Know Your Elves #2 Jude13

Loughc · 14-09-2015 12:40am #1

Here we go week 2 of know your elves! The weather is wet cold and miserable, the evenings are getting darker and the countdown is hitting the double figures we are moving along nicely!

This week I have the pleasure to introduce Jude13.

I'll kickstart with what is your favourite Christmas Movie and Song?

Jude13 · 14-09-2015 4:47am

Good morning all!!

My favorite Christmas movie is Scrooged (honorable mention to Home Alone, Die Hard and Elf). My favorite Christmas song is the waitresses Christmas wrapping. (honorable mention to David Bowie Bing Crosby peace on earth)

emmagination · 14-09-2015 7:20am

Do you have a certain date that you put your tree up?

Are there any Christmas traditions you have?

Jude13 · 14-09-2015 7:30am

emmagination wrote: »

Do you have a certain date that you put your tree up?

Are there any Christmas traditions you have?

Cheers for the q's.

I usually put up the Christmas tree (the last 8-9 years) on the 18th November. It seems early but for some reason I usually fly home to Ireland on the 18 December so to make it worth the effort of putting the tree (and all the other stuff) up I feel I need a month of enjoyment.

I didn't think I had Christmas traditions but it turns out I have two, one which is a new one. I hated flying (not so much nowadays) so to get my mind at ease I would copy and paste the Christmas traditions thread and Christmas Eve thread on to the ipad and read it to put me in a good mood till we were up in the air. My OH thinks I'm nuts.

Since I left Ireland about 8 years ago I always meet my pals in the same bar on Christmas eve eve (23rd). We all have done a bit of shopping and we have a great old time. We meet about noon and end up early (sometimes) so the next days is not too bad. We when are there we lash up a post on Facebook and people drop by who I haven't seen in years. Its great craic. The event invitation on Facebook has been running since June.

Glitzgirl · 14-09-2015 10:28am

Hi jude13 !

Is it just a tree you decorate for christmas or a whole house affair!

Do you have christmas dinner in your own home or travel to spend it with family. And if you had to chose, what is the Absaloute you Can't live without it, wouldn't be like christmas dinner unless you had it, item from your christmas dinner !

kitten_k · 14-09-2015 10:35am

What would be your ideal Christmas Day?

Jude13 · 14-09-2015 2:17pm

Glitzgirl wrote: »

Hi jude13 !

Is it just a tree you decorate for christmas or a whole house affair!

Do you have christmas dinner in your own home or travel to spend it with family. And if you had to chose, what is the Absaloute you Can't live without it, wouldn't be like christmas dinner unless you had it, item from your christmas dinner !

It’s whole house affair with me, including outside lights if I can get away with it. I have two light up reindeer for the hall which are wooden mesh with internal lights, difficult to describe, a few similar stars, foot high nut crackers etc. There are a few pics of my tree, decs and Christmas jumper up here somewhere. The main thing is candles. I got a yankee candle advent calendar which was amazing last year. The places smelt lovely. I also have a mulled wine on the go most of the time.

I cannot live without ham and pork products in general. I lived for years in a place when you cannot get pork products and even since my move to Dubai they just are not the same. So my honey/bushmils/mustard/brown sugar ham is a must. Plus loads of pork breakfasts.

Jude13 · 14-09-2015 2:25pm

kitten_k wrote: »

What would be your ideal Christmas Day?

Ideal day is a lie in, get up at about 9 or 10. Big Christmas breakfast, maybe some bucks fiz. Enjoy the younger members of the family playing with their new toys and the glow of festive cheer on their angelic little faces. Then a nice big Christmas lunch/dinner. Laughter and booze and then sit down to watch a great Christmas movie and chill.

The reality is quite the opposite. My mother still wakes us up at the crack of dawn, before any of the kids wake, she is Christmas mad too. The kitchen is manic, kids are screaming and killing each other. One of the dogs has swallowed a battery, another will be eating a candle. Wrapping paper everywhere. There’s a phone constantly ringing. People will be late for dinner, something will be ruined (hopefully the veg). Then it will be a crèche till the kids eventually go to bed. So many people in the house that there are not enough chairs and no one can agree what board game to play or what to watch on tv, but who cares, its Christmas!

mud · 14-09-2015 3:38pm

What's the best present you ever gave to somebody else?

Glitzgirl · 14-09-2015 3:43pm

Best realistic sum up of christmas ever jude13 ! Love the dogs eating the candles glad it's not just mine who cause trouble ! Had to laugh out loud when I read it

Jude13 · 14-09-2015 6:04pm

mud wrote: »

What's the best present you ever gave to somebody else?

Eh tough one. I got my folks a TV a year or two ago when theirs broke. Got the other half a nice necklace and flew her business class back out here.
I also got her a rare copy of her favourite book so probably that

Scarinae · 16-09-2015 11:01am

Have you ever spent Christmas abroad?

Are there any Christmas songs that you just can’t help singing along to?

What is your earliest Christmas memory?

If some eccentric Christmas-loving billionaire gave you a load of money with the caveat that you could ONLY spend it on Christmas-related things… What would you use it for?

