This morning, Mal picked “share your favorite Christmas memory” for our 24 Days of Togetherness. It was an easy one, so we chatted about it while we ate breakfast.
Mine: The year I still believed in Santa and got Nintendo for Christmas.
His: Laying at the top of the stairs with his sister and trying to see their presents downstairs near the Christmas tree before their parents woke up.
Sharing our favorite Christmas memories over breakfast this morning was such a nice way to start the day. I’m really enjoying our 24 Days of Togetherness and look forward to picking a new activity every morning. It’s actually the first thing I think about when I wake up!
Breakfast
This morning’s breakfast was a pumpkin pancake (that totally fell apart) with sunflower butter and a banana with (a ridiculous amount of) Teddie peanut butter. (I ate it, sliced up, in a mug.) I also drank a glass of Marylou’s Milky Way coffee with (boring) almond milk.
After breakfast, I did some Christmas shopping online, which took me all of 20 minutes. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy, and I only had a few people to shop for this year (both sides of our family picked names), so I was finished in no time at all. I only had one more present to buy, which I couldn’t buy online (well, I could, but I didn’t want to pay for shipping), so I headed to the Derby Street Shoppes to purchase it. I was in and out of the store in minutes and completely DONE with my holiday shopping. Who am I? Usually, I wait to the very last minute to do my shopping!
Once I finished my holiday shopping, I popped into Whole Foods to pick up some eggnog. I was happy to see they had a number of options in stock!
When I got home, I decided to take Murphy to the dog park. It was such a beautiful day (50 degrees in December), I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get outside with my favorite furry friend.
Lunch
After the park, I came home and made lunch, which was a turkey burger with BBQ sauce, mashed sweet potatoes, and steamed spinach. It was a fabulous meal all around.
And now I’m sipping on an iced coffee with SO Delicious Nog Coconut Milk. You guys were right about how delicious it is. I took my first sip (straight from the carton) and actually said “damnnnn” out loud because it tasted so amazing. It’s like real eggnog (sweet and creamy), but not as heavy. I’m a big fan.
Questions of the Day
What’s your favorite Christmas memory?
How’s your holiday shopping going? Are you finished or not even close?
Do you like eggnog? Have you tried the SO Delicious Nog Coconut Milk?
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite Christmas memory is from when I was little — getting so excited for our Christmas program at church, getting chocolate and apples after the program, and then heading over to Grandpa and Grandma’s house for a crazy, big-family get-together.
i love christmas! so excited that it is so soon! I have been done with my christmas shopping since Thanksgiving! So its been nice and stress-free… almost all of the presents are wrapped and under the tree too!
I am a total egg nog addict! I should try that coconut version, maybe I wouldn’t feel so guilty after drinking a few too many glasses!
I didnt like regular egg nog when we tried it this year for our 24 days of togetherness. Maybe I would like Nog coconut milk!? And I only have one more thing to buy for Christmas, now I just need to wrap it all!
I’m almost done with my shopping, just need to pick up something for my younger brother. My favorite Christmas memory is the year I gave my dad a first aid kit. My dad loves to cook, but he always ends up cutting himself and ends up going through a lot of first aid supplies. Christmas Eve, my dad cut himself once again. When he opened the package the next morning, my dad broke out laughing (he’s usually a quiet guy). It was his favorite, and most useful present, that year.
My favorite Christmas memory was when I was 7 and living in Singapore with my family. We had our best friends visiting from Australia and our parents really went all out. To this day I’ve never seen so many Christmas lights inside an apartment and soooooooo many presents!!!
My favorite Christmas memory has to be the year that Spencer surprised me with Olive as a gift!!
@Kelly: Best Christmas ever!
What a fun idea for the 24 days! I love Christmas. Everything about it.
I still have almost all gifts to buy. Yikes. But I have started!
I was scared to try the so delicious egg nog because I didn’t think the pumpkin spice was very good. I got a nintendo too from santa
About half way done with the holiday shopping. Don’t like eggnog…always been a little to “eggy” for me!
Now that I’ve seen that coconut eggnog on 2 different blogs today, I definitely want to go find some, mmm! Dreaming of latte with sprinkled nutmeg
P.S. My Reebok notebook was on my porch when I went home for lunch today, eee!!!
@Hillary | Nutrition Nut on the Run: Yay! Enjoy!
Awesome murphy pictures!!! I have have to get Buoy out this weekend for a nice fall walk…
This is totally unrelated but I saw this and thought of you!! http://www.sanger.dk/ Obviously he’s not as cute as Murphy though
@Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats: Adorable!!!
