Christmas 2014 – UnwRApped

/ December 26, 2014

It is after Christmas, the family is playing with their presents, and I am smoking a cigarette, catching a minute to myself. St Stephen’s Day is usually the day for a long family walk, but with the rain bucketing, we took a slow day instead. And now I am eager to see what you guys have been up to on Christmas Eve. Here’s a rare glimpse into Christmas in Casa Guylty…

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Apart from your lovely messages and wishes, I was blessed with wonderful presents. It appears that not only do my nearest and dearest know me well, but they also tolerate my mid-life eccentricities. Daughter gave me a Hobbit desk calendar – and very helpfully marked all the pages that had a picture of Thorin. She even put a few words in his mouth.

And the hubster, who started the whole RAPS frenzy with his amazing present last year, went back to the drawing board and gave me a voucher (with a generous contribution to my impending trip to NZ) – for someone who occasionally gets frustrated with my RA love, he always deals with it with good humour. Check the small print:

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Hope you have had lovely family time over the holidays, too. Any RA related pressies under *your* Christmas tree?

 

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66 thoughts on “Christmas 2014 – UnwRApped”

  1. Nice to hear you had a merry Christmas! And good to know how appreciative a family can be! Congrats! I can’t complain either: was gifted with the official BOTFA movie guide. Enjoy making plans for NZ! The journey of a life-time?! Best wishes!

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    • Oooh, the BOTFA movie guide. Sounds fab!!! I am still waiting to get my Guide to the Hobbit film locations. Essential for my NZ planning, but it appears there is a delay with the printers…
      And journey of a life-time – you bet 🙂

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  2. Oh, how very thoughtful! It seems your daughter and my employees are somewhat cut from the same cloth =). And the last thing I would have imagined Thorin was thinking as he prepared for battle was the WoodChuck rhyme. Lol. Who knew? And your husband’s gifts are adorable.

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    • They are all jokers alright… But then again, I suppose *we* are giving *them* enough material for their jokes *ggg*. I am very happy to continue being the one who provides the fun 😉
      Yeah, and I also wondered where the wood chuck rhyme came from. Must ask her…

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  3. I had a VERY Hobbity Christmas – and a Hobbity Birthday 3 weeks ago, come to think of it! Thorin mousepad, matching coffee cup, Hobbit puzzle, classic Animated Hobbit DVD and DoS Extended DVD. (On top of the 72 pairs of knitting needles) So I’m good. Glad you and yours had a wonderful Christmas.

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  4. ‘Armitage Point’ – Lol! Good one.
    I got an Etsy poster of N&S: https://www.etsy.com/listing/179385795/north-and-south-by-elizabeth-gaskell?ref=cat_gallery_3&ga_search_query=north+and+south&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all
    Best of all, though, is that I found out just now that my bratty husband used an iPhone trick against me. He fudged my autocorrect so that when I type ‘Armitage’ it comes up ‘Cumberbatch’ !!! Grrr! Lol.
    We had a lovely, relaxing Christmas chez Brasure. Glad you had lovely day, too.

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    • Yeah, Armitage Point – vaguely near Wellington, I suppose (unless the hubster knows more than I do… hm…)
      That NS poster is brilliant. Love it. Where are you putting it up, Trudy? And is it framed, too?
      And I love that phone trick your hubby played on you. Oh, it would make me mad alright, but it is so funny!!! Practical jokes are just the best – and well, I guess we have to allow our other halves some fun, after all they have to endure a lot of obsession 😉

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      • I’m not sure yet where it will go. If I had a writers’ corner it would go there. I have to frame it as well.
        My husband loves practical jokes, and my loyalty to RA is a perfect target for my whole family. Even my youngest makes remarks about Thornton. Lol. At least she knows someone literary characters. 😉

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      • Yes, very low. He even switched ‘Richard’ to ‘Benedict’ and ‘RA’ to ‘BC.’ He knows where my loyalties lay and knows I tend to love the underdog (Thornton vs. Darcy, Armitage vs Cumberbatch, Hiddleston). It was a rascally prank!

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  5. I received a Thorin ornament (like the one gifted to Richard in a certain video) and immediately put it on the mantle. Tree not majestic enough. And a BOFA desk calendar. You are right about the movie books, had them with us when we went to NZ and they were invaluable in locating photogenic and interesting locations. Loved the peek at Christmas casa Guylty. So pretty. We had lovely weather here, so warm that my brother (who is a grownup man with a grownup family) arrived at my door without shoes. He didn’t notice he wasn’t wearing them until half way to my house. Most family members wound up in jacuzzi enjoying bubbles while drinking bubbly.

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    • Even though RA made fun of the ornament – I think it’s great. Wouldn’t put it on my Christmas tree, either, but it is an all-year-round Thorin souvenir 😉
      Have to get those bloody books!!!! Amazon come on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      And I just cannot imagine what Christmas is like in the sun – bubbly in the jacuzzi? OMG, what a dream!

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      • Someday, you will be up to your lovely armpits in jacuzzi bubbles drinking bubbly with me. It will happen, I am sure of it. And there is always room for random family members of yours or mine. Guylty in my Jacuzzi – a dream come true. 🙂

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  6. Ne, keinerlei RA-related pressies! Aber schön zu sehen, dass es anderswo funktioniert. Da ist anscheinend bei der Erziehung deiner Nachkommen und der Gattenpflege einiges richtig gelaufen. Freue mich für dich. 😀

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    • Jou, die Mannschaft ist sehr kreativ. Die Kids fuhren bei der familiären Großveranstaltung (13 Erwachsene, 12 Kinder im Alter von 1 bis 16) zur vollen Größe auf und spielten uns ein Medley auf E-Gitarre und Trompete. Mit dabei: “Tribute” von Tenacious D. (Muss dabei immer an RA denken, da er doch ertappt wurde, als er das Tenacious Konzert mit LP und PJ verließ…) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lK4cX5xGiQ

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  8. I quit smoking 2 years ago,but I still crave a cig with my coffee.Enjoy it for me.My son and grand daughters are in Louisiana.So my Christmas was talking to them on phone.BUT,i watched Lord of rings and 2 Hobbits.So I got my RA itage fixitage.Merry belated Christmas.

