Kitschmas 2013!

Christmas this year was on the 26th instead of the 25th cos Ryan had to work from 0500-1900. Here's a bunch of pictures of our decor and the things we did and got!

The Christmas cards that made it here before Christmas!

Our tiny space of decorations. Complete with singing/dancing/blinking tree, Fresh Balsam candle, candy dish, and R2D2 and Grumpy Cat snow globes!

This Dalek can't exterminate cos its plunger and egg beater broke off during its travels!

The famous coffee cake my mom makes every year! I didn't have a tube pan, so instead I made giant muffins.

Lil BUB's Magical Yule Log on while we opened presents! Good job, BUB!

There were no chocolate oranges out here in Japan, so my parents sent one for each of us!

Clearly my husband and I like the same things and have the same ideas for gifts...

The "big gift" I got for Ryan (and also for me)!

The "big gift" Ryan got for me! Leave me your 3DS friend codes in the comments! Mine is 5258 0424 3043.

Keeping with one of my personal traditions and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas!

Christmas dinner!

Ending off the post with the amazing jokes I got in my Christmas cracker!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe holiday! (Also, I hope you all have an extraordinary 2014!)



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Countdown to Kitschmas: Holiday Movies

One of my all time favorite things to do to get into the holiday mood is to watch holiday movies! I mentioned in The 2013 Christmas Tag that my favorite Christmas film was The Nightmare Before Christmas as a kid, but as I've gotten older I've started to appreciate more holiday movies. This list is not in order of favorites, but the first four movies are the only favorites I have that are legitimate Christmas films. Keep in mind that I haven't seen a whole bunch of classic Christmas movies (like Love Actually, It's A Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story)!

The Nightmare Before Christmas
Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept. [IMDb]

Elf
After inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size, a man raised as an elf at the North Pole is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity. [IMDb]

The Ref
A cat burglar is forced to take a bickering, dysfunctional family hostage on Christmas Eve. [IMDb]

The Santa Clause
When a man inadvertantly kills Santa on Christmas Eve, he finds himself magically recruited to take his place. [IMDb]

Die Hard Series
This video contains mature content & spoilers!
John McClane, officer of the NYPD, tries to save wife Holly Gennaro and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. [IMDb]

Red
When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants. [IMDb]

Red 2
Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. [IMDb]

In Bruges
This video contains mature content, ableism, & fat shaming.
Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be. [IMDb]

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor. [IMDb]

Batman Returns
When a corrupt businessman and the grotesque Penguin plot to take control of Gotham City, only Batman can stop them, while the Catwoman has her own agenda. [IMDb]


Bonus Hubby Favorite!: The Muppet Christmas Carol
The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of an old and bitter miser's redemption on Christmas Eve. [IMDb]

What are your favorite films to get you into the holiday spirit? Do any from my list make it onto yours?



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Countdown to Kitschmas: The 2013 Christmas Tag

Pretty sweet scanned in picture of my parents and I from the early 90s! P.S. Mom and I are wearing the same dress because we are the best and you should be jealous.

1. Do you prefer a real Christmas tree or synthetic?
This is actually the first year I've ever had a synthetic tree! I've always loved having a real tree because of the amazing smell, but who knows, I might love having a synthetic one (plus, I bought an Evergreen and a Balsam candle as well as a few other Christmas-y smelling ones).

2. You're in a coffee shop, it's December, what do you pick?
I'm an iced coffee lover all the way. People used to think I was nuts when I worked at the mall because I would buy an iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts and then go sit outside in the freezing cold and smoke (fun fact: I've been cigarette free since March 8th of this year!!). I also really like the chai lattes from a local coffee shop in Connecticut I used to frequent and the pumpkin spice lattes that Starbucks has. I just found out that the Starbucks in Japan don't have them though! Wompwomp.

3. What’s your favourite colour scheme for decorating the tree?
I've never had a colour scheme! My family loves really odd ornaments, so our trees have always been a mix of different colors. Ryan and I are keeping on with that, too.

4. Giving or receiving?
Well, I always love getting presents, (who doesn't?) but shopping for other people always makes me really happy! I love hunting for people-specific gifts that still have my kitschy flair and when someone loves something I've gotten them, it's one of the best feelings in the world, IMO.

5. To mince pie or not to?
Uhh, not to.

6. What's your traditional Christmas lunch?
Ham. Ham and sweet potatoes and corn and rolls and carrots. Pumpkin pie to follow. Mmmm...

7. Christmas day fashion?
PJs until I need to go out. Then I really like Christmas-y dresses and ugly sweaters.

8. What's your favourite Christmas song?
December is for Cynics by The Matches!

9. What's your favourite Christmas film?
This is a really difficult choice. As a kid, I would watch The Nightmare Before Christmas over and over and over throughout the fall up until Christmas. It's really the only favorite that I have that is actually a Christmas-y movie.

10. Open presents before or after lunch?
Before! Stockings during Breakfast time and then under-the-tree presents after that.

Makeup Pixi3 created this tag! I tag you all and remember that if you do, please link your post or comment with your answers down below!



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