Guest Post by Ariellalphabet

Christmas Traditions In The Carr Family And Further Afield!

I am Ariellalphabet of My Heart Lies In Film And Comic Books. I’ve been regularly blogging for roughly eight months now. I blog because it is the best way for me to talk about the things I’m passionate about and share my views with like-minded people! I blog mostly about comic books and films, but I cover pretty much everything that falls under the geekosphere, and I try to combine it with what I get up to on a day to day basis!

Christmas at my home has always been interesting. Because there’s only been just me, my Dad and my two kitties to keep me company, it’s always been a fairly small, straight forward affair. However, this year, I moved out to a big new city with two of my best friends to start university and to start a whole new adventure. As the Christmas season has been pulling up pretty quickly, me and my housemates have been getting into the Christmas spirit, spurred on by the masses of traditions our families all hold. Here are just a selection of the ones I’ve brought with me from home!

1. Christmas Music.

Like a lot of people, I am not a big fan of Christmas music. The chees-orific ‘Last Christmas I Gave You My Heart’ drives me crazy, and I’m not even getting started on ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ by Whitney Houston. Instead, I prefer older Christmas songs, but even more so if my favourite bands cover them. That’s why when I found A Very She And Him Christmas album I was overjoyed. Zooey Deschanel’s lovely vocals make the old songs even sweeter than before, and I love them. Also frequently played in my new house is The Fray’s Christmas album, and while it’s a pretty angry song, I’ve taken to playing ‘Yule Shoot Your Eye Out’ every year by Fall Out Boy. Another tradition I’ve brought from home is to listen to Sufjan Stevens’ five-disc Christmas box-set, where he does folky interpretations of a range of Christmas songs and a few originals! Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the amazing music I listen to every year.

2. Decorations.

Usually, back home, I’m in charge of decorating the house. Since my Dad’s not overly keen on the holiday period, I don’t mind taking care of it all, since I love it. The twinkle of tinsel bouncing off fairy lights, the smell of the tree, digging out all my old, hand-made decorations from primary school and the annual hunt through the attic to find all the Christmas themed soft toys I’ve managed to collect over the years. In my new place, we all decided to take the duty of decorating! After finding a box of decorations in our cellar about halfway through November, we couldn’t think of a better time to put them up, and now our living room is a tinsel strewn, star-covered wonderland, complete with an ancient table cloth for our coffee table. While we sadly don’t have room for a tree at the minute, I plan on getting a small one for next year!

3. Films.

If you follow me on my other blog or on Twitter, you’ll know I’m a big film fan, and Christmas is absolutely no different. Every year I sit down in front of the TV, mug of tea or hot chocolate in hand, and watch the Snowman, an animated short film about a boy who makes a snowman which then comes to life. It’s a variation on the traditional Frosty the Snowman story, but it’s been a part of my childhood and a part of my life growing up so I never miss it. Following on from this, I also watch Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas yearly as well. I absolutely love the songs in it, and it’s another childhood favourite, one that I enjoy watching every time!

So, that’s a selection of my holiday traditions, what are some of yours?

Thanks for reading, and have a merry Christmas!

Runs on Coffee and Cream