It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Community
General discussionskimmie's and PaterAlf's Christmas Surprise Party [Giveaway](282 posts)(282 posts)
(282 posts)
Pages:
1
5
9
10
11
12
13
15
19
This is my favourite topic
Posted December 17, 2018
avatar
skimmie: Santa loves Bing Crosby christmas songs, and the Ginger Snaps sound delish, too! He ate all the cookies...sorry about that. He left a present in your stocking to make up for it, though...as well as a request to never mention the sprouts, ever again. :)
Wow, thank you very much, Skimmie! A very Merry Christmas to you and PaterAlf. :-)
Posted December 18, 2018
avatar
ywzywz: İ like xmas movies actually. Any advice on Netflix pls post.

İ am in for giveaway too.

Fun and cheers
I'd go for Gremlins and Lethal Weapon!
Posted December 18, 2018
avatar
PaterAlf: ‘Tis Christmas time again. Houses are decorated, Christmas trees are lit, and the GOG forums are full of good cheer! …. Or, are they? Where’s the festive music? Where’s the good food? It seems those in charge of the festivities have botched the job, and we’re left with half a party! So come one, come all, and help us make this a Christmas we’ll never forget! Who knows, you might even find a Christmas gift in your stocking (provided you made a Christmas wish list of course) as a reward…

Welcome everyone, to PaterAlf’s and skimmie’s Christmas Surprise Party. We’d like to learn a bit about other people’s Christmas traditions. What kind of (local) songs are a necessary part of your festivities? And what’s the must-have dinner (or lunch, or breakfast, or cookies, or waffles or whatever else you like to eat in the season of good cheer)? So, in order to find out, we need your input. Post your favourite Christmas song (link to a version we can all listen to, if you can!) or your best Christmas recipe, and, if you want, please tell us why you like it so much. Stories are a great Christmas tradition, too!

To make things a bit more interesting, we’ve tied in a surprise giveaway of sorts. If you post a song or recipe, please also make sure to let us know if you’re in for the GA or not, and if you’re in, make sure your wish list is public (or set it to ‘friends’ and add us as friends, at least for the duration of the giveaway). We’ll be going around and dropping gifts in your stockings here and there if you participated (starting December 6th), so you MIGHT end up with a gift from us, sooner or later! Then again, you might not. After all, we’re just sharing for the fun of it; the GA is a bonus.
I'm in for the giveaway.

As far as Christmas songs go, I always have this one playing at the minimum:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4BTYiy0Qi4

Can't go wrong with that at all.

In terms of Christmas traditions, my family and I usually eat roast beef sandwiches for Christmas Eve and then pasta on Christmas Day. We'll also have chocolate biscuits or whatever other chocolates we got for the occasion.
Post edited December 18, 2018 by TheBigCore
Posted December 18, 2018
I was recently reminded of some other Christmas songs I like so I thought I'd post them here for others to enjoy.

When I was a child we had a cassette tape of Christmas songs, just versions of all the usual Christmas stuff like Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells and Santa Claus is Coming to Town. And this was the only Christmas music we had, so we listened to it quite a lot. While I heard all the other Christmas pop songs and the like in stores and on the telly these were the only songs we played ourselves regularly.

I'd been trying for years to remember what it was and find it, and all I could remember was that it was two or three female singers but when I searched related to that all I could find where songs by Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, which most definitely wasn't what I remembered. Anyway a few years ago I remembered that Bing Crosby sang male vocals on the album and that led me to find who it was; The Andrews Sisters.
And you can listen to the whole album on youtube these days.
It's very 40s / 50s but it reminds me of Christmas as a child and I think they are among the best versions of some of these songs around.

Enjoy :)
Posted December 18, 2018
avatar
Schizo2015: im in :german tradionell chrismas song

"O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu*) sind deine Blätter.
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit:
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren!
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
gibt Trost und Kraft zu jeder Zeit!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren!"
Santa likes traditional German Christmas songs (but not so much the anthem of Maryland). He left a gift in your stocking. :)
Posted December 18, 2018
avatar
Schizo2015: im in :german tradionell chrismas song

"O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu*) sind deine Blätter.
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit,
nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit:
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
du kannst mir sehr gefallen!

