Welcome to Day Three of Blogmas
2022!Today, I’ve teamed up with one
of my best-friend’s; Martin Baker who blogs on:
www.gumonmyshoe.com
to bring to you a bit of insight into a typical Christmas in his life…
Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
Not so much these days, apart from laying out the
gifts for the morning. I’m usually in bed by midnight. (Don’t want to mess up
Santa’s schedule by still being up when he comes to call!)
Who will you be spending this year’s Christmas with?
I’ll be with my immediate family on the day itself. I’d like to meet up with a few local friends, if possible, in the week before to get me in the festive spirit. I’ll have video calls with friends who live further away or abroad so we can wish each other Happy Christmas and open gifts together.
What time do you get up on Christmas Day? Is that for a particular
reason?
I’ll probably get up around 8 am; there’s little need
to get up earlier than that! I’ll begin preparing the meal around 10 am so it’s
nice to have a little time before then to open presents and just ease into the
day.
What’s for breakfast?
Maybe a slice of toast, but it’s rare for me to eat
breakfast, especially if I’m going to be eating a lot later in the day — which
I definitely will be!
When do you open presents?
Presents from family, and any from friends which were
posted to the house, are opened on Christmas morning. Not quite so early these
days, maybe 8 - 9 am. If I meet with friends before the day, we might exchange
and open gifts then.
What has been your favourite gift of all-time?
Wow that’s such a hard one to answer! In general, I
get more pleasure from gifting to others than receiving gifts myself. (I’m
aware that’s actually unhealthy, because being able to receive well is every
bit as important as being generous. It comes down to self-esteem and valuing
yourself as much as you do other people.)
I’m not into big or lavish gifting. I like personal
gifts, either personal to the giver or to me. That way, the gift adds to the
connection you share, rather than just being the item itself. Sometimes, the
smallest gift can be the most appreciated. Recently, Aimee gifted me some washi
tape and stickers because she knows I love using them in my creative
journaling. It wasn’t my birthday or Christmas, she just thought I’d like them
— which I totally did!
I’m not sure about my favourite gift of all time, but
in recent years one of the best things I’ve received is the scrapbook Aimee
gave me last Christmas. It was her idea for us each to put together a scrapbook
or journal as a gift for the other. We could include whatever we wanted and
decorate it in any way we chose. It was a wonderful idea and I treasure the
book Aimee gave me as a lasting testament to a great friendship.
What has been the most favourite gift you’ve given someone else?
In recent years, I think it has to be the scrapbook I
made for Aimee last Christmas. I worked on it for months, including photos from
our many days out, and decorating it with stickers and coloured tapes. I know
Aimee appreciated it as much as I loved the one she made for me.
It’s a long time ago but I think the very best gift I
ever gave anyone was a cuddly grizzly bear I made for a dear friend when I
lived in London in the early eighties. I named him Pemberton after the house a
number of friends had shared in our university days in Bradford. It was a gift
for Christmas 1984. She treasured Pemberton for many years. After she died, he
returned to me. He still gets an occasional cuddle.
Did you ask for anything this year? If so, what?
I haven’t asked for anything major this year. There’s
very little I need or even crave. Friends and family know I’m always grateful
for coffee (ground for filter, please, not instant!), plain chocolate (the
higher the cocoa content the better, up to and including 100%), or the specific
notebooks I use for my daily journal (Moleskine Classic, ruled, hard-back,
13x21cm).
Do you wear anything special on Christmas Day?
I’m unlikely to be going out anywhere so I’ll dress
for comfort rather than style. I will make an effort to change out of my pjs at
some point! As it’s Christmas I’ll wear my favourite Santa hat, and the brass
bell on a red ribbon which my friend Fran gifted me years ago. New socks if I
was lucky enough to receive any!
What time is Christmas Dinner (you can use your own definition for
this)?
I cook the Christmas dinner and usually aim to serve
it up around 1 pm, maybe a little later.
What’s your favourite food and drink on Christmas Day?
I’m vegetarian but I love a full roast dinner on
Christmas Day, minus the meat of course. Veggie sausages, roast potatoes, roast
parsnips, carrots, Brussels sprouts (which I adore), cauliflower cheese,
stuffing, and gravy. Christmas pudding and custard for dessert. I’ll drink a
light beer with the meal, and maybe another one later in the day. I’ll be too
stuffed from all that to need much later in the day; maybe a sandwich in the
evening and a couple of mince pies (as everyone knows, you can’t eat just one
mince pie, that’s simply wrong!)
Four things you do between 1pm and 6pm:
1. Eat dinner.
2. Wash the dishes.
3. Chill out in my rocking chair.
4. Eat Christmas pudding with custard (an hour or two after the main
meal).
Do you watch TV on Christmas Day? If so, anything in particular?
The TV will be on, as it is every day, but I doubt I
will be focused on watching it (again, like pretty much every day!) I won’t
tune in for the King’s Speech or anything like that. In the afternoon, I’ll
likely be in my rocking chair, resting after all the food and chatting with any
friends who are online.
What’s your favourite festive movie?
Apart from Die Hard (yes it’ s a Christmas movie!)
I’ve never been a fan of festive movies. They’re usually way too soppy for me!
That said, I adored Nativity! when I watched it with Aimee last year — also the
sequel Nativity 2. I’d like to watch those again some time.
How do you spend your evening and night?
After all the food earlier in the day, I won’t feel
like doing much at all come evening so I’ll probably just be relaxing in my
rocking chair checking social media and chatting with any friends who are
online. Last Christmas, I remember making a start on the sticker book a friend
had sent me. I’ll probably have an early night; any time between 10:30pm and
midnight.
Thank you so much for sharing your Christmas with I’m
NOT Disordered’s readers!
We all wish you a very Merry Christmas this year!!