Christmas Meme!
Whoo! haven't posted here in a while. Anyway, I'm stealing this from ieke85 because is christmas! (and it's a meme, so kinda meant to be stolen...)
1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
First question and it’s a hard one, I’m going with eggnog because it says Christmas more - hot chocolate i have whenever it’s cold (or I’m craving sugar and they have it at work).
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Oh wrap - always wrap. If it was up to my dad they would all be wrapped in the funnies section of the newspaper, but my mom loves the bright wrapping paper. They are both horrible procrastinators, and usually end up wrapping all the presents until 4 in the morning…which makes it a bit hard to wake them up at six…
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I really like the white led lights they have now, but from childhood the big colored ones were my favorite.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No, but my roommate this year has hung fake leaves (that may look like mistletoe, I have no idea) everywhere. Wilson keeps ambushing me.
5. When do you put your decorations up?
So, back the procrastination…we usually get our tree on the 24th of December - we always plan to get it before, but it rarely happens. We are the people who occasionally go dumpster diving for a tree…because we didn’t have time to go until midnight and all the places have shut down and thrown away the remaining trees. My mom had us put up lights on xmas, and no one ever took them down. She sometimes turns them on in the middle of summer if she feels like it.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Lebkuchen, vanilla kipfel, stolen, marzipan, schokolade, domino steine - basically all that is sweet and german - my mom goes into a backing frenzy every December. However, this year she’s in Germany, so it feels less like Christmas.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Lighting the tree. We do it the old-fashioned way, with candles on the tree, not lights. So you can only light it when everyone is paying attention. We light the candles, make sure no higher branches are close enough to singe, and then turn out the lights and sit in the candle light. It reflects off the ornaments, and off of us. We talk and we sing and we eat cookies. Usually we do this at least once before Christmas - often Christmas eve after coming back from church. It’s peaceful and all the hectic holiday rush dies away and it’s just the five of us - plus whatever cats are around.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I can’t remember exactly when. I remember that I reasoned it out because of the writing on the packages. Not because of handwriting, though my parents made no attempts to disguise theirs. But my mom had a tendency to sign presents from the reindeer. And reindeer OBVIOUSLY cannot hold pens. I’m guessing I was about six. My mom, to this day, still signs presents from reindeer.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No! That would ruin the anticipation!
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
The important bit is the candles, but we also have lots of other ornaments. Many of them are strategically heavy, to weigh down branches and make them level for the candles. Also important are the bells. We have several and ring them rather insistently in the morning to accidentally wake the parents up. In addition, we hang chocolate ornaments on the tree and grab those off whenever we feel like it.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
My experience is very limited, being a desert girl, but I like it close enough to reach but not where I live. I can go and play in it and then leave it behind.
12. Can you ice skate?
I used to be very good at rollerblading and the sense of balance translates…until you get convident and forget that ice is a lot more slippery than asphalt.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
When I was a kid, I would get a breyer model horse every birthday and Christmas - I was never as interested in dolls. (I had an American girl - Felicity - who I liked because she loved horses). I would play “herd” rather than “house” complete with stallions fighting for dominance and foals challenging each other to races.
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Family - our traditions remind me how close we are. This year is so strange since Lena’s only coming back for a short while and mom is gone.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
See #6 - If I chose ONE favorite I’d say lebkuchen (gingerbread) it smells like Christmas to me.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Lighting the tree. Also Advent. We aren’t particularly religions, but we have an advent wreathe and candles (MOAR FIRE) and we sing german Christmas songs and have sweets.
17. What tops your tree?
Often nothing. My mom got a spire to put on top, but often the tree is too tall and it won’t fit. So we gut leave it bare.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. It’s great to see people react - especially with laughter. Tina’s especially fun to give gifts too because she gets very excited :P
19. Candy Canes?
Not my favorite. Though this year Aimee gave everyone one for St. Nicholas Day and that was lovely because that’s another thing I’m missing this year (a bag full of chocolate to last me through the first half of December.)
20. Favorite Christmas show?
Um, James Bond and the Godfather. Don’t ask me why, but they used to be on all the time at Christmas. Now I make a point to watch Love Actually at least once during the holiday season. It’s the only rom com I really like and it makes a great Christmas movie.
21. Saddest Christmas song?
Cruel moon by Glasvegas. It’s about a man who is homeless on Christmas - I love the song though.
22. What is your favorite Christmas song?
White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin. I loved it the moment I heard it because it is just so true of my Christmases too. The message that it doesn’t matter if you are religious, Christmas is about family and being with those you love is so perfect. I got to hear him perform it live earlier this year and it was amazing.