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren!
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
gibt Trost und Kraft zu jeder Zeit!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
dein Kleid will mich was lehren!"
avatar
PaterAlf: Santa likes traditional German Christmas songs (but not so much the anthem of Maryland). He left a gift in your stocking. :)
very thanks for the fantastic gift from you and misteryo
Posted December 18, 2018
avatar
SerpentineCougar: Until I listen to the Mannheim Steamroller, it doesn't feel like Christmas season. I grew up listening to a cassette tape of this album every year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmuyow8cJ2A The first few notes of that first song.... :D My family also has a tradition of eating bacon at breakfast Christmas morning.

Please count me in for the giveaway, too. Thanks so much!
Santa believes everything is better with bacon. He left a present in your stocking.
Posted December 18, 2018
Would you mind if I share my Christmas poem? I love to write stories & poems, so, here's one:

Rough translation from Croatian (old poem of mine)

When snow whites the fields
and bells start to ring
when houses get filled with song
and people are yearning
for Christmas feast
then Santa will knock
in children's sleep
to bring presents
to bring hope
to bring joy

when cold wind blows
and stars are lit
when trees are decorated
and people are praying
for prosperity
then the Yuletide
and Christmas
and Happy New Year
will bring celebration to the land....
Posted December 19, 2018
I love these two Christmas songs, too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FJU4GrXztE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t039p6xqutU
Posted December 19, 2018
avatar
skimmie: Santa believes everything is better with bacon. He left a present in your stocking.
Wow, thank you so much! Santa has good taste. ;)
Posted December 19, 2018
avatar
AB2012: Great festive giveaway! I'd like to be in for the giveaway.

Favorite Song : Silver Bells (Bing Crosby)

Favorite Recipe : Swedish "Pepparkakor" (Ginger Snaps) (It's actually all about the Cardamom)

Everything else is a traditional British Christmas, ie, you take the sprouts, boil them on high and if you can still count them they're not done enough yet... ;-)
avatar
skimmie: Santa loves Bing Crosby christmas songs, and the Ginger Snaps sound delish, too! He ate all the cookies...sorry about that. He left a present in your stocking to make up for it, though...as well as a request to never mention the sprouts, ever again. :)
Speaking of Bing Crosby, have you watched the original 1954 movie "White Christmas"? All time classic Christmas movie right there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCYGDi0OlpU
Post edited December 19, 2018 by TheBigCore
Posted December 19, 2018
In for the giveaway!

We usually spend Christmas the typical way the Western world does, with Santa gifts and a lot of food. The downside to this is that in Greece and Cyprus, Christmas was an exclusively Christian holiday spent in church. We used to trade gifts on New Year, and the gift-bearing Santa was Saint Basil of Caesarea. Instead of a tree, we used to have a miniature ship with lights and other "bells and whistles". This changed with years, and now we have 2 Christmases a week apart of sorts, but it's no different than the rest of the western world anymore.

As for a recipe, here's one for almond cookies, traditionally made during the holidays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ena5L-3WvrM
Posted December 19, 2018
avatar
BeatriceElysia: Would you mind if I share my Christmas poem? I love to write stories & poems, so, here's one:

Rough translation from Croatian (old poem of mine)

When snow whites the fields
and bells start to ring
when houses get filled with song
and people are yearning
for Christmas feast
then Santa will knock
in children's sleep
to bring presents
to bring hope
to bring joy

when cold wind blows
and stars are lit
when trees are decorated
and people are praying
for prosperity
then the Yuletide
and Christmas
and Happy New Year
will bring celebration to the land....
Thank you for a lovely contribution to the thread! It's a beautiful poem. Would you mind sharing the original, non-translated version?
avatar
TheBigCore: Speaking of Bing Crosby, have you watched the original 1954 movie "White Christmas"? All time classic Christmas movie right there.
I sure have. In fact, it's one of my yearly must-watch Christmas movies! Which reminds me that I still haven't watched any Christmas movies this year. I think I know what I will be doing this evening :)
Post edited December 19, 2018 by skimmie
Posted December 19, 2018
avatar
BeatriceElysia: Would you mind if I share my Christmas poem? I love to write stories & poems, so, here's one:

Rough translation from Croatian (old poem of mine)

When snow whites the fields
and bells start to ring
when houses get filled with song
and people are yearning
for Christmas feast
then Santa will knock
in children's sleep
to bring presents
to bring hope
to bring joy

when cold wind blows
and stars are lit
when trees are decorated
and people are praying
for prosperity
then the Yuletide
and Christmas
and Happy New Year
will bring celebration to the land....
avatar
skimmie: Thank you for a lovely contribution to the thread! It's a beautiful poem. Would you mind sharing the original, non-translated version?
I lost my Croatian version a while back, only to save English one on piece of paper, but I can remember & translate it back.

