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1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Whatever works best. Usually wrapped, but not always.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Either. White is elegant and simple, colored is so cheery. Our tree has colored lights, and goes up tomorrow. (Artificial. I'm planning to get some greens for the scent as well. Actually, I was going to get them last weekend but drove home on autopilot, right past the place I had meant to stop at! I miss having a real tree, but I don't want the hassle of having to care for and dispose of it - and I always feel a bit guilty killing a tree.)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Not generally. But maybe we'll get some this year. I remember mistletoe tacked above doorframes when I was a child, and I love the idea.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Never before Thanksgiving. Generally within a week after, but it's really a when-we-get-a-roundtuit. Some years, the roundtuits are in shorter supply than other years.
6. What is your favorite Christmas dish (excluding dessert)? I'm not sure. I don't think of "a" Christmas dish other than dessert. Hmm. Leg of lamb was on the menu some years, and was probably my favorite, actually.
7. Favorite Christmas memory: The tree. Putting up the tree and the lights and the ornaments, the smell of it, the packages gathering underneath, the family sitting in the living room just doing what we would have done otherwise, but with the tree in the corner, the Christmas carols on the stereo, the season all around us. Anticipation. Togetherness.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember, exactly. If I remember right, though, it involved a glass of water.... :)
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Generally, no.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree. Lights, and ornaments, many of the latter having been bought for me by my parents. The lights stay on from year to year and we store the tree put together, because this appears to encourage the growth of the roundtuits mentioned above.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? YES! I love snow. Lovelovelove. And if I have plans that involve going anywhere that I don't want to give up, I dread it. I adore snow, I enjoy the pretty and the cold and the childhood wonder it brings back, and I miss the days of my childhood when sometimes there'd be inches of it...! But oh I do not want to drive on slick roads. Give me a good thick snow when I can afford to be snowed in. When I can't, give me a delicate dusting that layers over all the plants and dirt and can't stay on the pavement well enough to get slick, and it's all good from there.
12. Can you ice skate? Kinda/sorta, but not well. It's been a long time since I have.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I'm not sure I can think of a favorite gift. That's more likely my poor memory than anything else....
14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? The sense of joy, caring, the attempts to reach out and to give (and I mean that in the broadest sense, not the materialistic one, though to be honest parts of that are fun - but not important; there's a difference).
15. What is your favorite Christmas dessert? Homemade fudge. That IS the Christmas dessert, Mom's wonderfully thick, rich, homemade fudge. Doubtless nowhere on my diet now, but I think maybe I should see if I can get that recipe and learn to make it anyway. Some things are more important than diets...and in moderation, even fudge is okay.
16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? The tree. Whether it is real or fake, the placing of the tree, the decorating of the tree, the way it welcomes you into the season and welcomes you home. Plus I like the pretty lights, but I'm easy that way.
17. Is the commercialism of Christmas a turn-off, or do you take it in your stride? Sometimes I roll my eyes and sometimes it's horribly stupid. But at the same time that it's stupid, it is what it is, and I'm not going to not-enjoy the season just because that's part of it. I have been a child and I have clamored after things because I could, and gotten them, and loved it, and felt spoiled and treasured and gifted. Even the commercialism sometimes has a good heart - there are parts of it that are just dismaying, but there's some good in it too. I buy gifts for the toy drive every year at work. I do that because it is good and kind and giving, but let's be honest, I also do it because I enjoy shopping for the stuff!
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I like both. Getting too much feels awkward (especially if you hadn't planned to gift that person in that proportion), but getting something is nice. Giving is nice, especially if you get it right and the person is really truly pleased by the gift.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Christmas in the Northwest.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? They're peppermints. They look pretty. They taste okay. They're not a great treat, they're sort of an after-thought, but they're okay. Give me fudge or maple sugar candy any day instead, though. Unless I'm decorating the tree. A few candy canes look pretty - and hanging maple sugar candy just does not sound like a great idea. ;)
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Whatever works best. Usually wrapped, but not always.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Either. White is elegant and simple, colored is so cheery. Our tree has colored lights, and goes up tomorrow. (Artificial. I'm planning to get some greens for the scent as well. Actually, I was going to get them last weekend but drove home on autopilot, right past the place I had meant to stop at! I miss having a real tree, but I don't want the hassle of having to care for and dispose of it - and I always feel a bit guilty killing a tree.)