1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
First question and it’s a hard one, I’m going with eggnog because it says Christmas more - hot chocolate i have whenever it’s cold (or I’m craving sugar and they have it at work).
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Oh wrap - always wrap. If it was up to my dad they would all be wrapped in the funnies section of the newspaper, but my mom loves the bright wrapping paper. They are both horrible procrastinators, and usually end up wrapping all the presents until 4 in the morning…which makes it a bit hard to wake them up at six…
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I really like the white led lights they have now, but from childhood the big colored ones were my favorite.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No, but my roommate this year has hung fake leaves (that may look like mistletoe, I have no idea) everywhere. Wilson keeps ambushing me.
5. When do you put your decorations up?
So, back the procrastination…we usually get our tree on the 24th of December - we always plan to get it before, but it rarely happens. We are the people who occasionally go dumpster diving for a tree…because we didn’t have time to go until midnight and all the places have shut down and thrown away the remaining trees. My mom had us put up lights on xmas, and no one ever took them down. She sometimes turns them on in the middle of summer if she feels like it.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Lebkuchen, vanilla kipfel, stolen, marzipan, schokolade, domino steine - basically all that is sweet and german - my mom goes into a backing frenzy every December. However, this year she’s in Germany, so it feels less like Christmas.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Lighting the tree. We do it the old-fashioned way, with candles on the tree, not lights. So you can only light it when everyone is paying attention. We light the candles, make sure no higher branches are close enough to singe, and then turn out the lights and sit in the candle light. It reflects off the ornaments, and off of us. We talk and we sing and we eat cookies. Usually we do this at least once before Christmas - often Christmas eve after coming back from church. It’s peaceful and all the hectic holiday rush dies away and it’s just the five of us - plus whatever cats are around.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I can’t remember exactly when. I remember that I reasoned it out because of the writing on the packages. Not because of handwriting, though my parents made no attempts to disguise theirs. But my mom had a tendency to sign presents from the reindeer. And reindeer OBVIOUSLY cannot hold pens. I’m guessing I was about six. My mom, to this day, still signs presents from reindeer.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No! That would ruin the anticipation!
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
The important bit is the candles, but we also have lots of other ornaments. Many of them are strategically heavy, to weigh down branches and make them level for the candles. Also important are the bells. We have several and ring them rather insistently in the morning to accidentally wake the parents up. In addition, we hang chocolate ornaments on the tree and grab those off whenever we feel like it.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
My experience is very limited, being a desert girl, but I like it close enough to reach but not where I live. I can go and play in it and then leave it behind.
12. Can you ice skate?
I used to be very good at rollerblading and the sense of balance translates…until you get convident and forget that ice is a lot more slippery than asphalt.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
When I was a kid, I would get a breyer model horse every birthday and Christmas - I was never as interested in dolls. (I had an American girl - Felicity - who I liked because she loved horses). I would play “herd” rather than “house” complete with stallions fighting for dominance and foals challenging each other to races.
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Family - our traditions remind me how close we are. This year is so strange since Lena’s only coming back for a short while and mom is gone.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
See #6 - If I chose ONE favorite I’d say lebkuchen (gingerbread) it smells like Christmas to me.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Lighting the tree. Also Advent. We aren’t particularly religions, but we have an advent wreathe and candles (MOAR FIRE) and we sing german Christmas songs and have sweets.
17. What tops your tree?
Often nothing. My mom got a spire to put on top, but often the tree is too tall and it won’t fit. So we gut leave it bare.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. It’s great to see people react - especially with laughter. Tina’s especially fun to give gifts too because she gets very excited :P
19. Candy Canes?
Not my favorite. Though this year Aimee gave everyone one for St. Nicholas Day and that was lovely because that’s another thing I’m missing this year (a bag full of chocolate to last me through the first half of December.)
20. Favorite Christmas show?
Um, James Bond and the Godfather. Don’t ask me why, but they used to be on all the time at Christmas. Now I make a point to watch Love Actually at least once during the holiday season. It’s the only rom com I really like and it makes a great Christmas movie.
21. Saddest Christmas song?
Cruel moon by Glasvegas. It’s about a man who is homeless on Christmas - I love the song though.
Click to view22. What is your favorite Christmas song?
White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin. I loved it the moment I heard it because it is just so true of my Christmases too. The message that it doesn’t matter if you are religious, Christmas is about family and being with those you love is so perfect. I got to hear him perform it live earlier this year and it was amazing.