Xmas Meme
Stolen from droxy...
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Eggnog at Christmas time, hot chocolate the rest of the winter...
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? In my family the tradition was that Santa brought not only the wrapped presents, but the decorated tree, also. It was never spelled out whether the elves did the wrapping/decorating beforehand, tho...
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Whatever anyone desires. I don't decorate anymore, and I must admit that the last times I did I used white lights. But I enjoy seeing colored lights on houses.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. Not even the fake stuff.
5. When do you put your decorations up? When I did use to decorate, the rule was never before the first full weekend in December. And they have to come down by New Year's Day.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Don't have one, I enjoy everything that someone else makes! LOL
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Helping my mother make Christmas decorations, and then actually helping to decorate.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think I was in 2nd grade -- hence 7 years old -- when one Christmas Eve I awoke to find my sister sneaking back into our bedroom and into her bed. I was outraged that she would endanger our getting gifts from Santa by sneaking out of bed on Christmas Eve. She very smugly told me that she had just helped Mommy and Daddy decorate the Christmas tree. See #2 above. Since Santa was supposed to bring the tree AND the presents, my sister's admission was tantamount to saying that there wasn't any Santa Claus.
But that's not what upset me; in fact, it wasn't until a year later when, as we got ready for the annual school Christmas pageant, a couple of girls in my class who were known to be mean bullies systematically went from one classmate to another and demanded if they believed in Santa Claus, and cruelly laughed at anyone who said "yes". By the time they got to me, even if I HAD still believed in the big guy, I would have known to say "no" to their question.
But a year earlier on the Christmas Eve, all I could think of was that my sister got to do something fun with my parents and I didn't, and I started to cry, demanding that the tree get UNdecorated for my benefit just so that I could help decorate it with them. I didn't care about anything else, even the fact that Santa didn't exist, as long as it meant I was still getting presents! ;-)
My sister desperately tried to get me to stop wailing, but my parents must have heard. Much to their relief, because they now knew they didn't have to go nuts trying to put up the tree, decorate it, AND wrap presents, all in one night! :-P
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Eventually that became my family's tradition, when I was in my late teens. We'd open the gifts under the tree on Christmas Eve, but we started a new tradition of hanging stockings on the mantle, into which were snuck gifts after everyone had gone to bed on the 24th. The "rule" was that most of the gifts were small and inexpensive, perhaps even joke gifts, but that there had to be one nice gift down in the toe of the stocking. So we still had some gifts to open Christmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I no longer bother with a tree, but when I did it had white lights, pointsettia lights, glass ornaments, fake pearls as garland, plaid ribbon bows, small fake stuffed cardinals, and crystal ornaments I made from craft supplies at 1/10 the price of the same things sold as ornaments.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I CANNOT ABIDE SNOW!!!!
12. Can you ice skate? Nope.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Can't say that I do...I remember the "rituals" more than any one thing I ever got.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Keeping the real meaning of the season in mind.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Same answer as the holiday food question above -- I enjoy it all, especially if someone else makes it! :-)
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Same as droxy's, sitting in the darkened room with the Christmas tree turned on. I even lie on the floor under the tree and look up its trunk...
17. What tops your tree? A glass spire that looks sort of like the steeple of a Russian church.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Giving.
19. Candy Canes: I'm not a big candy person. But candy canes are nice used as a stirrer in a mug of hot chocolate or a cup of tea.
20. Favorite Christmas show? Not any particular one nowadays. As a kid I'd eagerly look forward to the annual holiday specials put on by Andy Williams, Perry Como, and of course Bing Crosby.
21. Saddest Christmas Song? I forget the title, the one about Father Christmas by the Kinks. Also "Another Auld Lang Syne".
22. What is your favorite Christmas song? "The Hallejujah Chorus", when it is done really, really well, meaning both the chorus singing it and the orchestra providing the music.