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Not generally. But maybe we'll get some this year. I remember mistletoe tacked above doorframes when I was a child, and I love the idea.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Never before Thanksgiving. Generally within a week after, but it's really a when-we-get-a-roundtuit. Some years, the roundtuits are in shorter supply than other years.
6. What is your favorite Christmas dish (excluding dessert)? I'm not sure. I don't think of "a" Christmas dish other than dessert. Hmm. Leg of lamb was on the menu some years, and was probably my favorite, actually.
7. Favorite Christmas memory: The tree. Putting up the tree and the lights and the ornaments, the smell of it, the packages gathering underneath, the family sitting in the living room just doing what we would have done otherwise, but with the tree in the corner, the Christmas carols on the stereo, the season all around us. Anticipation. Togetherness.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember, exactly. If I remember right, though, it involved a glass of water.... :)
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Generally, no.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree. Lights, and ornaments, many of the latter having been bought for me by my parents. The lights stay on from year to year and we store the tree put together, because this appears to encourage the growth of the roundtuits mentioned above.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? YES! I love snow. Lovelovelove. And if I have plans that involve going anywhere that I don't want to give up, I dread it. I adore snow, I enjoy the pretty and the cold and the childhood wonder it brings back, and I miss the days of my childhood when sometimes there'd be inches of it...! But oh I do not want to drive on slick roads. Give me a good thick snow when I can afford to be snowed in. When I can't, give me a delicate dusting that layers over all the plants and dirt and can't stay on the pavement well enough to get slick, and it's all good from there.
12. Can you ice skate? Kinda/sorta, but not well. It's been a long time since I have.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I'm not sure I can think of a favorite gift. That's more likely my poor memory than anything else....
14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you? The sense of joy, caring, the attempts to reach out and to give (and I mean that in the broadest sense, not the materialistic one, though to be honest parts of that are fun - but not important; there's a difference).
15. What is your favorite Christmas dessert? Homemade fudge. That IS the Christmas dessert, Mom's wonderfully thick, rich, homemade fudge. Doubtless nowhere on my diet now, but I think maybe I should see if I can get that recipe and learn to make it anyway. Some things are more important than diets...and in moderation, even fudge is okay.
16. What is your favorite Christmas tradition? The tree. Whether it is real or fake, the placing of the tree, the decorating of the tree, the way it welcomes you into the season and welcomes you home. Plus I like the pretty lights, but I'm easy that way.
17. Is the commercialism of Christmas a turn-off, or do you take it in your stride? Sometimes I roll my eyes and sometimes it's horribly stupid. But at the same time that it's stupid, it is what it is, and I'm not going to not-enjoy the season just because that's part of it. I have been a child and I have clamored after things because I could, and gotten them, and loved it, and felt spoiled and treasured and gifted. Even the commercialism sometimes has a good heart - there are parts of it that are just dismaying, but there's some good in it too. I buy gifts for the toy drive every year at work. I do that because it is good and kind and giving, but let's be honest, I also do it because I enjoy shopping for the stuff!
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I like both. Getting too much feels awkward (especially if you hadn't planned to gift that person in that proportion), but getting something is nice. Giving is nice, especially if you get it right and the person is really truly pleased by the gift.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Christmas in the Northwest.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? They're peppermints. They look pretty. They taste okay. They're not a great treat, they're sort of an after-thought, but they're okay. Give me fudge or maple sugar candy any day instead, though. Unless I'm decorating the tree. A few candy canes look pretty - and hanging maple sugar candy just does not sound like a great idea. ;)
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