I am very excited to kick off our 25 Days of Christmas Giveaways!
On the first day of Christmas On the Tudor Trail gave to me… the chance to win this super cute Anne Boleyn Christmas ornament.
This giveaway is now closed.
All you need to do to be in the running to win this beautiful ornament, is leave a comment after this post telling me what you love about the Holiday Season. A winner will be selected and notified once the competition closes on December 5, 2014.
This is an international giveaway.
Good luck! Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for your chance to win Robert Parry’s wonderful book, ‘Elizabeth the Virgin Queen and the Men Who Loved Her’.
I live in Italy, but I’m Polish and we have so many Christmas traditions back home… This year I will stay here in Milan and I will miss them a lot… First of all, we celebrate Christmas Eve with a traditional Christmas Eve vigil supper, starting in every home with the first star in the sky. We sing carols and eat 13 special dishes placed on a crispy white tabl cloth. We share a Christmas wafer wishing all good to each member of the family and there is also one empty place left at the table to a last-minute guest who might knock on the door that night.. The Christmas tree is lighten and the gifts brought by Baby Jesus stay under the tree. After the midnight mass we open them. Them, the Christmas day we celebrate with a big lunch. I’ll miss it all this year but I will try to reproduce a bit of all that here, with my Italian fiancé, hoping in future magnificent Christmas celebrations with our own mixed family!
I am so grateful for the Holidays that I have my health,my son, a job, and a wonderful home. I t makes me realize how lucky I am and how i try to help those that do not have anything . My son and I pack up at our local food pantry, we buy and extra Turkey dinner to donate and buy a few extra gifts for those families that need help. It is not much on the greater scale of things but we wish to honor what the Holidays are truly about….Love , genorosity and peace!
Doing for family, friends and those in need – we have a huge food drive that serves 19 parishes throughout Acadiana Louisiana It’s a magical day – it’s what the holiday is all about giving and spending time with those we love even if it’s a distance phone call – people open their hearts to give back for the blessings of the year.
The best thing I love about Christmas is the thought of waking up on Christmas Day to snow.
I love learning about different cultures and their practices of Christmas or celebrations similar to it. I’m also a fan of embroidering stockings for my family members.
Christmas is one of my favourite times of year. I love long walks on the dark nights seeing everyone’s Christmas decorations but most of all i love how the season brings everyone together. It’s the one time of year that my whole family manage to get together, no matter what. Christmas is a special time.
i love this time of year because of all the decorations and the feeli9ng i get when i hear christmas music and think of my kids reactions.
I love our holiday traditions. Gathering together, delicious meals, decorating, giving presents are some of our most cherished memories.
I love the Holidays because it gives me an excuse to bake for others. I don’t ask for gifts, the gifts to me are those who enjoy my cooking and baking. Let them sit back and let me do the cooking so they can spend more time with their loved ones, as my boyfriend and I do not have children. We both like to on the holidays, snuggle up on couch, watch movies, and drink homemade hot cocoa. I especially during the winter like to catch up on some history. I don’t get much time with family during the holidays, as my family lives in Germany. I am a huge Anne Boleyn history buff. Anything and everything about the Tudors excites me. Happy holiday! Cheers.
I love the music. Traditional carols, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Messiah. Listening to German Christmas music.
I love the challenge of making each Christmas more special than the last. From where to go to do my shopping (a different city each year – preferably with a German market and all the lights up) to special touches to the actual day.
I love the extra time with my kids and the ability to slow down a bit and contemplate the meaning of the season…
Didn’t do Christmas as a child due to my parent’s religious beliefs,as an adult I love every aspect,families and friends hanging out and yes I love giving gifts that people love:)
Family, food, laughter, and holiday traditions – such as the giving and receiving of gag gifts to and from my brothers, kids, and parents.
Even though I won’t be home for Christmas this year, I still have Christmas in my heart and my spirit.
I LOVE Christmas and even play Christmas music throughout the year…. just because!
I love how the snow makes everything so pretty, especially Evergreen trees.
We love everything about it! The weather and hot drinks and family, the lights and giving gifts. Learning new things about Advent and Christmas. And I love Christmas trees!
I love the lights, the warmth and coziness of my decorated home and all my family safe and sound to enjoy it with!
I love to spend time with my family! We go on a self-guided light tour (around our town) while listening to Christmas music.
I love the holidays because there is a magic in the air that only exists this time of year. I love to spend time with my children passing along all the traditions from prior generations and even creating some new ones.
I love the sights and sounds and being with family. My favorite day of the season is twelfth night.
