in town that hosts a Renaissance Christmas, which would have been fun, but we weren't feeling well at the time. 😭

2. What’s your favorite Christmas recipe, food, or drink?

Probably Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe-Joe's. They are INCREDIBLE. ✨ But I also really like the peppermint mocha cookies I made for ladies' Bible study last year!

3. Every Christmas is different, and some years come with unexpected twists. But if you could have the perfect Christmas, what would the day look like for you?

SNOW!!! I always want a white Christmas, please and thank you 😁 Me and my brother getting up early and sitting in front of the tree in our pajamas and opening stockings before breakfast. Later opening presents with Christmas music playing, and the cats wandering around during EVERYTHING.

4. What are some of your favorite winter activities? (e.g. caroling, sledding, drinking hot cocoa)

I'm not really an outdoor/snow person. But I do like attempting to build snowmen if we get enough snow, and I LOVE ice skating!

5. Do you decorate? How?

Oh yes, I love decorating! We have a 10-foot tree with a super eclectic collection of ornaments, and we string up lights all over the place. I have my own little tree in my bedroom. My mom puts up wreaths and swags, and I put all my Christmassy pictures up on my bulletin board! Sometimes we set up my brother's train set near the Christmas tree, and usually there's a little Lego village around the train tracks. (So what if I'm an adult - I still love my Legos. 😁)

6. What is your favorite Christmas song or hymn? Why is it your favorite?

I am totally gonna cheat here, and post both my favorite song AND hymn. 😁

My favorite song is "I'll Be Home for Christmas". It's so sweet and poignant, and very decidedly a soldier's song 😭 Recorded in 1943 by Bing Crosby, it reflects the lonely sentiment of someone far away from home who longs to be with their loved ones for Christmas, even "if only in my dreams". It's so pretty, and Bing Crosby's version is absolutely my favorite. 😍🥹

My favorite hymn is "Silent Night", probably because it's so peaceful and lovely. I think it was the Christmas scene in Gods & Generals that really inspired my love for this hymn, but I like pretty much every recording of it that I've heard. (I have a lot of hymns tied for second, including "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence" (chilllllsss!!!), and "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".)

And for funsies, here's a beautiful recording of "Minuit Chrétiens" ("O Holy Night" in French) by my other favorite singer. 🥰 (I know I linked this in an earlier post, but I don't really care - it's so pretty, you need to hear it again!)

7. What’s a gift or experience you’re really wishing for this Christmas? And what’s your favorite gift to give others?

Hmm . . . you know, I'm not really sure what I want for Christmas! I really just want everyone to be healthy and happy and not stressed out. Although I WOULD be quite happy to get nerdy bookish stuff for Christmas (like those t-shirts with book quotes or art on them!), or a Mary Poppins ornament, or anything vintage 😍 or more half-size notebooks.

My favorite thing to give is probably crochet dolls, because I have a simple pattern that's super easy to customize for any character. It's so much fun to give somebody a doll that they can't get anywhere else! I've created some for my characters, for fandoms, and for (very crazy) characters that my dad and brother have come up with.

8. Describe some of your favorite Christmas memories. 🙂

One memory would be the year my dad bought us software to create stopmotion videos, and while he and my mom took a post-lunch nap, my brother and I jumped right in using the new Playmobil people we'd gotten. They were terrible quality videos but we had so much fun with them! 😂

Another favorite memory would be from two years ago. That was a really hard December for me, but God was looking out for me and had brought two wild kittens into my life back in late October. By December we had decided to adopt them, and we put them in a cage (they'd been living in the garage for a while) that we took into the living room while we opened presents. That was our first Christmas with "the grumblers" as they got nicknamed, and they're now solidly part of the family!

9. What is your favorite Christmas-y book? Movie?

Favorite book is probably The Candle in the Window - specifically the dramatized Lamplighter version. It's lovely and makes me wanna cry 🥹 And my favorite movie (we don't watch a lot of movies) would be Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which I've grown up watching every year since I was a kid.

10. List ten words that encapsulate the feel of Christmas for you.

-light
-peace
-family
-joy
-blessings
-love
-cozy
-safe
-wonder
-childhood

11. In your own words, what is the meaning of Christmas?

Christmas is a celebration of the greatest Gift ever given - Jesus' gift of Himself, laying aside His glory to live among men and take the death we deserve. It's a story of incredible love to the unworthy, best summed up by the angels' message in Luke 2: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men."

You notice something: it's not goodwill among men (though the season should produce that), but goodwill towards men. God reaching down in love to guilty sinners, saying, "You rebelled against Me, but I want to save and bless you. I want to have fellowship with you in your daily life, and I want you in My kingdom. I give you My only beloved Son, the gift of forgiveness and eternal life if you will repent and believe."

Because Christmas isn't an end in itself, it's just the beginning. Ultimately it points to Christ's finished work on the cross - the whole reason He came to earth in the first place.

I'm going to tag the ever-enjoyable Journey Bloomfield for this one. And as always, this tag is open to steal if you're so inclined! 😁