Claire from Cooking Is Medicine tagged me for this fun holiday themed meme.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate- but this year I’m determined to figure out how to make Coquito, a Puerto Rican Egg-Nog made with coconut milk. Mmmmm. And I really don’t like egg nog, but this stuff is Mmmmm.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We don’t do santa here., but most of our gifts are wrapped. When the kids were really small, I’d leave a larger present unwrapped with a big bow, but this year I think they all will be wrapped. I used to work in a toy store, so I learned to wrap ANYTHING in giftwrap.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored. We’ve actually been using red and white lights the last two years, and it’s pretty cute on the tree. Outside is a mantage, I really don’t care for the all-white light look.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, the only place to really put it up would be in a major doorway, and I would get really annoyed with my kids who would stand under it every time they walk past and interrupt whatever I’m doing for a kiss. Plus it would be pretty darn awkward on Bible Study nights..
5. When do you put your decorations up? The weekend after Thanksgiving, although Andy usually jump starts the outdoor lights earlier if the weather is nicer.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Oh gosh… has to be the sweet potatoes… or maybe Mom’s scalloped corn?
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Hmmm. I will never forget one Christmas. We were eating dinner one night, when my Dad said something about hearing a thump, and I swear we all heard it and thought it was Santa upstairs. So we all run upstairs and oh my gosh! There are stockings on the beds!! Then we go running downstairs because we hear more noise, and my Dad says that he saw Santa running through the backyard, and lo and behold, there were gifts under the tree.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Ah. I was 6 when Mom sat myself and my brothers down and told us that Santa wasn’t real. I remember an insane sadness and crying about it- which is why we don’t do Santa.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yep! We have a family gift exchange with my brother and sisters and their families on Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? It’s a mish-mosh. I collect snowmen, so we have a snowman tree topper, and instead of garland I use a wide ribbon that is red and white candy striped. But the ornaments are a little bit of everything. Everything else in the house though is exclusively snowmen. Even my nativities are snowmen (I have two of those).
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Ack. Hate it. I sooo live in the wrong part of the country. My favorite Christmas, weather-wise, was Christmas in Virginia- it was balmy with a light dusting of snow, but it was definitely much warmer than Wisconsin weather.
12. Can you ice skate? Not anymore! I broke my ankle ice skating several years ago. Now my ankle throbs when there’s a serious change in barometric pressure, and anytime I even think about putting on a pair of ice skates. I don’t roller blade anymore either… I really hate winter, so I’m totally not into winter sports at all. That’s the time for me to catch up on my reading until it’s warm enough to play outside again.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Well, it wasn’t my gift, but last year my baby sister Lizzie got proposed to under the Christmas tree.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending the time with family to appreciate each other and the reason for the season.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Oh gosh, another hard one. I love dessert, so I really love it all. Goodies, fudge, pies, buche de noel… you name it, I love it!
16. What tops your tree? A star with a snowman painted on it.
17. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Definitely giving. In fact, I wouldn’t care if I didn’t even recieve a single gift this year. I just feel like I’ve already been so blessed.
18. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Jingle Bells by Sandler and Young
19. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? Yum. I like them if they are peppermint, but all the flavors they have now for candy canes are a little mind boggling, and they always disappoint me.
20. What do you serve for Christmas dinner? There is no usual here. Our Christmas plans change every year. Last year I made a ham with Pierogi for an Open House we hosted. This year I don’t know what we’ll be doing. Sometimes we go to my parents for turkey, but I seem to recall one year we had pizza… The only certainty for us is that there will be fruit involved- I just have to have a fruit salad or something similar available, in my mind it helps counteract the rich goodies and desserts available.
