TAG...I'm It! {25 Days Link Up}

I have to admit, I got REALLY excited when Kera from Nugget on a Budget "tagged" me in this fun Christmas game.

This was created by Lanaya from Raising Reagan. It's similar to when you win a blog award and then you nominate new people. Basically, when someone tags you, you answer their questions and then tag 5 new people. It's a great way to learn how other people celebrate Christmas. 

You can read Kera's post here or Lanaya's here.

Here are the questions I have to answer:

1. What makes Christmas such a special holiday for you and your family? 

The thing that makes Christmas a special holiday to me and my family is celebrating the birth of Jesus. As a Christian, Christmas holds a special meaning in that our Savior came to the world to live as a human. My favorite name of Jesus is Immanuel which means "God with us." Even to this day God is with us because of His son.

 2. Were you told the truth about Santa by your parents or did you find out another way? And...do you plan on lying to your kids when the time comes? 

I kind of got the age where I figured it out plus I had a lot of friends who weren't "believers" anymore. So, I finally just asked my mom about it. Afterwards, I still played along because I have a younger brother. I thought I was so cool because I was in on the secret.

Lee and I have discussed it and we don't currently have kids, but when we do we don't plan on lying to them about Santa. As I just stated, I believed in Santa and I have nothing against people who do it. I wasn't traumatized because my parents "lied" to me. It's just not something we want to do. I'm not against them knowing who Santa is, visiting Santa at the mall, reading Santa books, or watching Santa movies. That's part of the fun of Christmas. I just want them to view him as a character just like Mickey Mouse. The main reason we don't want to push Santa is because we don't want Christmas to be about presents. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the materialism of Christmas. We want to fight that and make Christmas more about Jesus, family, and giving for our kids.

3. Real tree or fake?

My family has always done fake trees. It's never bothered me that we had artificial trees although I think it would be fun to go to a real tree farm at some point in my life. Lee and I also do an artificial tree. Lee wanted to get a real tree, but because we are gone for a long time at Christmas visiting family, we didn't think having a real tree would be the best idea. 

 4. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning, or both?

When I was younger (and my dad's parents were still alive), we used to spend Christmas Eve with my dad's family and we'd exchange gifts. Then, Christmas morning was when we got present from Santa. Then we'd go to my mom's parents' house for lunch and spend Christmas afternoon with her family where we'd also exchange presents.
 

Now that I'm married, we alternate whose family we're with on Christmas day. We'll exchange presents a couple of days early with whichever family we don't spend Christmas with. Then, we open gifts on Christmas morning with the other family. If we're at my family's on Christmas, we still spend Christmas afternoon with my mom's side of the family. It's a little harder to get my dad's side of the family together these days because the family is so large, there's been family drama, and my dad's parents have passed away.

 

 

 5. What's your favorite Christmas movie to watch? Or favorite Christmas song?

I love watching Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (both versions) and A Christmas Story. I also enjoy the Christmas classics like Frosty and Rudolph. 

My favorite fun Christmas Song is "Carol of the Bells." My favorite religious Christmas song is "O Holy Night."

I especially love Lea Michele's (from Glee) version. This girl can sing!

Okay, now it's my turn. 

I tag:

1. Jennifer from Part of That World

2. Kim from Living on a Latte and Prayer

3. Sarah from Loveee, Sarah

4. Ashley from Dancing with Ashley

5. Angi from Into the Forest Dim

If you're tagged, please let me know if you want to participate because if not...I'll tag someone else. 

Here are my questions:

1. Describe Christmas morning at your house when you were a child.

2. What's your most memorable Christmas gift?

3. Did you believe in Santa as a child? Are you (or do you plan on) using Santa with your own children?

4. What's your favorite holiday treat? Include a recipe if you'd like. :)

5. How will you spend Christmas day this year?

Have fun! Answer the questions and tag five more awesome bloggers. After you've done your post, come back here and leave me a comment with the link to it because I don't want to miss it! Instruct your tag-ees to do the same for you. Don't forget to link your post back to Raising Reagan.

  You can also link up your Christmas related post to help spread Christmas cheer. 

This link up only has ONE rule:

1. Please link back to my blog in your post.