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  9. First Zan and now you……I am envious of your decoratable mantelpieces! Casa Guylty looks wonderfully festive.
    We had a lovely Christmas Day with my immediate family – lots of laughter, perfect weather, my husband cooked dinner and my nieces set the table, so it was very relaxed for me. 🙂
    No Hobbity pressies, but having mentioned at one time that I had loved Paddington Bear as a child, hubby gave me a couple of PB story books.

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    • Those mantles are really cool, I have to say – except: We literally only have the fireplaces, no central heating. So you really have to make the mantlepieces nice and warm yourself on the decorations 😉
      Aw, Paddington Bear. “Please take care of this bear” – so sweet. And that is a lovely pressie – as is any pressie where you know that someone has listened to you and picked up on something that you love. Sounds as if you had a lovely Christmas. xx

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  11. You don’t do Xmas small do you? 😉 Love the lights and stars and the tree and all 🙂 We don’t really do presents anymore, just a few munchy things i bring along and i get to try once a year stuff i like or used to like, shared time is what we go for. I don’t seem to spell ‘give this one silly presents’ anyway 😀 Never did, so i always indulge in my own silliness 😉 Which is good, i probably compartmentalise well on the outside and am still silly on the inside 😀 And i’ve been given many gifts this year, most of them immaterial but lasting and Pop Thorin and wonderful photo are waiting for me back home:-)
    Looove your calendar and the voucher and all the creative love that comes with it 🙂 I’m getting excited about your impending trip almost as if i was travelling myself LOL You know we’ll want documented evidence of your luggage, the airport and so on 😉

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    • Hehe, no, when it comes to Christmas, I don’t do small. I just love it, and I have to have it the way it always was – with a real tree, with real candles, the old-fashioned crystal baubles and the 60 year old nativity set that has been passed down to me on the mantle piece.
      The presents were mainly for the children – but I got a few, too, much to my surprise, because I had let it be known that I would most appreciate a contribution to my travel budget. But a few goodies made it to me, and I was very generously gifted. It’s never about the monetary value – it’s always about the thought behind it. And a nice picture to come home to can be more valuable than a diamond ring 🙂
      Hehe, glad you are following my travel antics. I have to get back into my travel blog and write more. I have got lots of new NZ sightseeing tips, and I got myself a fabulous bag/rucksack, so it’s becoming more and more real to me. Oh, and I have also tested mobile WP blogging, so blogging on the go will be possible too… You may regret what you wished for 😉

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      • chuffed about mobile WP, i quite like it too. So glad it’s looking good with NZ, been seeing all beach and mountain things on telly these days and nature really calls 🙂 Great backpack is worth gold! Enjoy the thoughts about the trip 🙂 x

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  12. Casa Guylty looks lovely and welcoming. I’m glad you had a nice Christmas. I love your big Christmas tree, I don’t have room for one in my flat but I don’t mind, I have my cards strung up on string, some ornaments, a wreath on my door and strings of gold bells around the inside of the flat (which the cat thinks is for her to play with) so I’m still quite Christmassy. I got things I need this year, no RA to be seen, but then no one knows about that little obsession ;o) I’m now sleeping on a nice memory foam pillow, eating a big box of chocs, admiring my new jewellery box whilst happily adding a bit of dosh to my “new carpet for the flat” tin. I had a nice lunch with parents, so all in all a very nice Chrissy. xx

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  13. I see that your husband is fully converted (resigned?), mine is starting to walk the right path, after seeing BOFA in the cinema we’ve seen together my UEJ and DOS DVDs 😀

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  14. Your tree looks lovely. The candles remind me that my dad used to tell me that when he was a little boys (no power those days at his house) they had real candles on the tree for Christmas Eve night, with a bucket of water near by in case the tree ever caught on fire. Don’t think it ever did.

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    • We always had real candles on the tree, even when I was a baby and later when my children were small. Personally, I can’t imagine the tree any other way. The only drawback is that you don’t light the candles as often and as easily as the lectric ones.

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      • To have real candles on the tree, that would be so neat. I had a friend from England that had electric candles and they still looked very neat. I have never seen any candle lights over here to put on a tree. Only candles for windows.

        Like how your whole family gets into the whole Richard thing with you.

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  15. Würdest du den Baum mal allein in Farbe zeigen? Hier sieht er so aus, wie ich ihn mag – nicht überladen -, aber man kann’s schlecht sehen.

    LOL – ich mag den Humor deiner Familie. *g*
    Und einen deutschen “Gutschein” – doll, bin begeistert! 🙂

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      • ohh, und echte Kerzen, in diesen Baumclips? hatten wir auch hier all meine Kindheit und da war immer das Spiel wo sie hinzuclipsen damit der Ast nicht nach unten hangt mit der Kerze 😉
        Aber du hast mich angesteckt mit diesen hauslichen Sachen! Ich war gestern auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt in der Stadt und habe kleine Teppiche fur die Wohnung gekauft, tolle Farben :-p Und sanfte Baumwolle also kann ich sie in den Koffer stopfen 😉

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    • It does look German, doesn’t it? Apart from the fireplace that is. But the Christmassy ingredients are all very German: nativity set, four candles for advent, Xmas tree with baubles and real candles, and the presents underneath. I am a total traditionalist when it comes to Christmas. The only thing where I consider myself so… 😉

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