CHRISTMAS QUESTIONS

My friend Joyce answered these questions yesterday and it sounded like a fun thing to do. It is amazing how much a lot of us have in common. Small world!

I think it would be fun reading about everyone's thoughts on Christmas. If you decide to do it, leave a comment and let us know.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Hot chocolate. I do like egg nog, but it is so filling and I can only handle a few sips. I saw "pumpkin egg nog" in the grocery store the other day and want to give that a try before Christmas is over. The man of the house and I used to make home made egg nog and give it away to our neighbors back when we were skinny. Now that we have "matured" we know that we just need to stay away from the home made stuff. It is so fattening.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

When Santa delivered a lot of toys he did not take the time to wrap them. Everything looked so pretty under the tree on Christmas morning. Presentation is everything!! Now that Santa seems to bring mostly clothes and accessories he wraps. A few years ago he got really smart and started leaving big red Santa sacks under the tree and all of the things inside were wrapped in white tissue paper. The three girls now take turns reaching down into their Santa sacks and pulling things out and unwrapping them. The things that aren't in the sacks are wrapped in special Santa paper. It usually has little pictures of Santa all over it.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White lights outside and on our two tress inside. The girls have always wanted colored lights on the tree in the den so I wrap the trunk and deep inside the tree with a few strands of colored lights and still put a lot of white lights all over as usual. You don't even realize the colored lights are on there. You just see a little hint of color. Everybody is happy!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

We have it growing in some trees outside. Does that count?

5. When do you put your decorations up

Our family tradition is to put up the decorations the first Saturday in December regardless of when Thanksgiving falls. We already put up one of our trees this year, just to get a head start. It isn't finished. I still have to decorate the top. I change that up every year. Last year I had elves kind of hanging on up top with a big bow and some glittery twigs.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
I love so many, but I have a great recipe for a fresh cranberry salad with pineapple and granny smith apples that really is one my favorites.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

I wouldn't call it a FAVORITE memory, but the one thing that I will never forget happened when I was four and living in Texas. Our neighbor across the street was the Santa at a department store. I didn't know this at the time. I didn't know Santa had "helpers", I thought HE actually was at the store himself. Well, my neighbor was leaving his house going to work one day and was dressed in his Santa suit. I was outside playing and saw him come out of the front door and drive away. I think he waved to me as he did. It scared me to death and I went running into my house and hid behind the couch the rest of the day. My mom told me that Santa must have been checking up on the kids in the neighborhood. I remember her bringing me lunch while I was hiding behind the couch.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

Santa is somewhere out there. I know he is!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

We all open one gift and it is our jammies. We have hot chocolate, take pictures and watch The Santa Clause all together on the couch. (dad included.) My kids all know almost every word of the movie and it usually ends up being a contest to see who can recite the most. We like the movie Elf too.

Here are pictures from years past of the girls in their new pajamas.

10. How do you decorate your

Christmas tree?

The ornaments have all stayed the same, but through the years I have changed the color of the round balls to give it a different look every couple of years. I now am using red and gold with a little of apple green to accent.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

Love the excitement it brings when we do get it. Living in NC we don't see enough snow and because we aren't equipped to clear the roads everything shuts down as soon as the first flake falls. I wish we had a little more of it. Several years ago we got over two feet in one night and the next several years we didn't get any.

12. Can you ice skate?

I learned to ice skate when I lived in Minnesota when I was in the first grade. We lived in front a baseball park and the fire department would come out and spray down all of the baseball fields with water to make one huge ice skating rink. I wouldn't trust myself now.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

I loved the big Barbie head. The one with the hair you could style and put make up on. I can still remember how she smelled.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Jesus

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

I am not a big dessert eater so nothing is really my favorite.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

our jammies, the kids buying one ornament every year, making caramel corn

also..... on Christmas Eve we have a party with just our family. We make appetizers, punch in the punch bowl, use little cocktail plates and napkins and play Christmas music. We set the food out on all of our Christmas platters as if 100 people were coming. We have illuminaries outside and a lot of candles inside. We usually start our party around 4:00 and we just graze and hang out together. Sometimes some of the girls' friends will drop by.

17. What tops your tree?

It changes every year.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?

I am a better giver than receiver.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

Hmmmm. Whichever one #3 is playing on the piano. Right now she is learning Jolly Ol' Saint Nicholas, a jazz version.

20. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

YUM!

21 Favorite Christmas Show?

"you'll shoot your eye out!"

(Do you know where that is from?)

22. Saddest Christmas Song?

I don't know why, but I have never liked Silent Night. It is just too slow and isn't too merry for me. I did see the church where it was written in Austria a couple of years ago. That was interesting but it didn't change my mind about it.

I am home by myself until 11:00 tonight so I am planning on getting my decorating done.

I am so ready to get all of these plastic storage bins back up into the attic.

Have a good weekend!