Christmas Interview – Anneli Purchase

Can a person interview him/herself? I’m going to try.

I’m Anneli Purchase and this is my blog. Just in time for Christmas, I’d like to share my thoughts with you, and wish you all a wonderful Christmas.

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?

Yes, of course. Even if I were someplace far away from home, I’d be celebrating Christmas.

2. Have you ever spent Christmas alone?

Not completely alone, but one year my husband and I were without our extended family near. It was a relief not to have the pressure of the usual gift buying and entertaining commitments, but we couldn’t quite push away a feeling of loneliness that day. 

3. Have you ever had a non-traditional Christmas dinner? What did you have?

 As a child, “traditional” meant a goose dinner, and as an adult it was always turkey. We may have had a pheasant one year. I don’t remember for sure.

4. What are your thoughts on gift giving?

I don’t like feeling pressured to give a gift just because it’s Christmas. I want to give a gift because I feel like giving it. At home we’ve done away with the big gift giving for the last five years and have done only the stocking gifts instead. It’s a lot of fun and a lot less pressure.

5. What was the most fun activity you’ve done at Christmas?

We went skiing on a sunny Christmas Day and it was wonderful. We had Christmas dinner with our parents that night so everyone was happy. 

6. Do you have stockings either at Christmas, or on St. Nicholas Day?

As a child, we had stockings on Dec. 6, St Nicholas Day, which (one year) was the day our budgie flew out into a blizzard of snow because I opened the window to look for St. Nick. Now that we don’t do the big gifts anymore we do the stockings on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

7. What was the best gift you ever received at Christmas?

Some of the best gifts were board games when my brother and sisters and I could stay up late on Christmas Eve to play the games in the kitchen. Christmas music was playing and our parents and their friends visited in the living room, having a bit of Advocaat egg brandy. 

8. What was the best homemade gift you ever received?

 My mother sewed cushions one year and each of the grownup children got a cushion. Although I’ve recovered my cushion I still have it even after what must be at least 40 years now.

9. Have you ever given a homemade gift? Tell about it.

I often made things for people for Christmas. It might have been jam or pickles, or a crocheted afghan, or a sweater I knitted, or a shirt I sewed. Sometimes it was just cookies I baked. I used to take newsprint and paint designs on it to make my own Christmas wrapping paper but it was too painful watching the recipient of the gift trying not to tear the paper, so I didn’t do that again.

 10. What would you change about Christmas?

I would not allow Christmas advertising to start before Halloween.

11. What would you keep the same if you could?

I would always want to be allowed to wish someone Merry Christmas without worrying whether it was politically correct. “Happy Holidays” just isn’t the same. I don’t think people of other religious beliefs are offended by the words Merry Christmas any more than I’m offended by them wishing each other whatever their holiday is.

12. What is your favourite Christmas music or song?

I Believe in Father Christmas (Greg Lake)

War is Over (John Lennon)

Walking in the Air (from the video The Snowman)

 13. What do you like best about Christmas?

The music, the fireplace, being together with good friends and family.

 ***

Of course I would love it if everyone would buy my books and this is the time I would normally want to tell you about them, but I’ll spare you this time and ask only that sometime you might visit my webpage and see for yourself what’s available there. You’ll see the book covers, reviews, a photo gallery, and a page about copy-editing which is my other job that I like to do besides writing.

Please visit www.anneli-purchase.com

I wish you all a healthy and happy 2014.

Advertisement