Alissa sent me a message saying she really wished I’d do a quiz. Well here you go Alissa!
Here we are in the last week of 2020 in the middle of a bunch of holidays. Let’s do a holiday quiz. Feel free to answer in the comments or if you’re answering on your blog please leave a link so we can all enjoy your answers.
- In my house we celebrate Christmas. It’s the same every year, I’ll call it tradition. We open gifts in the morning, eat breakfast, eat hors d’oeuvres, eat dinner, eat dessert and finally talk about how full we are. Do you celebrate a December holiday? What and how do you celebrate? Do you have traditions that you look forward to each year?
- Since most holidays involve food, see above, what do you eat? Bonus points if you share a recipe.
- From the time I was a wee one I have loved the awe that is the Christmas tree with all the gifts below it on Christmas morning. Do you exchange gifts for your holiday? What is your most memorable gift from your childhood? Do you get craft supplies among your gifts?
- New Years Eve will be different for sure this year. How do you usually spend New Years Eve? What will you be doing this year?
- Do you do anything special for New Years Day?
Here are my answers.
- Our Christmas has gotten smaller over the years. In an ordinary year we’d do Christmas Eve with the in-laws and Christmas Day at home. This year we did both at home. H joined us on the day.
- We’ve done a few different things for breakfast. There is no real tradition there. For dinner we have prime rib, mashed potatoes, squash, green beans, turnip and rolls. For dessert we had apple pie or pumpkin pie. I’m full just thinking about it.
- I got some memorable gifts as a kid. One year I got a bike and was allowed to ride it through the house (a small Cape Cod house that required I get off the bike and turn it around in the kitchen and living room) because the snow was so deep outside. another year I got an Easy Bake Oven. I think my mother regretted that one. So much mess for tiny mediocre desserts baked with a lightbulb. I do get knitting items for Christmas. I got a great skein of yarn and a gift certificate.
- Our New Years Eve has always been pretty low-key. I can remember my parents going to parties every year. That’s never been our life. We usually watch TV and don’t stay up until midnight. This year will be the same.
- Our New Years Day is pretty quiet too. Normally I use the day to get back on track. Get the house back in order, put away the Christmas decorations and maybe knit a bit.
Remember to leave your answers in the comments or leave a link to your blog if you’ll be answering there.
NothingButKnit 
1. We celebrate Christmas. No traditions as such. except that my mum makes her amazing biryani for dinner, and there’s lots of cake, enough varieties to please everyone. That’s me mostly, as plum cake isn’t my favourite kind of cake.
2. Look forward to being together mostly, as we, our parents and our son are in three different countries. So seeing each other after a year is wonderful.
3A. Biryani on Christmas Day. Then we go out for chhole bhature (fried bread and chickpeas) and chaat (Delhi street food) on Boxing Day because those are things we haven’t eaten for a year.
3. I love my Christmas tree. We have a large one in Delhi, but here, our flat is so crammed with plants that there was no place for a tree. I made do with a poinsettia instead, but don’t think I chose a good one. It’s lost most of its leaves already. I’ve earlier had one that lasted a year, so, disappointing.
3B. Presents were a ritual while our son was young. Not so much any longer. I usually ask for what I want and then it’s a roll of the dice whether my husband remembers 🙂 This year, I asked — and got — a fleece dressing gown. As a child I remember waiting eagerly to see what books I’d got, for that was all I wanted: books.
4. We used to party all night on New Year’s Eve, but we were young then. In recent years, we’ve been on a more placid schedule, just about making it to midnight to wish the family; in the last two years, not even that. The husband and I sleep late as a norm, so will probably keep up till midnight this year.
5. I make it a point to do a spot of work on New Year’s Day. As a freelancer, I believe it sets the right tone for the rest of the year.
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Yay! I’m going to answer here.
1. I personally celebrate the Winter Solstice with a nature or craft activity, and we celebrate Christmas as a family. On Christmas morning we open presents, and we usually have breakfast.
2. When we have a lot of kids at home, I make biscuits and gravy for breakfast. This year it was just my youngest so I made waffles. Bob made a Quorn roast with mashed parsnips and potatoes plus broccoli for dinner. We don’t have a traditional Christmas meal, but we bake cookies and mince pies every year. I have also started buying myself a Christmas pudding so I think I want to learn how to make that. Here’s my mincemeat recipe: https://headknits.com/2020/12/13/mince-pies/
3. Presents are pretty important to me, but I treasure handmade things and experience gifts as well as thoughtful purchased items. I did get yarn this year. I received the John Lennon Yoko Ono
Double Fantasy album the year John Lennon died, and that was special to me.
4. Sometimes for New Years Eve, we have friends and family over to play games. I can’t stay up until midnight, but I usually try. This year we’ll probably find something to watch and I will knit until I fall asleep.
5. For New Year’s Day we make black eyed peas and greens. This year, Bob is making chocolate silk pie, because I asked for it. Maybe we’ll make a second round of mince pies as well.
Thank you for posting a quiz!
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Do you celebrate a December holiday? What and how do you celebrate? Do you have traditions that you look forward to each year?
I generally celebrate Christmas, with some piece of family – this year my sister and brother-in-law. I light a candle as a nod to Chanukah. We have tree(s) for the pagans. (This year, there are three – one about 14′ high on the deck, lit to be visible from the road, a normal sized one decorated, in the living room, and a mini tree, living in the winter garden that’s the dining room centerpiece, with a garland and tiny balls.) We always have the handknit stockings hung by the chimney with care.