Kad snjezi pobjele polja
i zvona zvone
i kuće ispunjavaju pjesmom
i ljudi posežu željom
za Božinom gozbom
tada Sv. Nikola će pokucati
u dječjim snovima
da donose poklone
da donese nadu
da donese sreću

kad hladni vjetrovi zapušu
i zvjezde zasjaju
kada su drvca božićna
i ljudi mole
za blagostanje
tada će Yuletide
i Božić
i Sretna Nova Godina
donjeti veselje u domovinu...

There's some discrepancy between Croatian version & English one. Croatian version had some other holiday besides Yuletide, but I can't remember which one, I remember I changed it to Yuletide when doing the traslation. I also changed Sv. Nikola to Santa, so Croatian version is bit diferent to English one.

I will just add I never do rhyme...
Post edited December 19, 2018 by BeatriceElysia
Posted December 19, 2018
I would just like to share a Slovene Christmas Song that I really like. Its called Christmas Time/Božični čas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH5scDao-1E

Text in English/Slovene

Look at the snow outside, it has whitened the new day, / GLEJ ZUNAJ SNEG, POBELIL JE NOV DAN.
all cheerful, brought us laughter. / PRINESEL NAM JE SMEH ,VES RAZIGRAN.
Let the hidden wish be heard up in the sky, /NAJ SKRITA ŽELJA SLIŠI SE V NEBO,
let happiness touch all the people that have hope! / SREČA NAJ SE DOTAKNE, VSEH KI UPAJO !
Let there be cold and wind, let there be winter, white snow, /NAJ BO MRAZ IN VETER, NAJ BO ZIMA, BELI SNEG,
red cheeks and child's laughter on the sleigh. / RDEČA LICA, NA SANEH OTROŠKI SMEH.
Let a fire burn in the heart and a good wish is born, /A V SRCU NAJ GORI, DOBRA ŽELJA SE RODI,
when we give each others hands. /KO SI PODAMO ROKE.
The Christmas Time has enveloped us fully and the Christmas light will shine, /BOŽIČNI ČAS LEPO NAS JE OBJEL, BOŽIČNA LUČ NAJ ZAGORI
shine when the darkness drops. /KO PADE NOČ NAJ SVETI NAM V TEM
Sincere thoughts are sent between the people, / ISKRENE MISLI POŠLJE MED LJUDI
and it shall bring peace, this Christmas Time! /IN MIR PRINAŠA NAJ LE, TA BOŽIČNI ČAS !

As for our traditions. Its just general Christian Stuff. I do the Christmas Tree on the Christmas Eve as its traditional in the Catholic Church. Then in the evening we make Christmas Dinner which can be a anything from Beefsteak with Butter on fried bread or a Wienerschnitzel with Pommes Frittes or something totally different but usually it does include a big piece of Meat. And since Christmas Eve is also my Birthday it does have to have something sweat, some cookies or something like that. On Christmas Day we eat my Birthday cake, which if I can get it, is The Prinzregent Cake from Bavaria, my favorite :) Usually we had some Christmas presents but cause of the commercialization of Christmast and loosing the meaning of the day - The birth of our Lord Jesus Christ - it has become kind of just a day when we enjoy company of the family. We watch some Christmas movies and generally enjoy ourselves as much as we can.
Personally I'm not a Holiday person, I generally sink in to a black hole then, but lately it has become a more joyous affair, especially with me having a Job at least for a short time so I hope its going to be nice this year.

Not entering the giveaway cause I'm part of another one already. Just sharing a bit.
Post edited December 19, 2018 by Matruchus
Pages:
1
5
9
10
11
12
13
15
19
This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionskimmie's and PaterAlf's Christmas Surprise Party [Giveaway](282 posts)(282 posts)
(282 posts)