*AD – Festive Q&A With Ticking The List is a sponsored post. Check out my disclaimer for more information.
With Christmas just a couple of days away, I thought it would be the perfect time to host a little festive Q&A. As the title suggests, my guest today is Ellie from Ticking The List. As well as festive questions, there are also a few others to allow us to get to know the blogger behind the blog, so lets get started…
What made you start your blog?
It was a mixture of my love for travel and the fact that I couldn’t travel during the Pandemic. Starting my blog was a way for me to keep the wanderlust alive.
What can anyone discovering your blog for the first time expect from you?
My blog centres around my huge Bucket List so you’ll find posts about all my adventures so far – from jumping out of planes to walking underwater to getting stranded in Yemen!
Which blog post is your favourite from this year?
I think it would have to be my Ireland Bucket List. I really enjoyed writing this one, most especially because Ireland is my home country. It’s a pretty long post but that’s because I just couldn’t stop writing about it – there’s so much beauty to be seen there.
What are your goals for next year?
Well this year I started my second blog, which has done really well so far. I hate to admit that I haven’t given Ticking The List as much attention as it deserves, probably because I haven’t been able to travel enough. Next year, I’d like to revamp the site, get out travelling more and maybe start to monetise this blog, since I’ve learnt how with my other blog!
Do you have any pets? If so, tell me about them
Unfortunately not, I currently live in an apartment in Dubai and I would LOVE a dog but I wouldn’t keep a dog in an apartment. I do skype my sister’s dog every week though – he’s the cutest!!
What is top of your bucket list?
This is a really tough one, given the size of my bucket list. I’ve got different categories for travel, personal, development, etc. I guess top of my bucket list at the moment would be to climb Kilimanjaro. I had been training for it early 2020 and was meant to climb in August 2020 but then it got postponed. And after catching Covid myself in January 2021, my fitness level is nowhere near what I need it to be to do the climb. Keep your fingers crossed for me in 2022!
What is one product you can’t live without?
It’s gotta be my camera. Funnily enough I only got my first camera a couple of years ago but it’s now pretty much attached to me everywhere I go.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Space! I’m pretty sure in years to come it will be more accessible, right?
If you could give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Never get into debt. If I hadn’t done this when I was younger, I could have started travelling before the age of 30.
If you could spend Christmas anywhere in the world, where would you choose?
Back home in Ireland. There’s nothing quite like Christmas at home.
What is your favourite Christmas tradition?
Back home, I was part of a musical theatre group and every Christmas we would go carolling in a local shopping centre for one of our charities. We’d dress up in funny Christmas jumpers and sing and dance and it was always one of the things I looked forward to before heading home for the Christmas break.
What is your favourite Christmas film?
The Holiday. And yes, I watch it multiple times throughout the year!
Does your decor have a theme or does anything go?
Theme all the way. I actually have two colour schemes and I mix them up each year. This year is winter wonderland so all my tree decorations are white or silver. I also have a smaller tree with all my travel decorations.
What is your favourite Christmas song?
It’s got to be Fairytale of New York, being Irish and all! It’s the song they play at the end of the night on every night out over Christmas and everyone’s usually hugging and dancing, arms around each other… oh to be able to do that again!
Who are you spending Christmas day with?
This year I’ll be spending it with my Dubai friends. Most of us go home every second year (as our offices only close for Christmas day here), so we’re all here this year. We’ll spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day together, eating dinner in the back yard, surrounded by fairy lights.
Do you dress up or down on Christmas day?
I’m a dress down kind of girl, although my friends are wanting to dress up this year so I might have to!
What do you love most about Christmas?
Nights in by the fire with only the Christmas tree lights on for light. Living in Dubai for so long where it’s never too cold, I love going home for Christmas and wrapping up in woolly clothes and getting all toasty warm.
What is the best Christmas present you’ve ever received?
Scrabble… Sounds a little sad doesn’t it? But here’s why. That Christmas, there was a huge storm and our house was without electricity, heat and water for 4 days from Christmas eve (as were 3 other houses on our road). It happened to be the one year that Santa had to cut back on costs so I got Scrabble, my sister got Jenga and my older brothers and sister got Trivial Pursuit and other games. Because we had no electricity, no TV,, etc, all we had were board games and my brothers’ guitars and a fireplace. Other neighbours cooked our Christmas dinner and brought us water and hot water bottles at night. It is today the most memorable Christmas I’ve ever had and the best Christmas present I’ve ever got!
That brings us to the end of this post. I hope you enjoyed reading this festive Q&A with Ticking The List. A massive thank you to Ellie for taking part and sharing a bit about her Christmas.
Other posts you might enjoy:
Traditional games for all the family
The Kelly Diane Report 
Awww, such a lovely Q&A! I love Ellie’s blog so it was great to learn more about her x
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