Since most holidays involve food, see above, what do you eat? Bonus points if you share a recipe.
We started the day with Lemon Pecan Sticky Buns, had Celeriac Apple Soup for lunch, and with only three of us for dinner, salmon was the main dish. A new salad was https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/kale-salad-with-roasted-butternut-squash-pomegranate-and-pumpkin-seeds – colorful and festive. My sister made Gianduia Mousse Cake – a family favorite, and with only three of us, it lasted for four meals!
Do you exchange gifts for your holiday? What is your most memorable gift from your childhood? Do you get craft supplies among your gifts? We exchange gifts. Mindfully. But my philosophy is that gifts aren’t only for Christmas and birthdays – both my sister and her spouse got hand knit socks this year, when they were completed. They asked for, and I’m making, a cover for their sugaring arch. I asked for, and received, a blender to replace the one I burned out. I have often gotten yarn at Christmas – the best was last year, when my nephew gave me purple yarn (the entire family knows I’m not a fan of purple!) – and then let me know he was hoping I would knit him some Baltimore Ravens socks! I also got a couple of skeins from a local shop, not colors I wanted – and when I went to trade them, they were on sale, so I ended up with twice as much!! I used some of it for https://kayak2016blog.wordpress.com/2020/12/02/completed-heelix-socks/
New Years Eve will be different for sure this year. How do you usually spend New Years Eve? What will you be doing this year? I don’t have a usually. This year, if the weather’s OK, we will go to a neighbor’s physically distanced outdoor bonfire – and will make it to midnight, Icelandic time. Or maybe Newfoundland.
Do you do anything special for New Years Day? Not traditionally – this year I’ll probably go home. Cuddle my lonely cat! See what kind of shape the driveway’s in – I left it still blocked with over a foot of snow.
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We celebrate Christmas Adam, Eve and day with various sides of the families. Then pick a day after for time with just our girls and my sister, plus others we seem to invite.
Bacon wrapped cocktail wieners and Taco Dip are favs. 1 8 oz cream cheese 1 can prepared chili, 1 package colby jack cheese, layer in order of listing heat however you like til cheese is bubbly!
I got a small barbie house and a doll washer and dryer one year!!!! As an adult the Mac I didn’t get until my birthday was memorable for the fact I didn’t speak to Hubster for 2 weeks! LOL
We started hosting our friends until we moved away, now a few families take turns hosting, but no one was brave enough this year, so I am chauffeuring my parents.
Watching bowl fames. Or knitting while Hubster watches. LOL
Happy New Year!
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We have Christmas but I can’t say we celebrate. No real gifts are exchanged, this year I chose a pile of books that Bear will pay for and a couple of things for Maverick. I do make a rockin chocolate pie – I’ll share the recipe on my blog – and I exchange gifts with the “dog ladies” who are my best friends. My best gift as a kid was a scooter when I was 4 years old, and a knitting kit that same year. I still have both of them! (Yes, I learned to knit when I was 4) New Year’s Eve is just me and Bear and a couple of friends with way too much junk food – this year another couple is coming, I want to have 12 to sort of eff you to the governor here but it’s just gonna be 6 of us – and we’ll play some games and eat too much. We’re so old!
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Before I answer I want to thank you for sharing yourself with the rest of us. I am struck by how honest we must be and how this is a gift to others who read our blogs. Thank you.
*Christmas eve was Santa arrival with presents as I grew up. Married 1982. No more opening before 12/25. Im surprised I gave in to Fireman so easily!
There was lot of alcohol at all of my childhood relative gatherings . The uncles we found the funniest, were the drunkest and we had no idea. How odd. but adults never talked about someone being drunk , in our home. For the kids, lots of cookies. cake roll ice-cream and ham.
This year,yes lovely yarn gifts and a book of sock patterns.
New Years: tradition now includes watching the Rose Bowl parade as Al’s workplace is on the Gift of Hope Float, early in the procession. Our favorite friend of hers
Lucy, is being honored this year as a superb employee~
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We celebrate Christmas. Traditions include Christmas Eve service with a crock pot supper of soup (usually) and then red velvet birthday cake for Jesus. We open gifts after a breakfast with bear bread and curried fruit. We don’t do lots of presents, but they are often books, clothing or gift cards to choose. Favorite for me have been shopping sprees at the local quilt store and my Mr. Coffee espresso machine.😁 New Years is pretty low key, we seldom are up past 10. We usually have cheese and crackers on New Years Eve and sometimes watch a favorite movie. New Years Day I usually start clearing away the Christmas decorations, but this year I may keep the tree up until Jan. 6 as it is still not dropping needles.
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Thank you for your wonderful quiz!
We do celebrate Christmas – how we celebrate has changed a lot over the years. Now my DH and I (and Mom if she is staying with us) open presents on Christmas morning, then snack and relax and Skype with other family members elsewhere in the country the rest of the day.
We don’t have any specific food traditions for Christmas. We usually have Christmas cookies, and have snacks. Most years I make deviled eggs, but that’s really just because everyone likes them.
We do exchange gifts. I don’t remember any specific gifts from when I was little – mostly it was books and craft kits, that sort of thing.
We usually have a quiet New Year’s Eve. When I was younger I would occasionally go out, but mostly it was staying in at home or at friends’ houses. This year I will likely stay up to midnight, but that will mostly be because I am up reading 🙂 I’ll be the only one up in our house.
For New Year’s Day we do pork, saurkraut or another cabbage dish and potatoes – Pennsylvania Dutch good luck meal!
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