Christmas tag, Part Deux

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Egg Nog is 50% gross and 50% inexplicable, so I'm going with hot chocolate.
   
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrap. Does anyone just set them under the tree? Maybe Christmas in a flop house?
   
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Leah got it right. Tasteful white on outside, gaudy colored lights on tree.
   
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. I get tired of watching people desperately avoid me whilst I stand hopefully under the mistletoe.
   
5. When do you put your decorations up? Growing up it was not long after Thanksgiving. Now it's in early December with the non-tree decorations and mid December when we do a tree.
   
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Um...is candy a dessert? I honestly can't think of a food I associate with Christmas that isn't a dessert.
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I don't necessarily have a specific one, but I have very fond memories of Christmas Eve at my grandparents when, after dinner, everyone would gather in the family room around the tree and the extended family would exchange presents. My mom has a big family, so the room was packed and there were lots of presents for the kids from all the aunts and uncles. It was just very nice to have so many people in the same room having so much fun.
   
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? You mean the fact that if you rearrange the letters in Santa you get Satan? I figured that out a long time ago.
   
9. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? My parents tree is very shiny, with lots of old ornaments, color lights, and handfuls and handfuls of that plastic tinsel. It's very bright. Personally, I like it, but it's hardly Martha Stewart. Leah and I decorate our tree, when we do a tree, with her family's homemade ornaments and lights, but no shiny metalic tinsel. It's fun to watch Leah go through the ornaments since she remembers all of them.
   
10. Snow! Love it or dread it? It's somewhat okay, but mostly it annoys me. Cold and wet is not my preferred state of being. But Leah and I love taking walks through the snow when it first falls. Then the cars drive through it and it looks like poop.
    
11. Can you ice skate? I can put on skates. The skates touch the ice. So yeah, I can skate. I also can fall. alot.
12. Do you remember your favorite gift? I may be getting this confused with my birthday, but I believe it was christmas when my parents refused to get me a video game system and then, low and behold, there was one under the tree. Fool me once, shame on you... I remember I got a CHiPS tricycle one year (I was maybe 5) that had flashing lights and a siren and all that. It was really sweet. My brothers broke the siren off that same day. Now that I think of it, they owe me a CHiPS siren and I plan on collecting. Oh, and recently my parents got Leah and me gift certificates to a running store by their house and that ended up being really great. The people at that store were actually the ones who told us about the Shamrock Shuffle.
    
13. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? It's all about the family.
    
14. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Apparently, Leah's sugar cookies. I just discovered that this year. Also, those nouget mint candies with the christmas trees in the middle and the red and white striped edges.
    
15. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Chrsitmas tended to change from year to year, but I eventually ended up going to midnight mass with my parents late in high school. Although I got very annoyed with the reading at the beginning of mass that gave the history of Christmas (with all the begetting and whatnot) referenced from the beginning of time (5000 years ago, of course), the Christmas music was great and it was nice to share that with my parents and then come home at 2 in the morning. Leah and I are working on new holiday traditions of our own.
    
16. What tops your tree? That star that Leah made. Man, she is one amazing artist. My parent's tree had an angel.
    
17. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I like the giving when I feel that I've scored the perfect gift. As far as receiving, I never need anything so it's not that big a deal anymore.
    
18. What is your favorite Christmas song? White Christmas
19. Candy canes? Hell yeah
    
20. Favorite Christmas movie? Well, it's not a movie, but the Charlie Brown Christmas special is my favorite holiday program. My favorite movie is probably The Nightmare before Christmas with Love Actually coming on strong. I also love It's a Wonderful Life.
    
21. What do you leave for Santa? Santa leaves for me, I don't leave for Santa.