Friday, December 21, 2007

I got tagged by Jaynee. I’ll preface by explaining that I’ve been up since about 3am, so there’s no telling how this will go. Seems pretty easy, but you never know.

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
A mix of both. It depends on my level of lazy. So far everything except one gift is wrapped.

2. Real or artificial tree?
I like the idea of real, but we have a little fake tree and we’ll continue with the fake, I think.

3. When do you put up the tree?
Usually right after Thanksgiving. This year it was late - just last weekend. It only has lights on it and that’s probably as far as we’ll get.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Usually the start of the second week of January.

5. Do you like egg nog?
Negative. I like the flavor of egg nog, but not the actual stuff. Gack.

6. Favourite gift received as a child?
I don’t remember any specific gift except maybe the trip to Disney/SoCal that we got when we were in junior high. That trip was taken in the spring and legendary.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
I have two - corn husk dolls that are twee and a Boyd’s Bear resin set that’s also darned cute. Neither have been unpacked this year.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don’t recall ever getting a bad Christmas gift.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
I’ve done both. Last year was all snail mail since I was on bed rest and had plenty of time on my hands. This year the letter has been composed but I have yet to print it - maybe next week.

10. Favourite Christmas Movie?
“It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Elf.”

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
The earliest I started one year was September. I usually start seriously thinking about gift ideas in October and buying soon after.

12. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas?
I’ll steal my sister’s answer. The family cookie recipe: Chip balls. Pumpkin pie. Roast beef. Yorkshire pudding. Egg nog. Chocolate egg nog pie. I love it all. It’s my favorite meal of the year (after Thanksgiving).

13. Clear lights or coloured on the tree?
I like the white lights. Beau likes colored lights. We ended up throwing out all of the white lights last year and were left with only colored, so our tree has colored lights. I plan to restock the white lights after everything is on sale post-Christmas.

14. Favourite Christmas song(s)?
Not just one song, but Handel’s Messiah.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
This will depends on the families. This year we’re staying at home, but will spend the night at my parents so that we can all enjoy Christmas morning together with Jesse (who will be oblivious still).

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blizten, Dancer, Dasher, Prancer, Vixen, Rudolph.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Star - red punched tin.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
We’ve done both. When we were little kids we had to wait for Christmas morning and then around junior high we started opening one gift on Christmas Eve. Then it became all gifts on Christmas Eve and then we’ve reverted back to Christmas morning. I think we’ll be opening on Christmas morning this year, too.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Radio stations that start with the Christmas music soon after Halloween. It’s just not right. (Amen, sistah!)

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or colour?
I did an Americana themed tree in December 2001 - everything on the tree had the American flag on it in some form. Mostly I have a hodge podge of ornaments from my childhood that I cherish and use year after year.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
Up to now, nada. I have a feeling Jesse will want to leave a little something for Santa in years to come, though.

22. Least favourite holiday song?
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.

23. Favourite ornament?
I have a collection of White House commemmorative ornaments that I love.

24. Family tradition?
We’re a new family, so we’ll be making it up as we go along. In my family, our traditions were fluid and changed as we grew older, like when we open the presents.

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
Yep.

I’m not tagging anyone. If you feel like taking this on, feel free and leave a comment to let me know.