Christmas Tag!

Hey, I'm it! {g}

Sara Walker Howe tagged me, so here's my turn:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog! It was the first "recipe" I ever learned. My four siblings and I shared a kiddy cookbook growing up and we all learned how to make egg nog from that. :-)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wraps till his fingers fall off or he runs out of wrapping paper and Sunday funnies, whichever comes first.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored, always. Some years we use the little micro lights and others the traditional larger ones, but always multi-colored.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Sometimes, only depending upon whether or not it catches my eye at the store. :)

5. When do you put your decorations up? Used to be December 18th (day after my birthday, so that didn't get lost in the holiday shuffle), but now that I don't get *quite* as excited about birthdays...any time after December first and before the 20th. (If we started before the first, we'd feel like we were dancing on the grave of the Thanksgiving turkey. ;))

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My friend Fran's cannoli!!! Mmmmmm.to die for! She only makes them at Christmas and won't give anybody her family recipe! But she always shares.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Just one? Well, there are lots, but.... The anticipation! Early Christmas morning, my three sisters, brother and I, all in our jammies, robes and slippers, gathered and sat down on the top flight of stairs, just below our parents bedroom. We whispered and wondered what we were going to get this year, as we waited for Mom and Dad to wake up and give us the go-ahead to dash down and get our stockings - and look at the presents under the tree. (We only got to open stockings before Mass. Regular gifts were after.) The stockings always held the following: One little box of cereal from a Snack-Pak , one orange, and several little chocolates. I'm sure there were some other little doo-dads in there too, but those are the ones that stick in my mind as "always". Ours was mainly a Cheerios, Wheaties, and Oatmeal house, so Snack-Paks and sweetened cereals were Quite the Big Deal, and rarely seen but at Christmas.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? First grade - gossip around the drinking fountain at school. I can't say I was shocked - I did have three older siblings, so I may have gotten a clue from them - but I do remember feeling rather deflated about the whole thing. I mean, I *liked* Santa. (Still do. ;))

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. We're blessed with an abundance of family nearby, so we celebrate Christmas three times: Once with husband's family (Christmas Eve), once with our little family at home (Christmas morning), and once with my mom and sibs and their offspring (Christmas afternoon).

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Mostly homemade and homey things. Ornaments our kids made when they were little. Little felt Irish misses mom brought back from Ireland, a needlepoint(?) reindeer that holds a piece of candy in its mouth, nesting birds, some little corn husk ladies, antique carolers, a little Hallmark penguin that we all love for no reason other than its cuteness. And colored glass ball ornaments for their shine. :) We start with colored lights, then add garlands of popcorn and cranberry, and then garlands of other edibles (red licorice bits, marshmallows, Cheez-Its, raisins, Fruit Loops...whatever can be gotten on a thread). And then we put the ornaments on. When the tree goes, after Christmas time, the garlands come off and get draped around the bare bushes out in the front yard for birds and squirrels to pick at. :)

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I live in Michigan. I *must* love it. Actually, I do. Just not so much after the middle of March. :>

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, and not half bad, as I recall. It's been a while, but I think I will put that on my to-do list for this winter, along with trying out those snowshoes DH gave me three years ago. LOL

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Absolutely! It was Thomasina (the name I gave her, after the movie). My Thomasina was a purple Siamese cat about three feet tall who sat up very straight and regal-looking. She was the ONLY thing I wanted from the moment I laid eyes on her. She had "green ruby eyes" and a long tail you could wrap around her and tuck in between her front and back legs, AND she had lemon-yellow satin inside her ears. And when I opened the big box on Christmas morning...it wasn't her. I was devastated (for at least 15 minutes). But I got her the next year, which I thought was nothing short of a true Christmas miracle. :) I still have her...much the worse for love and wear (and my cousin Paul...LOL), but that's another story.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Honoring God and family, spending time with loved ones, doing my bit to make the holiday season nice for others however I can. :)

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Um, did I mention Fran's cannoli? ;D Other than that, paintbrush cookies, almond crescent cookies, those horrible dry lumpy Italian cookies that I can't leave alone and are so fabulous with coffee, and, hmm...fudge. :D

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Sitting up late Christmas Eve, snuggling with DH on the couch by the light of the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas music, watching it snow...just being peaceful together.

17. What tops your tree? A silver star with a little light in the middle of it.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Giving. I have no moral objection to receiving {g} but giving is so much more satisfying and I love feeling like a fairy godmother. :)

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the Bells. My sisters and I learned it in choir in school and we sing different parts, so we love singing it together in harmony. (One of the big treats at our family get-togethers - LOL - for us, anyway.)

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Well...more of a "Eh". I might eat one little one and enjoy it, but that's it until next year. {g}

And now...TAG, Jo, you're it! And you too, Beth! :)