A Christmas Meme (because all the cool kids are doing it)
(Or at least one cool kid--Maryann--is doing it.)
NAME: Valerie
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate, as long as it's the good stuff. But I do like both.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We've done both, at various times. Usually wrapped, unless it's especially difficult or awkward to wrap.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White. I have a strong preference for white or single-color bulbs. But the Rockefeller Center tree has multicolored bulbs and is all right.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the week or next weekend after Thanksgiving (usually the first weekend in December). We don't take the tree down until Epiphany Sunday.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmm...dessert has always been my favorite. I'll have to say my grandmother's chicken and noodles, though. They're amazing, and I don't get them any other time of year anymore. One consequence of not living near my family.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Probably the Christmas Eve program at church. It's a kids program, which is always interesting. When I was 5, I beat out all the older girls to play Mary. I was very proud of myself. Of course, we didn't do the live nativity scene after that year, so I wonder what I did.... (I was also a sheep when I was a toddler, for what it's worth.)
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I really don't remember.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We go to my grandparents' after the program on Christmas Eve and open gifts from them and from my aunt and uncle. Other than that, nada.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I have a hodgepodge of ornaments that both Dustin and I stole from our respective families. My mom is a little Christmas nuts (she decorates about 10 trees of varying sizes), so there are plenty of ornaments around. Plus, we always shop on 12/26 and buy decorations. There's a photo in my last entry.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I still have a soft spot in my heart for it, because I grew up basically without it. But 3 years in Vermont did start curing me of it. I guess the best answer is that I like it until March.
12. Can you ice skate? No. Anything that requires balance and coordination seems to be beyond my capabilities.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? As a kid? I don't think so. But I was insanely excited about getting my Schacht last year.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Going home to see our families and friends. And all the tradition involved.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I have a hard time with this one, but probably my grandmother's Japanese Fruitcake, which is totally not fruitcake. (The link is close to what she makes, I think.) I'm pretty sure Dustin decided to marry me after eating this cake.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? It's still the Christmas Eve program at church, I think, plus going to my grandparents'.
17. What tops your tree? An angel crocheted by Dustin's great-grandmother that needs to be re-starched.
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? Both. I like shopping for great gifts as much as getting them.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I'm going to be lame and say "O Holy Night," but I really love the entire Boston Camerata Renaissance Christmas cantata. It's wonderful.
20. Candy Canes… Yuck or Yum? I don't really eat them, but I don't hate them.
And, finally, the reason I avoid leaving my office in December.
