Christmas Tag 2020

This post is going to be a little more personal. Tags really aren’t super popular nowadays, but I’ve found that it really helps the reader get to know the writer!

Favorite Christmas Movie?

I would say it’s a tie between Home Alone and Santa Claus. I grew up watching both of these, and it doesn’t feel like Christmas until I’ve watched either of these!

Have you ever had a white Christmas?

I mostly grew up here in the Inland Northwest (Eastern Washington), so maybe 80% of the time we have a white Christmas! I have experienced snow-less holidays when I lived in Texas and Oregon, and without the snow it just doesn’t feel the same. I never take for granted the beauty I experience in an area where it snows.

Where do you usually spend the holidays?

Now that I am married, I split it between families. Almost my whole family lives in the same city as I do, which makes travel very light and easy! 

Favorite Christmas Song?

If you have not heard of Dominique the Christmas Donkey, let me tell you! I had not heard this Christmas song until a few years ago, but it has taken my heart! I still don’t have a clue to its origin, or story, but I will sing this song every day up until Christmas!

Do you open presents on Christmas Eve?

Yes! As kids, we got to open a present from our siblings, and at my Grandma’s Christmas Eve party we opened the gifts from her. Now as an adult, I get too excited to wait so I pick the smallest one to open (haha.)! As Ben gets older, we will probably continue the same tradition as my husband and I had.

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?

Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf? I think I’m forgetting one?... Oh! Dasher! I literally had to sing the song in my head to get that last one!

Fake Christmas Tree or Real Christmas Tree?

As much as I love having a real Christmas Tree, they are a pain! My cats basically live in the real tree, and I find the pine needles everywhere for an entire year. The smell is wonderful, but the upkeep is too much for me. So, fake tree it goes.

Favorite holiday treat?

Three words. Peppermint. Bark. Chocolate. I will only eat the Ghirardelli Peppermint Chocolate bites during the month of December. It’s special, and my husband doesn’t like peppermint so it's all mine!!!

Do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts?

Giving gifts is my love language. I’m a giver, and with my obsession with gift wrapping, I’m so in my element. 

Best Christmas gift you ever received?

I’m not sure if I can pinpoint an ultimate best Christmas gift ever… The closest I would say was flying home for Christmas when I lived in Pittsburgh, PA. I lived 2,000 miles away from my family when I trained with PBT and trying to imagine spending the holidays by myself broke my heart. Luckily, I was able to fly home that year and spend time with my fam. That was a pretty great gift.

Most memorable Christmas?

I wish this was a happy memory, but it’s not. When I lived in Oregon while dancing professionally, Nutcracker season ended two days before Christmas. And at the time, the partner I was with worked up through Christmas Eve. So the chance of going home was nonexistent. I have a very distinct memory of sitting myself in my apartment, cursed with the post-Nutracker flu, no snow, and looking at pictures my siblings were posting of the annual Christmas Eve dinner at my Grandma’s house. I burst into tears, because I missed them so much. All I wanted was to be with my family, and I couldn’t see them until we passed through on tour in March. It was a difficult Christmas to say the least.

What makes the holidays special for you?

Family time. I’ve spent holidays surrounded by family, but also completely on my own. I never take for granted the time I get to spend with both my families during the holiday season. Whether it’s watching a holiday movie or playing in the snow with my cousins, or cutting down a real tree for the living room. The holidays are not the same without my family.

I hope this gave you more insight to who I am and my loves during the holidays!

This is all for today!

Tootles,

~ Izzy