Christmas Meme

Therese from Aussie Coffee Shop has tagged me for this Christmas Meme.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial. We used to have a real but it was always a stress hoping it would survive until the Epiphany.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Often the First Week of Advent, although last year we put it up on Gaudette Sunday. We decorate with purple for Advent and on Christmas Eve we will replace the purple with the Christmas decorations.

4. When do you take the tree down?
The Feast of the Epiphany.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I've never had it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
A bike I received the Christmas I was 8. I treasured that bike and looked after it, it survived for years. One of my memories is my father riding my bike down the street in his pajamas on Christmas morning.

7. Do you have a Nativity scene?
Several, two main ones and the children are slowly receiving their own.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband. He likes surprises and everything I think of is pricey and I need to discuss budget with him.

9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
When I was a teenager my mother gave me sheets. They were green.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail, although I tend to do a Christmas newsletter.

11. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Don't really have one.

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I always have good intentions to have it all done by Advent but it never happens.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
I don't think so.

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Salad and variety of cold meats. Oh and Pavlova.

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Both.

16. Favorite Christmas song?
Away in a Manger

17. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We used to travel then as the number of children grew we stayed at home. This year we will travel though.

18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen and Comet and Cupid, Donder and Blitzen and Rudolph.

19. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel.

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Christmas morning.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The rush

22. Best thing about this time of year?
The Celebration of Christ's Birth.

I tagg Basia at Lifelong Learning and Fe at the Genial Hearth

Feast of St Barbara

Yesterday was the Feast of St Barbara. We celebrated this Feast by making a 'Tower' a tradition we introduced a couple of years ago told to me by my dear friend Anna. Anna has many traditions her family keeps, many of their traditions come from a little Italian village where she spent some of her childhood years. This idea came originally from that Italian village, Zolli in the Avellino Province of Italy.




We built a chocolate tower with red lollies in the center. The tower represents the tower St Barbara was locked in, the red lollies the blood of her martyrdom. The children close their eyes/are blindfolded and take turns hitting the tower like a pinata.





To make the tower we broke a large bar of chocolate into 4 strips and then we melted cooking chocolate to help mold and glue the 'strips' into a tower. Then we filled the center with red lollies.


The children enjoy listening to the story of St Barbara, and enthusiastically enjoy the eating part:)

And if you're wondering who was the successful winner with the pinata stick. It was a tricky one this year as I had hardened the chocolate in the fridge after making our masterpiece. It was being most resistant and it wasn't until the last person, Prince Charming gave it an almighty thwack that the tower exploded into many pieces that flew around the room. Mmmm, I'm sure it didn't need to be struck with such force. Anyhow PC was successful and the chocolate was eaten:)