Now, that most of my close family has passed, Christmas means memories, lots of memories, of the tree and especially it’s smell and decorations, going with my Dad to pick one out and then the responsibility of decorating it along with wrapping all all the presents, while my Mom wrote out literally hundreds of Christmas cards.My Mom made the meals for Christmas Eve’s party as well as Christmas Day’s meal. I did all the baking for ourselves as well as to share with family and friends. It was nothing to make over 12 kinds of cookies, 8 dozen of each as well as a dozen large Christmas cakes, which my Dad single handedly ate by himself.Christmas Eve my Dad and our family as well as the families of my Dad’s 8 siblings would all meet in my Grandfather’s tiny house, where all the aunts were in the process of wrapping hundreds of presents, that Santa (my Mother) would hand out to all present. The party would last until 5 am.Although my parents and most of their siblings are all gone and no one meets with other cousins anymore, my cousins and I still reminisce all year long about the wonderful Christmas’, where we all got together.So the best part of Christmas is family memories, which will last our entire lives.Thank goodness, my Mom took lots of pictures, which we all share and talk about.
I love the lights, the decorations, and the occasional moments that make the season worthwhile. There was a little girl in my store the other day when her mom declined to donate a dollar to St Jude’s, reached into her purse and said she wanted to “donate it for the sick kids.’ So sweet!
I love the magic of Christmas Eve.
I love the holidays because it brings family together to celebrate all the good that God has blessed us with throughout the year. The beauty of the decorations and the sounds and scents of Christmas feed our souls and bring us peace in our hearts. Celebrating the birth of the Christ child renews our hope and faith, and reminds us what Christmas is really all about.
I love snow!
I love being able to share the family traditions with my daughters. I love the baking and decorating that we fet to do together as well as cuddling up with a cup of hot chocolate while watching holiday movies. But my favorite tradition is the fact that my daughters hate shopping as much as I do.
What I love about Christmas is the feeling of wonder and peace I still get during this season. I love spending time with my family and doing special things for them…like baking one’s favorite cookies or finding just the perfect gift for another. I love the feeling of happiness and thankfulness that my loved ones are safe, happy and loved.
There is just a “feeling” in the air at Christmas that I love. It’s the only time of year that it happens. 🙂
I love the Christmas carols, the Christmas tree, the lights, shopping, and getting ready for seeing loved ones.
My family never celebrated Christmas, but the holidays still filled me with wonder as a child. My family and I have been through some tough times, but there was much hope in me. As an adult now I can celebrate Christmas wholly, and finally have some peace, love and warmth in my life.
I love the tree, outdoor Christmas lights, the cookies and most of all having our family together — and we’ll all (each and every one!) be together this year, which is a rare occurrence!
I love that the holidays make me so hopeful for the future and yet allows me to reflect on the past. I can watch cheesy movies that remind me how much I utterly adore my family.
Happy Holidays!
I love the smells, the aromas, the warmth that traditional Christmas scents bring emotionally. From th pine boughs in the tree and around the Yule Log, to hot chocolate as the kids come in from playing, to the smell of SNOW. I feel each Christmas as if God has surrounded me with subtle reminders through scent of all the beauty He gives us. And then add fresh baked cookies !
What I love most about the holiday season is the memories that flow back to my mind. Every season has a smell, feel, and view that transports you to a time or a memory that will always be in your mind. As the weather started to change to summer, I thought about being a child, running, swimming, getting filthy, and playing in the rain. Now as the weather gets colder, the leaves change and I find myself staring at the trees and thinking about my life in the past few years. Finding someone to spend my life with, having my son, realizing what friends will be there til the end, and enjoying all of the little things. I will gather with the people that are so important to me and we will laugh, cry, and talk together and remind each other that no matter what happens throughout the year, we will continue to be there for each other.
Learning more about the Tudors has been fascinating! I am proud of my own English heritage. Each Christmas I place a little replica of an English village on the mantle and dream that someday soon I will walk down the winding streets of a real English town.
Love studying everything I can on Anne Boleyn
I love the lights, holiday decorations and Christmas music. All this gets me very excited for the season. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends creating new memories.
I love the Holidays and I love anything to do with The Tudors! Happy Holidays!
I love the Holidays and I love The Tudors!
I love the music, the food, the decorations, the weather, the songs and most of all, the family get-togethers. Christmas is fun!
I love the magic of the season with the lights, the snow, the music, the smiles on my daughters’ faces, the memory of my son placing an ornament on the tree that we commemorate each year.
I love getting to spend time with my family. And I love all the music and the lights.
Here in Oz its hot, so I love walking around the neighborhood on a balmy summer night looking at all the lovely decorations people put up. Would so love to have a white Christmas one day though 🙂
I love how people come together and share fun traditions together like yesterday my five year old helped me decorate the tree! Xx
EVERYTHING!
Family, aromas, family, great food, family, laughter, FAMILY!
Being in Aus where it is warm & sunny, I love spending time with family & friends at the beach over the Christmas break
I adore this time of year as its when I feel the closest to my family. There is something very special to be able to just see the children’s faces light up and the joy. I genuinely believe that there is more goodwill to all at this time of year. Additionally, the New Year brings hope.
I love the fellowship and food with loved ones. It’s a time of giving amid the hustle and bustle of life. And of course, there are always new books to be bought and read. I enjoy the traditions and celebrations with family and friends. This year are starting a new tradition by having Christmas at our house in NC, instead of us having to travel north to PA. I am super excited to have Christmas in the south. 🙂
I especially love the building of excitement with the Advent calendar. One of my favorite traditions.