Showing posts with label list. Show all posts
Showing posts with label list. Show all posts

Monday, 21 December 2009

Christmas Carols

I saw this item on BBC breakfast about the nation's top 5 Christmas carols, as voted for by listeners of Classic FM.

1. O Holy Night
2. Silent Night
3. In the Bleak Mid Winter (Darke)
4. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
5. In the Bleak Mid Winter (Holst)

Far be it from me to question the collective wisdom of Classic FM listeners, but aren't these all...well, a bit shit? I'm a damned heathen but I love belting out a good carol at this time of year and none of these would make my top 5 (Hark the Herald is ok, but the rest - pffft). My top 5 are:

1. Deck the Halls (fa la la la)
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
4. Joy to the World
5. Ding Dong Merrily on High

Saturday, 19 December 2009

Festive Top 5

What are your top 5 favourite things about Christmas? I love:

1. Making a list (actually a colour-coded excel spreadsheet) of people to get presents for in about September and gradually ticking everyone off. I'm normally finished a couple of weeks before Christmas so I can then feel super smug. I don't know what comes over me - I usually hate shopping and I've literally never been this organised about anything else in my life.

2. Getting the Christmas tree - my mum and dad have a tradition where they don't get their tree until late afternoon Christmas Eve when everyone is shutting up shop. There's an element of danger as it's sometimes difficult to find one by that stage. And also my Dad sees it as a challenge to either get one free or for next to nothing, as people are normally just giving them away by that time.

Now I do like the fun and tradition of getting one at the last minute, but I also like looking at my tree and it smelling all christmassy. So now I have the best of both worlds. I get my tree a couple of weeks before xmas and then I go round to my mum and dad's on Christmas Eve to help them do theirs.



3. The Doctor Who Christmas Special - love Doctor Who all year round. In fact I think it might be my favourite TV programme of all time. The Christmas special is a little treat to keep me going between series. I'm sure the new Doctor is going to be great - looking forward to seeing what happens to David Tennant. I'll probably have a little cry, I'm a real sucker for things like that.

4. Opening my stocking - I'm 27 and have always had a stocking. Thanks Father Christmas!

5. Mulled wine - I'm teetotal the rest of the year but I love mulled wine. When I make my own, I make it to my taste - i.e. sweet and weak and not too wine-y. Here's my recipe:

2 bottles cheap red wine
1 carton of orange juice
1 clementine studded with cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
1 lump of root ginger about size of thumb, peeled
Sugar to taste

Heat heat heat, stir stir stir, yum yum yum.

Mr Beet's top 5

1. Ham (We cook it on Christmas Eve for Christmas morning breakfast, but he usually sneaks a cheeky slice on the way home from midnight mass)

2. Christmas tree smell and getting the house all christmassy

3. Boxes of biscuits

4. Christmas dinner / boxing day buffet

5. New clothes to wear on christmas day - usually socks that are too big.