That picture of you as a kid is priceless!! Love it. I also am doing with my holiday shopping in record time this year and am so happy about it (actually, now that I think about it, I have to get my dad something still…) But either way it feels great to be done.
Well, great. Now I CLEARLY have to spend my weekend tracking down coconut nog!
I lovveee eggnog and am currently obsessed with Hood’s Sugar Cookie Eggnog. I haven’t tried the So Delicious kind yet, though.
@Molly @ Just Your Average Athlete: That sugar cookie eggnog is SO good!
this dog park you go to looks huge! I’m so impressed that Murphy stays by your side off the leash!
I’m gonna have to try that eggnog! And I’m so jealous of your tiny Christmas gift list…I need to convince my family to do the whole secret Santa thing. We still buy for everyone and it’s so expensive! :-/
I don’t have many to buy for and did it nearly all in one day..it’s the wrapping I leave until the last minute. The year I got a barbie play tent…it was so big and I hadn’t asked for it, I think I was 4 or 5?!
When my sister and I use to believe in Santa, elves would visit us each day in December to bring a note and/or treats! So much fun. I remember one morning waking up to an elf’s jingle bell frozen into the snow – my parents were super creative
@Becky @ Olives n Wine: That IS creative! One year, my sister and I put out a carrot for each of Santa’s reindeer and my mom took a bite out of each one. Haha!
My favorite Christmas memory is opening gifts as a family. We would do one gift at a time so everyone else could see what the present was. It made Xmas morning last longer. Every year my mother would forgot yo put names on one or two packages and she would spend 5 minutes shaking it, thinking and most often could remember. A lot of laughs came from that every year because my mother did not do it on purpose but there was always one or two surprises.
@Karen: Ha! Love that!
That egg nog looks amazing. I need to get me some. Jen at Peanut Butter Runner has been putting it in her overnight oats, and I really wanna try it. The coconut milk version sounds like a good choice – don’t know if I want full-on egg nog in my breakfast
I am done with my Christmas shopping with the exception of picking up my boyfriend’s gift (not ready yet) and making a batch of granola for his parents. Feels SO good to not have a bunch of gifts to buy weighing over my head. Shopping online is the BEST. I cannot handle the malls or shopping centers this time of year.
I did the majority of my shopping a couple of weeks ago (unusual for me!) and felt all smug. But, don’t want to talk too soon as I still have two to get and keep forgetting!
My favourite memory is being 6 and going downstairs late on Christmas Eve to find my mum and grandma building my Barbie house. It meant I realised Santa wasn’t real but I didn’t care – I was getting the house!!
@Jodea @ chillichocolatelove.com: Haha!
How come I never see any other dogs at your dog park?
Ours is all fenced in and filled with dogs!
@Katie: Well, I guess there’s a couple of reasons. The dog park we go to is MASSIVE (acres, trails, water), so there’s not always a lot of dogs in the immediate area. I also don’t like taking photos of other people or their dogs without asking for their permission to put the photo on my blog, so I usually just take pics of Murph.
Aw, I love that pic of Murphy standing on the log! My favorite Christmas memory is opening presents. We would take turns opening one present at a time, then we’d have bacon and pancakes for brunch! Not an eggnog drinker, too thick and sweet for me. I used to down that stuff like nobody’s business when I was a kid though!
Did most of my holiday shopping already–all online! Earlier this year, I decided to keep running lists of ideas of gifts for my friends/family, that way come holiday season I wouldn’t have to scramble trying to think of something. I’ve had ideas written down since the summer, and it’s made holiday shopping SO much easier!
Fun fact: one of my roommates is named Murphy so whenever you talk about Murph the dog I giggle a little inside because they are surprisingly similar…hahaha
@Madi: Great name!
I am definitely going to be picking up some So Delicious EggNog this season! Yum!
And I’m all done shopping! Yay!
~Ang
Murphy’s face always makes me laugh
I’ve never tried eggnog. I have no idea what it must taste like!
@Michele: Surprisingly, it doesn’t really taste like eggs!
Awww Murphy is too darn cute staring up at the camera like that!
My favorite memories always focus on just before coming downstairs to see our presents and afterwards sharing what we got with our neighbors.
I’ve really loved the soy-based nogs in years’ past, but now that I can’t consume soy anymore, I’ll definitely have to keep an eye out for the coconut milk version! Sounds yummy!
Murphy is ridiculously photogenic. I haven’t done any christmas shopping because I’m in finals mode for law school, aka I’ll be shopping on Dec 23rd this year! And my favorite christmas memory is my Great Aunt Avis bringing over her gooey cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and that same year (the only year I remember her doing this before her fall), getting to wear the University of Missouri (GO MIZZOU!) cheerleader outfit she gave me!
