Deb and Barbara: We know most of us try to love and appreciate what we already have, but in the spirit of "wishes", could you dream up a fantasy holiday celebration? If you don't celebrate Christmas, dream up another favourite holiday.
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I just read Maeve Binchey's last book "A week in Winter" and I would love to go to that Irish Bed and Breakfast on the cliff overlooking the ocean. Where you enjoy your dinner and evening with other guests and get to know them and the little town nearby. It just sounds dreamy in the book, dreamy and yet wild (because of nature) You feel soothingly tucked in the cozy home with nature and the ocean raging outside. Well, book review....I highly recommend it for Christmas reading!! lol
ReplyDeleteOh, I've been wanting to read that and now that you have written this, Mary-Jo, I think it's a must!
DeleteJo it sounds wonderful! I'm going to get that book!
DeleteI like the idea of mountains and snow with sledding and sleigh rides. We haven't had a white Christmas in way too many years. Also, for years, I've wanted to go to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair in San Francisco.
ReplyDeleteI know Eileen snow is a must isn't it? We have got rain right now. I live in hope.
ReplyDeleteOMG THIS IS SOOOO IMPOSSIBLE AND AMAZING! You BOTH TOLD "two" of my fantasy holidays!! And I didnt have any actual ideas about this...just blocks of thoughts....UNTIL YOU TWO SPOKE! I mean C'mon.....stop reading my thoughts you two :D This happens to us soooo many times!!!! AWESOME! Ofcourse I have many fantasy Holiday dreams....
ReplyDeleteAnd I SWEAR I am not making this up....These really are my holiday fantasies..IDK how this keeps happening but I SWEAR.THEY ARE!
And one of them is in a small town, in SNOW, somewhere in England, silent yet you can hear the choir, with hot chocolate in one hand a furry friend on my lap purring and my gorgeous yet-to-be-discovered Soulmate, in front of the fireplace...(Deb seriously...do you think we are long lost sisters?? With the same glasses and almost the same haircut...a "LITTLE" height difference ofcourse :D)
And another one was....any NEW undiscovered place, in a small cabin, IN SNOW again and obviously skiing, with the same company I mentioned before! (Barb...seriously...How awesome is that?)
And Ofcourse I would LOVVVE to spend a holiday is a beautiful Castle somewhere in Scotland or Ireland, with the same company I mentioned before and also I'd love some music and ...ohhh you'll love this...Long walks across the snow covered meadows!!! Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!
And this one....ofcourse I'm sure you saw it coming, spending the holiday with THE DOCTOR! (preferably David Tennant) in his TARDIS, overlooking the planet and discovering new planets and their own traditions! AWESOME!
Ohhh and also spending one Christmas at Hogwarts! :D
DeleteOOOOHHHHH i love the idea of spending Christmas at Hogwarts!
DeleteI was there with you two on my visit to Toronto. My fantasy adventure would be somewhere by water. Provincetown for me was this kind of fantasy.
ReplyDeleteYes Madge of course we did! I almost forgot where we went on our whirlwind day. Yes by the water, perfect.
DeleteI LoVe both of your dream Holidays! LoVe that you bring this gift of "heart thinking" to all your bloggers! Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes....
ReplyDelete"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something." - Steve Jobs
You gals are a beautiful reminder of LiVing your dreams. Thank you for that gift. Happy everything beauties. LoVe you.
xoxoxo
Sean'a
Beautiful quote Sean'a, thanks darlin'.
DeleteAww! I love Steve! and I LOVE the quote! Thanks Seana! xo
DeleteKelly and I have two major trips planned (well...not really planned, but we're going, come hell or high water! lol)
ReplyDeleteThe first one is that we want to go back to the UK in the summer of 2015. We will have just turned 25 and we thought it would be cool to spend that milestone birthday seeing places we've seen, seeing places we've never seen, seeing places only I've seen and not Kelly, etc. Plus, London is an absolutely beautiful city. I would live there in a heartbeat.
The second one...and we just sort of decided the other day while driving up to Lexington that we wanted to do this...is that we want to go to New York City (or any other major city where an event of this magnitude would occur) for the premiere of the last Hobbit movie. We first wanted to go to the second movie, but it's coming out a year from now and it would be chilly; the last Hobbit movie is coming out in the summer. So yeah. Only because we saw the first movie just a few days ago and it is freaking amazeballs. You need to see it if you haven't already.
Let the planning begin! wee!!! Thanks for the inspiration! :D
Great ideas all Holly! And I am officially going to start saying AMAZEBALLS! Plus, how lovely to be named Holly at this time of year.
DeleteAww, never thought of my name that way. Thanks for the smile. :)
DeleteThis is hard, I really can't imagine waking up Christmas morning anywhere but in my own home with my family. Part of the problem also lies in the fact that I would want to be together with both mine and my husbands families and a small part of my husbands family doesn't celebrate Christmas. So I'm going to have to say the best thing would be to have our perfect at home Christmas followed by a week spent in a cabin all together with plenty of space. Somewhere off the beaten path in the middle of a snow covered forest with access to a horse and sleigh, sking, skating, snowshoe and sledding areas and evenings spent with a roaring fire, mulled wine, tasty treats and endless card games of du pix, rumoli, cribbage and rook. The only electronics allowed being music.
