Christmas Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
I’m a sucker for egg nog. I might be an egg nog-aholic (and I’m talking about the kind you get at the grocery store, the NON-alcoholic kind)!
Just thinking about it and writing about it makes me want some RIGHT NOW.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa puts little gifts in stockings. Family & friends wrap presents and place them under the tree.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
We are totally mish-mash around here.  Outside we have some colored lights and some white lights, and the same goes for the tree… although I didn’t really plan it that way for the tree…

Last year I had only white lights on the tree and the kids begged for colored for this year –but we only had about 200 working colored lights left. I’m hoping to go to all LED bulbs, but I’m waiting to purchase them AFTER Christmas when they are half price (they’d better be!!) because they are so darned expensive right now.
S000, I carefully put about 500 white lights on the tree and then let the boys add the colored lights, too.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope. Never have. I don’t even know that I’ve ever been kissed under the mistletoe! We had a fake mistletoe ball when I was a kid, with a little elf hanging off the top of it.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
It happens in stages, usually in early December, but this year we got started on the day after Thanksgiving.  It’s still not complete.  I know, I’m running out of time! 😛

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
It might just be homemade cranberry-orange relish! Or maybe it’s homemade Stollen.  Can I just say Egg Nog? 😛

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
One year, when money was particularly tight, we had a “homemade” Christmas. It was pretty easy for us as kids, since we made some of the gifts at school. I’m sure it was a challenge for my parents!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don’t know exactly when… I think it was an evolving process, but definitely the year we ran out to see what Santa left us and the stockings were hanging empty (!!) and my mom had to send us back to our rooms because “Santa” hadn’t been there yet… and then about 15 minutes later she rang some little bells and told us to check and see if Santa had come… and sure enough, the stockings were full.  But we weren’t fooled!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
When I was a kid, this is when we opened the gifts from grandparents, who lived far away. It was probably so we could be sure to say thank you when we talked to them on the telephone the next morning!
Now we let the kids choose one gift to open on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We have a varied collection of ornaments — some homemade and some store bought and some from my childhood.
One year I had a tree of my own to decorate, which I did in blue, silver and gold, along with some of my favorite ornaments from Germany.  While it was pretty, it wasn’t as nice as the colorful family tree. I’ve never repeated the experience, and this year the kids did almost all the decorating.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!  I hope we get a big dumping of snow this year, twice!!

12. Can you ice skate?
Bwahahahahaha…. let’s just say that I have been on ice skates before… and that I ice skate better than I roller skate, and I cross-country ski better than I can ice skate.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I don’t recall receiving it, because I was not yet 3 years old, but my childhood dolly was definitely my favorite gift.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Jesus’ birthday

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
My grandmother and mother occasionally would make a “baked Alaska” pie: they would start with a baked crust, then add one by one (freezing in-between layering) luscious layers of pink peppermint candy ice cream and chocolatey-fudge goodness, topped with meringue and baked to a golden brown on top!  Oh, that was a piece of heaven!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I loved having the kids sing happy birthday to Jesus and blowing a candle out for Him, but they’ve outgrown that now. *sniff*
We do have a family Advent wreath, and we enjoy driving around to see which neighborhoods & houses have beautiful lighting displays.

17. What tops your tree?
SuperDad grew up with an angel tree-topper while I grew up with a star on the top of the tree.  Here is proof that the woman gets to choose the tree topper:

18. Which do you prefer: Giving or Receiving?
Definitely giving (although it is pretty special to be on the receiving end when my husband decides it is a “jewelry Christmas”).

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?
I think I OD’ed on candy canes when I was a young teen. One small piece now and I’m done.

20 Favorite Christmas Show?
It’s A Wonderful Life

21. Saddest Christmas Song?
Vince Gill’s song “It Won’t Be The Same This Year”

22. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Oh, I have so many favorites! But the classic “Silent Night” when sung at a candlelight worship service is probably THE favorite one. It’s awfully pretty in the original German, too.