A Christmas Meme

taken from Nom de Plume

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Definitely hot chocolate. I try egg nog once a year just to remind myself that I don’t like it. This year, I thought I’d try it with alcohol and it was slightly better, but there is no way it can compete with hot chocolate, which--according to SNL--is entirely responsible for the downfall of Mayan civilization. How could anyone want to fight off intruders when in a chocolate-induced state of ecstasy?
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Many presents were wrapped, but usually the big ones from Santa were left unwrapped: bicycles, trains—all the gifts that made us jump up and down.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I like simple Christmas decorations. No flashing lights or neon sleighs. So I’m in favor of white lights; there is something magical about them. Then again, I have a single strand of red chili pepper lights that I adore, though they are hung on the windowsill, not the tree. Everyone needs a little spice in their lives.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? I have not in a while, but now that there is someone I’d like to kiss, I may. In truth, it’s more about the possibility of catching B. and Koya under the mistletoe and Koya giving him a big, wet kiss that by the rules he has to allow.
5. When do you put your decorations up? In my family, the tradition is to put the tree up on Christmas Eve and leave it up for the 12 days of Christmas. I have been breaking tradition the last few years, but decorations that go up before Thanksgiving still make me terribly sad.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? You know I don’t really have one for Christmas, but love having bowls of nuts and oranges around to snack on, as well as Applets and Cotlets.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My mom coming in with our stockings on Christmas morning and the joy and anticipation I felt sorting through all the little gifts, waiting for my parents to say we could come out.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly can’t remember a time when I believed that Santa was real. Early on, my parents told us stories about St. Nicholas. So, in a way, that was the truth.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. We used to just open one gift. As the years went on, and we got older, my brother and I would wake our parents up earlier and earlier. Finally one year we began opening everything on Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? White lights and small ornaments we have collected over the years.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it. A few years ago, I learned my father HATES snow. How can anyone hate snow?
12. Can you ice skate? When I was little, I could.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? One year my parents got me a gigantic stuffed blue elephant. (It was bigger than my brother and I put together). I remember looking all over the house for it, because I wanted it so badly, but I never found it. Sure enough, on Christmas morning it was there in front of the tree. My parents had “hidden” the elephant at a friend’s house.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with the people I love and cherish--oh and laughter, it helps me stay sane when with my family.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Something chocolate.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Picking out the first gift to have someone open.
17. What tops your tree? Nothing this year, though in the past we’ve always had some sort of star.
18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Giving.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Winter Wonderland.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck—too sweet for the most part, but I still have one or two a year.