ReplyDeletePerfect Erin. After all, there is nothing wrong with HOME being your dream destination. Nothing at all.
ReplyDeleteIn 6 days we leave for London to spend time with our oldest boy who has been living and working there for the last 18 months. Our youngest is coming too and it will be the first time we are all together in a long time. We will be without extended family and I am totally okay with that. there won't be a cabin in the woods but the concierge level at the Churchill is going to be just fine. My fantasy normally would be a cabin on the beach in Tofino watching the storms, but this year our planned trip is everything I ever wanted. Have a Happy Holiday everyone.xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteSound perfect Denny, just perfect. Have a wonderful trip and a wonderful holiday Christmas! xo
DeleteI think mine would be in England or Ireland. If I could control the weather, then it would be snowing. Sitting around the Christmas tree with the people (and animals) that mean the most to me, just enjoying our time together. And everyone would get the perfect gifts, the things they never imagined they would get. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteSounds perfect Steph. Yes if I could control the weather it would be snowing right now!!!
DeleteI love the snow! Raining a bit here instead, though...
DeleteI love the castle girls, must be the Scot in me. You know when I thought about this my first thought was I want to be in Vegas so I could be with my son at Christmas as this will be my first Christmas ever without him. But if I were to be honest it's not quite a place as much as the people. My siblings and I and our families all together and all getting along and laughing a lot and able to find a way past all the pettiness that keeps us apart otherwise. I've learned I can't fix things but you said in a perfect world. Also when I was a little girl my mom used to hitch the horses up to a sleigh and give sleigh rides in our neighborhood. We used to sing Christmas carols at the top of our lungs up and down the streets. I miss that and would love to experience that again sometime minus the loud singing perhaps! Hope you are all looking forward to a wonderful holiday surrounded by love and laughter! XO
ReplyDeleteMary how wonderful to have that childhood memory come to life for you and your family again. Hope it does. And I hope it's not too awful to miss your son at Christmas. That's what skype is for right?
DeleteIdeally, I want to do Thanksgiving. I want my Grandmama, Gram, Great-Granddaddy, Aunt Sue, and Uncle Junior back alive. I want my 2 uncles and my Granddaddy to be back healthy and intact. And, I want the houses and farmland to not have been sold off, to be back in the family. And, I want us all back at Grandmama's for Thanksgiving at the big dining room table. And, it would be snowing outside so I could build snowmen and have snowball fights with my uncles. My ideal holiday would be a Thanksgiving where I had all my people back.
ReplyDeleteAs for Christmas, I'd just like to have a soulmate to spend Christmas with. I'd just like to not be that kind of alone. Someone to wake up snuggling with. Someone to go to bed snuggling with. Someone to snuggle on the couch with and look at the lights on the tree. Someone to feel bound and intertwined with through the day. Even though I go for Christmas lunch @ my BFF's family's house (on the years they are in town)(and another friend and her family do, too), and even though she would never EVER intend this, I do feel like a 3rd wheel or, worse yet, a charity case. Then my son leaves at the end of lunch to go spend the rest of Christmas at his Dad's. So, even though I am with people for part of the day, I do rattle around like the last pea in the can for much of Christmas. And, even when I am with people, I still feel lonely. My ideal Christmas would just be one that I could spend with a soulmate, a Christmas that was wrapped in that special kind of love, comfort, stability, and companionship. A Christmas where I was wanted in that special way.
But, barring the 2 scenarios above, stepping away from emotion and going with "what would be the most fun?" and "where anywhere in the world would I want to be for Christmas and what would I want to be doing all those hours?" with the caveat of, "it doesn't have to be normal", my other Christmas ideal would be one spent working through the USO to help provide Christmas joy for deployed soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. I'd have flown to a far away, dangerous place like Afghanistan to be a magical elf helping pull off a special Christmas event for our military people.
I hope you get your wish on many levels Rigel. Wonderful ideas from a big hearted gal.
DeleteThe scene that keeps popping into my head is suprising me. I imagine me and the dog waking up to a light snow in a tent. Yup camping. LOL I love being with family but at the moment something about waking up to the sounds of nature. I think my day would have to include trecking to gram and gramps house for family festivities. But the silence of nature until you realize the little noises from all the animals and wind and such makes for my dream morning. oh and a cup of hot coaca by the fire for breakfast!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can do that one year Kelly. It is clearly in your heart and mind. I hope that for you.
ReplyDeleteI so would not mind being in a place with nothing to do with Christmas. I have spent my holidays with family and I would like to find my own way. So I think the blank slate would be good point to start. I would love to read a book in front of fire place with snowing outside. That's the soul for me. The rest of it is still a mystery.
ReplyDeleteMmm, that sounds lovely too. And I completely respect this version of celebration.
DeleteI would absolutely love to experience Christmas on a beach, just to see what it is like once. Of course, my whole family would have to be with me.
ReplyDeleteOne of my memories of Casa Loma was when I was a little girl and my mom took me to Casa Loma to see Rin Tin Tin (I know, showing my age). I was terrified of dogs at that time, so it didn't go over too well.