WOW! Look at all the nog choices! I’ve never been to a Whole Foods, totally jealous over here. We’ve got one kind of nog in my grocery store that is non-dairy, Silk Soy nog. I like it!
I don’t know what my favorite memory is, I’ve got a few very memorable Christmas’s.
I cannot wait to try this and will have to visit Whole Foods sometime this week to give it a shot. My unsweetened almond milk in my coffee needs a boost! I’m bored of it. Tis the season! Love your hair in that Christmas picture. Classic!
@She Rocks Fitness: Haha! I had the worst (best?) early-90s perm!
Favorite christmas memory was the year my parents bought me the barbie dream house and the pool! Both were crazy pricey and I had to choose one, but they got me both! Lol silly little things, but I remember how awesome I felt they loved me so much
@Katie: Haha! Sweet gift!
Coconut milk eggnog?! YUM!!
I got my brother his present today… I love Christmas! I don’t know what my favorite holiday memory is though… I love them all <3
P.S- LOVE the neon sneaks
When everyone was home, then and now!
Wow, that’s a lot of nog. My WF only has a fraction of that. I haven’t tried the Coconut Version, but I do really like Silk’s
Tina – I so love your blog. Especially when there’s pictures of Murphy! He’s hilarious and totally makes me smile. So thanks!!
@Laura: Thank you!
My favorite Christmas memory would probably be getting the horse barn and corrals for my Breyer horses as a kid. I loved that thing and had begged for it for months!
Almost done with my shopping- only two things left, and one of them I still haven’t figured out.
I’ve never tried egg nog. The way people have described it to me, and reading the ingredients, well, I honestly can’t think of anything that sounds more disgusting. No thanks!
I love the So Delicious brand but havent tried their egg nog. I think I may have to put it on my list now
I have been debating on whether to try the SO Delicious Nog Coconut milk, but after reading your post, I’ll be adding it to my grocery list! My favorite Christmas moment was getting a letter from Santa when I was 8 years old telling me that the doll house I wanted was on its way, but hadn’t arrive in time for him to bring it!
@Melissa @ Fit ‘N’ Well Mommy: Aww, did you end up getting it?
I am dying over the coconut nog. SO GOOD!
Never had eggnog before (I’m an Aussie) but we only had this conversation tonight as to how you actually have eggnog! So how do you have it?
@Jodie: I put it in my iced coffee!
Favorite memory is heading upstairs to watch for Santa and Rudolph. (My dad had a red flashlight and he’d shine it in the backyard.)
I finished most of my shopping the Saturday after T-giving. Got to the outlet mall at 8am and raced through. Then finished everything with online shopping.
My favorite Christmas memory is waking up, every hour, starting at 2AM to wake my parents and sister up. When they finally let us get up (around 4:30 or 5), we would call my grandma (who lived down the street– and was arguably more excited about Christmas than I was every year), and she would rush over. Once she got there, we would bound down the stairs to see what Santa brought us. It was (and still is) the best.
I love the 24 Days of Togetherness idea. My fiance and I are going to do 8 Days of Togetherness when he gets home–he is gone for about 5.5 months at a time (and gets home Sunday!!), and we are really looking forward to it! Such a good idea to really take time to enjoy the Christmas season and spend time together–thanks for the idea!
I haven’t even started my Christmas shopping. I’m starting to get anxious about it since I have no clue what to get everyone on my list. Ugh!
I’m going to look for that eggnog while I’m grocery shopping tonight. Looks good!
I really like the So Delicious egg nog and the pumpkin spice flavor is good too. I hear they have a chocoalte peppermint version, but I haven’t been able to find it. I love it in my coffee and it made a great smoothie!
I have all my shopping done since I will be in Germany the week before Christmas and our family Christmas is this weekend. Thank goodness for Amazon! We buy for all the kids and do a grab for the adults. It’s far less stressful that way!
@Cate: Ooh pumpkin spice eggnog sounds yummy, I’ll have to look for that one.
My favorite Christmas memory was waking up on Christmas morning to see what Santa had brought. All of my “santa” gifts were unwrapped and set up under the tree, so that was the first thing I saw. I LOVE Christmas shopping and wrapping pretty packages, so I try to do a little bit of shopping throughout the month of December, it makes it feel more like Christmas to me, since I live in So Cal, where it’s usually 80 degrees on Christmas Day. I’ve had the Silk Seasonal nog, which I mentioned yesterday, and it’s pretty good, but I haven’t tried the So Delicious. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that one because I actually prefer Almond/Coconut milk to soy.
I am so jealous of all the egg nog choices that you have in the US!!! The UK really needs to catch up… i haven’t seen any anywhere