Jude13 · 16-09-2015 11:06am

Scarinae wrote: »

Have you ever spent Christmas abroad?

Are there any Christmas songs that you just can’t help singing along to?

What is your earliest Christmas memory?

If some eccentric Christmas-loving billionaire gave you a load of money with the caveat that you could ONLY spend it on Christmas-related things… What would you use it for?

Yes, I have spent Christmas in Oman working a few years ago, I worked Christ,as day (half day). It's not actually that bad, once there is family with you. I headed home, cooked a big dinner and chilled by the pool. Had the AC pumping so the Christmas jumpers were on and had a fire on the tv.

Christmas songs, all of them. I hum them all months. Im sad.

Chessey but charter a flight to lapland for all the kids in temple Street, Crumlin and Holles street.

Loughc · 18-09-2015 1:45pm

Seeing as it's Friday lets keep the questions going!

What is your favourite part of the Christmas Dinner?

Favourite Christmas Eve tradition?

What is the most random thing that reminds you of Christmas?

miamee · 18-09-2015 2:18pm

Do you love some of your decorations more than others, like are there some that have a sentimental value rather than ones just bought from a shop cos they were pretty?

kitten_k · 18-09-2015 2:22pm

If you could only enjoy one part of xmas (the day itself or the run up) what would it be?

Scarinae · 18-09-2015 3:28pm

Santa Claus or Father Christmas?

What is the ultimate Christmas drink?

Who is your favourite on-screen Ebenezer Scrooge?

Jude13 · 20-09-2015 5:44am

Loughc wrote: »

Seeing as it's Friday lets keep the questions going!

What is your favourite part of the Christmas Dinner?

Favourite Christmas Eve tradition?

What is the most random thing that reminds you of Christmas?

Sorry I am mid house move so I was away from the net for a bit.

Favourite part of Christmas dinner is defo the Ham, I make it in a cider bath, drool.

We don't really have Christmas eve traditions, some times I'm in the car allot so I guess listening to the radio and spotting who's signing the same songs as you. Most of the time we are still trying to iron out who's doing what and when XY and Z are visiting with no ones thoughts matching.

Random things that remind me of Christmas. Usually smells, a yankee candle or something.

Jude13 · 20-09-2015 5:48am

miamee wrote: »

Do you love some of your decorations more than others, like are there some that have a sentimental value rather than ones just bought from a shop cos they were pretty?

I have three favorites one which would be taken in the case of a house fire. One is a ballerina which reminds me of my daughter, the other is two snowmen staring at each other (me and the OH) and the last and best is a star for the tree made out of a kitchen roll, cornflakes box and tin foil.

Jude13 · 20-09-2015 5:49am

kitten_k wrote: »

If you could only enjoy one part of xmas (the day itself or the run up) what would it be?

Definitely the run up. I generally fly out not long after the day as its all down hill from there sadly.

Jude13 · 20-09-2015 5:53am

Scarinae wrote: »

Santa Claus or Father Christmas?

What is the ultimate Christmas drink?

Who is your favourite on-screen Ebenezer Scrooge?

It was always Santa Claus in our house although as the years roll by Father Christmas sounds nicer. However due to the Denny advert Santy is making a comeback for comedic purposes.

Ultimate Christmas drink, we make homemade mulled wine from scratch, not a powder or bag of stuff (bar the wine). Trying to get the star on the tree is a mission after I have tasted it to make sure its okay a few times.

There was a old (BBC I think) version of Scrooge so that guy, otherwise Bill Murray.

Glitzgirl · 20-09-2015 10:30am

Would you rather have tins of sweets or packets of biscuits ?

If you could only put up one chrostmas item in your home aside from a Christmas tree what would it be?

Jude13 · 20-09-2015 10:33am

Glitzgirl wrote: »

Would you rather have tins of sweets or packets of biscuits ?

If you could only put up one chrostmas item in your home aside from a Christmas tree what would it be?

Tin's of sweats, don't think I have had a biscuit in 10 years. QS over Roses and Haribo over everything.

Posy · 20-09-2015 1:23pm

Christmas tree-

Clear lights and tastefully decorated
or
Coloured lights and as gaudy as possible

Jude13 · 20-09-2015 1:25pm

My house growing up had everything thrown on, the coloured lantern lights I loved. Right through to numerous colours of tinsel.

Our house though it has to be white "to go with the theme" I still don't know what the theme is so as compromise we have the main tree all sterile, I mean nice and only white lights. This then allows me to have reindeers and other mad stuff around the house.

washiskin · 20-09-2015 8:21pm

Hi Jude,

What would be in your time machine Selection Box?

Jude13 · 21-09-2015 9:32am

washiskin wrote: »

Hi Jude,

What would be in your time machine Selection Box?

As in sweets? A He-man bar, a Big Time, a weird coconut flavoured cafferys chocolate bar from years ago and loads of flogs!!

Al washed down with cream soda delivered by the milk man, does this still happen? We only got fizzy drinks at Christmas and the milkman took an order before Christmas and would deliver it. The cola he had was manky but the cream soda was to die for.

Know Your Elves #2 Jude13

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