Christmas Meme...

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Neither. Anything with even a hint of dairy in it hates me, so I'll stick with my tea. Celestial Seasonings puts out some great Christmas flavors this time of year. Gingerbread Spice, Sugar Plum Fairy, Candy Cane,....

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa has always delivered just one gift to each sparkly eyed person at our house. He doesn't wrap his gifts, just sits them nicely under the tree. He does such a good job picking out gifts for us all that there has never been any confusion as to which gift belongs to which "kid".

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I have always used colored on the tree, but someday I'm going to do an all white and gold tree. White lights will adorn the outside of our house this year. I've informed Riff that he will be putting them up soon!!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I have once or twice, but not as a tradition every year. Too much smooching going on for me!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Shilo's birthday is December 4th, so I always try to wait until after her birthday. Seems that a few decorations always sneak their way in beforehand anyway...

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Hmmm...so many to choose from. I guess it would be Riff's crab stuffed mushrooms. Yummy!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
When I was small and growing up in Elgin, we would go into town to Grandma and Grandpa Simmons house every Christmas Eve. Santa came around on the fire truck and, with a mighty HO-HO-HO, flung the door open of every house that had their porch light on. He would give all of us kids brown paper bags (lunch bag sized) filled with nuts, hard ripple candy, chocolate drops, and an orange. Oh what fun that was!
I can still taste that wonderful candy. We would always share our nuts with Grandpa especially, as he loved nuts so much. He always had a bowl sitting on the table with a nutcracker at hand.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
What truth about Santa? What in the heck are you all talking about?? I would be careful, he knows if you've been good or bad...

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes, we started doing that at my parents house when my kids were just little beans. We would go over and open the "Grandma Gifts". After we moved away from them, I still let them pick just one gift on Christmas Eve to open.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
My tree is very "kiddy" still. We still decorate with all the ornaments that the kids have made over the years. I keep thinking that someday my tree is going to "grow up". Maybe next year...

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I grew up in snow country. You didn't see the actual ground most years from November to April or so. Snow is beautiful for a short time. I can do without it for the most part. My darling husband LOVES the snow. I have told him that we can move back to snow country on the condition that we have a nice cozy house with a fireplace that I can curl up in front of, knitting needles in hand, and not have to leave until the snow melts.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes, we grew up with several ponds on our property that froze over in the winter. I am not at all a graceful ice skater or even a good one, but I can get around.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
The gift I always remember was a special little doll. I don't remember her name, but she had blonde hair, a pretty pink silk nightgown and she kneeled to pray with her hands folded in front of her and her eyes closed. She had a little tiny pink record in her back that played the prayer "I pray the Lord my soul to keep" prayer. I was 8, I think, that year. I had snuck downstairs EARLY EARLY in the morning, (it was mostly likely still night!) and saw her sitting under the lights of the tree. She was so beautiful that I stayed there for hours it seemed, just wanting to hold her...

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Family, friends, and giving to others. I always try to participate in some kind of charity work for the needy. This year it was the Hearts to Hands mitten program, helping to keep some little hands warm.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Gingerbread with homemade whipped cream.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Driving around looking at Christmas lights with the Christmas music blaring. We usually do this the weekend before Christmas.

17. What tops your tree?
A porcelain angel.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
Giving! Totally! I wish I could be Oprah Claus!!! ( I have to agree with Monica here!)

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Love them all! I start listing to Christmas music very early in the season much to the annoyance of my dear spouse. My favorite CD's right now are my Alan Jackson Christmas Cd and our Lynyrd Skynryd CD. I know kind of a strange mix, but hey...

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Yum! And I've always liked to decorate with them also. When the kids were little I always hung the mini candy canes on the tree. By Christmas the bottom half of the tree was always "candy cane bare". You could always tell how high the little rats could reach!