Christmas Memories with Ruth O'Neil

Please Join me in welcoming Ruth O'Neil to my blog today to talk about Christmas Memories. I met Ruth a couple years back after reading a book her mother wrote which

I loved. 

1.    What do you most associate with Christmas where you live?

It isn’t necessarily where I live now, but I always associated snow with Christmas. I grew up in upstate New York and we often have to wait Christmas. But now I live in Virginia and white Christmases are few and far between.

2.    Do you have any special family traditions you do at Christmas time?

One of the things that I do Christmas time as a tradition is to decorate the house while my husband is at work. He hates decorating. He becomes a Scrooge. So I like to turn up the Christmas music and decorate when he’s not here. He likes it that way to. We also have braided bread every Christmas morning for breakfast. This is a recipe for my grandmother and it’s one my mom always made a Christmas time while we were growing. (Jenny here mum was like your husband. I would decorate the tree etc at night when she went to bed cos if she had her way we would have had no decorations)

3.    Do you have a favourite Christmas Carol and if so do you know why?

Favorite? I like a lot of different ones. I love “O Holy Night” and Steven Curtis Chapman’s rendition of “O, Come, O, Come Emmanuel.” (Jenny again I love O Holy Night and also O, Come, O, Come Emmanuel)

4.    If you could spend Christmas anyway you could how would you celebrate?

I’m not sure that I would spend it any differently than I do now. I love to be with my family. Our family dynamics are changing as our kids grow and my oldest is getting married this next spring so I think Christmas is all together as a family will be even more important.

5.    Do you have any special memories of Christmas?

I remember as a kid we were allowed to get up and get into our stockings early in the morning, but we couldn’t get into the presents under the tree until my parents got up, and we were not allowed to wake them. I think that’s kind of a tradition my husband and I tried to carry over with our kids. The only problem is my husband is the one who gets up early in does wake everybody up because he’s so excited. (Jenny again we had the same rule we could look at our stocking but nothing else. Oh we would then go and wake mum and dad can’t remember the time but what I didn’t realise at the time mum and dad were already awake as mum was always up before 5.30am)

6.    What is a typical Christmas eve, and or Christmas day for you.

We try to keep it relaxing. Were so busy every other day of the year that it’s nice to just sit and relax and not rush through things and enjoy our time together as a family.

7.    Do you have any Christmas movies or Christmas books you like to see or read each year?

I love Christmas movies. I think last year was the year I watched the most Christmas movies. I think I had a lot of sewing that I needed to do for other people so I would plan my hand sewing around the Christmas movie schedule. As far as favorites, I don’t know that I have a favorite. The same goes for books. I just enjoy reading different ones each December just to get myself in the Christmas spirit.

8.    Do you have a Christmas message for my readers?

Just enjoy the time that you have with your family. Don’t worry about making every little event a big deal. Sometimes I find with my own family it’s the little things that really mean a lot and the least planned events are the most fun and the most relaxing.

Here is my book blurb - "Come Eat at My Table"

Karin is a woman with a past. About the time she thinks no one will ever know, it comes back to haunt her in full force. The deeper she tries to push it away the more prominently it returns. Forgiveness is a word that isn’t in her vocabulary as far as the people from her past are concerned.  She thinks she's fine until someone from her past shows up unexpectedly forcing her to think about what happened. With the help of her family and other people around her she realizes that she must learn to forgive, even if forgiveness wasn't asked of her.

 http://ruthoneil.weebly.com/

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http://www.amazon.com/Come-Eat-My-Table-ebook/dp/B00BUUPW5M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366635822&sr=8-1&keywords=come+eat+at+my+table

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/come-eat-at-my-table-oneil-ruth-ruth-oneil/1115981534?ean=2940148236528