Aw, so sweet (in a sad kind of way :) ). My husband sometimes dreams of Christmas on a beach.
DeleteI have a Yankee Candle whose scent is "Christmas at the beach." It's a pineapple candle with that bit of coconut scent added to make you go Yummm.... Nothing to overwhelming, nothing too cliche. It's a good mix.
DeleteThe odd thing is, I can think of a million places I'd love to spend Christmas at, but they're all places that I want to discover alone. Christmas isn't meant to be a solitary holiday, and when it is it's just sort of quietly tragic.
ReplyDeleteSo for me, I should like to spend Christmas on a lake somewhere with people I'm not afraid to like. Somewhere with a fireplace, ice skates, forests of evergreen and cedar, and a joyfully coloured bookshelf filled to the brim with brand new books. I could wear my favourite sweater and spend hours drinking tea and cocoa, but best of all would be the laughter that, along with the chirping of cardinals and the susurration of snowfall, would make up the background music to my very own Christmas carol.
Cliche, I know, but I never said I wasn't secretly a holiday romantic at heart.
I so love the "susurration of snowfall". It's just sooo, mmm, evocative. And I think "cliches" are only cliches if they're empty of personal meaning. None of this, so... It sounds divine.
DeleteI've wanted to do Christmas in Disney World for a long time. We'd have all the snow and trimmings and decorations while still being able to wear shorts! Right now I can picture only wanting to do it once (the life-long New Englander in me needs the real weather for it to be Christmas), but if it really went well, I might be persuaded to repeat the experience.
ReplyDeleteThe kids wouldn't be bored after 2 hours. My daughter would actually want to come with us. We wouldn't have to clean up after anything. We'd have SO many family pictures together! It would be FUN!!
Did I ever tell you that Phil and I never wanted to go to Disney World and then went completely against our will because we wanted to offer the experience to our girls. But then we had the BEST time! I could actually see this as being incredibly fun.
DeleteNo, you never have mentioned this. Funny the way that works sometimes, isn't it? You have to be dragged to something only to discover how great it is? I was that way with cruising. All I could picture was being "stuck" on a ship for a week. But I LOVED it from the first time I went. It might be some sort of "vacation" thing, 'cause I still won't try oysters or squid, even though people swear I'll like that, too. :)
DeleteAnd, yes, I LOVE oysters and squid :)
DeleteIs it cheating if I have a non-Christmas fantasy? Cause this is a pretty long-burning fantasy of mine, but it would be for my birthday, not actually christmas...But here it goes, cause Christmas is too loaded a fantasy question for me to handle. Warning, I've fantasized about this often so I might get carried away, and it's dismal right now, and I feel dismal right now, so I kind of want to get carried away...
ReplyDeleteMy dream Birthday would be on the beach in Tofino (my birthday is in January so this really is a fantasy...) There would be three sound stages making up a semi circle facing the ocean, and giant bon fires around the perimeter of my beach 'dance floor' to keep everyone warm. Coloured paper lanterns would be hanging from tall spokes all along the beach and around the stages, and there are hot chocolate carts, and apples cider carts, and boozes and whatsits galore. It would be catered by Viji's food carts (Viji's is an award winning Indian restaurant here in Vancouver. I've been twice now, both for my parents anniversaries and it's unbelievable. And unbelievably pricey...) and Tacofino food carts (Tacofino is a taco truck that started in Tofino that is just unbelievable, and totally affordable. Which doesn't matter cause this would all be free). My favourite bands would perform in rotations, as everyone and the ocean danced and sang along, and dj's would perform in between so they could have breaks, and so we could get a little electro-funky with it.
And everyone would be there. Everyone. My family and friends, and all of you. We would dance from dusk til dawn. Watch the sun rise over the ocean, and bask in the beauty of the coast and the power of the ocean...
and then we would all go to brunch.
that is my fantasy.
Oh. My. God. This sounds brilliant. Yup. I'd be there.
DeleteWow. Looks like I will have plenty of good company for Christmas in the English countryside!
ReplyDeleteMy Moms side of the family has relatives in England and every year they rent a big house out in the country and gather there for the holiday season.
In my fantasy, my family rents the old stone farm house down the lane. Lots of room for everyone (there are over 20 when we get together) the house is decorated in bowes and berries gathered from the forest and all tied up with big tartan bows. The kids laugh and play games, the teens wander and discover, and a HUGE fireplace attracts the adults with comfy chairs and warming drinks. A stable full of riding horses at our disposal makes it easy to visit the cousins down the lane and vice versa.
For me the best part would be waking early on Christmas Day and going out for a walk. Freshly fallen snow and that beautiful serene silence that only seems to come on Christmas morning. Getting to the top of the hill, looking down over a small village, intime to hear carols from the church.
Its going to be pretty sweet. Drop by for a visit!
Of, beautiful, Fran! And "that beautiful serene silence that only seems to come on Christmas morning" -- that is something special isn't it? No matter where you live, that silence seems more pervasive and real on that one morning. Maybe because, even if not everyone celebrates, most of us have the day off from the hustle and bustle. And, PS, would love to visit!
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