
I grabbed this meme from Tommie's Blog. Her DH has been serving in Iraq (second deployment) and he comes home in THREE DAYS!!! I've really enjoyed reading Tommie's blog and her comments here. I admire her for so many things: ideas, her organizational skills, he dedication and her ability to keep her family and household together while her husband so bravely goes to work for freedom. Thank you Tommie and Mr. Tommie. I'll be watching your countdown ticker on your blog and thinking of you when your family is finally all together in one space. Now that, is a good Christmas homecoming!
As far as Christmas cheer over here, I thought I'd share my traditions through these questions. Please copy and paste these into your blog and share your Christmas thoughts too!
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I prefer gift wrap. I like plain white paper with great ribbon. Last year I found a black velvet floral on a gold mesh wide ribbon and it looked yummy on my apple green shimmer paper. This year I'm wrapping in turquoise and I have yet to find "the" ribbon. Costco has the best value in ribbon. I should go.
2. Real tree or artificial?
Fake all the way baby! I could give you some song and dance about the resources wasted on growing trees in Oregon and trucking them down to CA and the fire hazzard with our dry conditions and that is all true. But my motivation is really the ability to put it up the day after Thanksgiving, plug it in (pre-lit) and not have to think about it again until it is time to come down.
3. When do you put up the tree?
Tree goes up the day after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down?
Tree comes down Christmas day.
5. Do you like egg nog? Is there bourbon involved?
My husband adores whiskey and egg nogg (in that order???). While I don't mind the flavor, I can think of a thousand other ways I'd prefer to spend those calories and fat grams. Therefore, I avoid egg nogg.
6. Favorite gift received as a child?
The only specific gift I remember is a Barbie makeup/styling head I got when I was about 7. All of my Christmas memories are magical, but they are more about the sights, smells, sounds and feelings rather than the stuff.
7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No. I should get one, but I'm not one for figurines of any kind.
8. Hardest person to buy for?
My dad! No, my brother. Actually they are all hard to buy for. Dad doesn't like clothes or gadgets and doesn't need or want a lot of stuff. My brother ALWAYS returns each and every gift I have ever given him. This year we are cutting all of that stress out and have declared no gifts for adults in our family. So far, it has made my pre-holiday jobs so much easier!
9. Easiest person to buy for?
This year it has been my oldest daughter. She is into easy to buy for things: watercoloring, computer games, books, movies like Hairspray, HSM2.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
There are no bad gifts. Although my grandma has given some head-scratchers over the years. One year I opened a half-used tube of "Fungoid" cream with my roll of quarters to be used for laundry at the sorority house. I think she was concerned about communal showers at the house.
11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
I have written newsletters for most of the past ten years. Last year I had bad luck with broken printers, ink costs, and I finally paid a professional printer to copy my double-sided, graphic-heavy family newsletter. By the time I paid postage on 130 letters I said "I will never do this again". I was staying strong until all of the cards and letters started arriving here. Now I feel guilty! If I do anything this year, it will be an e-card with a link to a temporary Christmas blog. I've already reserved the blog site through blogger. But I have no office and I'm a creative nomad right now, remember?
12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Christmas With the Cranks
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
The last few years, my mom and I grab peppermint mocha lattes from Starbucks on a Thursday evening in early December and hit the stores hard until about 11PM. We look like packrats as we shove bags into the back of my car. This year, we skipped all of that and T and I made careful lists and did about 90% of our shopping through Amazon. Everything is delievered to his work address. Easiest. Thing. Ever.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Only for our neighborhood White Elephant gift exchange. I got a shot glass chess game last year and re-gifted it to another couple this year. Unused. Imagine that.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
My mom's seafood extravaganza! This year it will be king crab, jumbo prawns, bacon wrapped sea scallops and a lobster risotto. Yum!
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear white lights. simple and classic. Besides, my tree is pre-lit, remember?
17. Favorite Christmas song?
Christmas in Hollis by Run D.M.C.
Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses
The Chanuka Song by Adam Sandler
Carol of the Bells by En Vogue
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Home.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Only if I sing them.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Neither. It is hot pink and turquoise glitter poinsettas bunched around the top of the tree, hiding the ribbons tied around the top branches.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
All my life we have opened gifts on Christmas eve, however this year we are trying something different. Christmas eve will focus on dinner and family. The kids will get ONE gift to open on Christmas eve from my parents (because they just can't help it). Christmas morning will be our gift opening main event this year.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Those Lexus December To Remember commericals. They air them every single year. The same commericals. And really...who is going to buy a Lexus and put a big red bow on it for Christmas????
23. What I love most about Christmas?
Watching the kids enjoy every magical thing: the baking, decorating, reading Christmas cards, listening to Christmas music, going to church with my five neighbor families, reading Christmas stories, writing their wish lists, letters to Santa, feeling their anticipation and watching their delight....I love it all!