Christmas Survey

I stole this from my friend Rachel over at B&R Plus 1....More.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?  I am not a fan of eggnog at all.  It just seems......wrong.  Egg?  In an drink?  Hot chocolate all the way.  Even better if there is a bit of peppermint in it.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?  Wrapped definitely.  When I was a kid, my parents would disguise their handwriting so we wouldn't know that Santa presents weren't from them.  We plan on getting a play kitchen for Jack for Christmas.  Not sure how I am going to wrap that one.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?  I do white lights on our tree but growing up my parents always used those big fat colored ones.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?  I did once but only because someone gave me some.

5. When do you put your decorations up?  Usually the day or week after Turkey Day.  I used to go all out but with a toddler, we have scaled down a bit.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?  I have to choose just one?  Oh my.  Too bad, I will list my top three.  The Chex Mix I make (I make it a bit spicy.  Jason and I could eat a whole pan in a day or two if left to our own devices), Christmas cookies - Peanut Butter Blossoms specifically, and the Christmas rolls my mother-in-law makes for Christmas morning.  So yummy!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?  My parents would bundle all us kids up and pack chairs and a thermos of cocoa and we would trek over to the skating rink at White's Park.  This is when I lived in New Hampshire and the outdoor pond would freeze over.  Why the chair?  Because when we were young and just learning to skate, pushing a chair in front of you was the easiest way to keep your balance. 

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?  I was about 11 and I cried when I found out.  No joke people.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?  Nope.  We like to prolong the excitement and tear into everything on Christmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?  This year we will do mostly non-breakable ornaments and a smaller tree since Jack is of the age where he wants to touch everything.  Last year he didn't pay much attention to the tree at all thank goodness.  I have ornaments that I have collected all my life that go on my tree.  I have ones that I made in grade school, some that I have purchased while on vacation, some that my family has purchased for me and other special ones.  Some years I do an all blue tree with only blue ornaments and it turns out beautiful.  One of my favorite ornaments by far is a Old World glass tomato that my mom bought for me.  I have a lot of Old World ornaments and they always make it on my tree.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?  I love it!  Portland doesn't get nearly enough.

12. Can you ice skate?  I love to skate.  Haven't done it in over 15 years at least.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I have so many.  As a child, I remember getting a scooter from my mom's best friend.  We didn't have a lot of money growing up and she would always make our holidays special.  I also loved the year that my in-laws bought us all the baby bedding stuff we needed.  That was very special.  They bought us Jack's mattress, crib sheets, bumper, and his glowing Seahorse.  They spoiled me that year.  My favorite gift from Jason probably had to be the year he got me my KitchenAid mixer.  I knew what it was when it was delivered to the house and to be honest, I was not excited.  I was like "he got me a mixer?".  But in the end, I loved it.  There are so many times I use it and think of him.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?  I love the holidays but the most important thing is to keep up tradition.  I could not make it through the holidays if I couldn't do the "traditional" things that I do every year.  A shopping day with just Jason and I wrapped up by dinner out.  Stockings for the adults over at my aunt's house.  Christmas rolls for breakfast after tearing into gifts at my in-laws.  Starting last year, I made a new tradition and got Jack Christmas jammies and read him The Night Before Christmas.  I will continue this tradition every year.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?  Christmas cookies!  Of any sort really.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?  See my answer above.  Christmas jammies for Jack and reading him The Night Before Christmas.

17. What tops your tree?  I have a beautiful blown glass topper.  It looks like a genie's lamp.  That is the best way to describe it.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?  Would it sound selfish if I said receiving?  I am really bad at gift buying.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?  Yuck to eat. But I always buy a box to hang on our tree!

20. Favorite Christmas show? Movie?  It's a toss up between Love Actually and It's a Wonderful Life.  Every year on Christmas Eve I wrap last minute presents and watch It's a Wonderful Life.

21. What is your favorite Christmas song?  A song from the 80's called "Do They Know It's Christmas?".  It's a compilation of British bands/rockers singing.  I crank that up every time I hear it.

To wrap up this post, I cannot wait for Christmas this year.  Last year was fun because it was Jack's first Christmas but I think he "gets it" a little more this year.  I want to do so many things with him:  Cookies for Santa, watching him open all his loot, singing Christmas songs.  Watching Christmas through a child's eyes is so special.