Getting to Know Me - Christmas Edition

I got this from Dely today, so here goes...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper - I esp. like brown paper w/fancy ribbon

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real – even our cat likes it

3. When do you put up the tree? Around sis’s birthday (4th) or a little after

4. When do you take the tree down? Epiphany or whenever we need to take it to the tree recycling place

5. Do you like Eggnog? It’s okay – I like boiled custard better. Not spiked.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? One of my memorable ones was the Strawberry Shortcake strawberry carriage with the snails pulling it – it smelled like strawberries too!

7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes – a Jim Shore one and I love it. Took me years to find one I liked. FIL and SMIL gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Dad and FIL

9. Easiest person to buy for? David

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, but sometimes an additional email w/photos goes out to family.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A rock. (I thought that would sound like a good answer!) But it was really just representing “Something heavy” that was waiting for me in the garage – a firesafe (that I actually asked for) that my parents didn't want to carry upstairs. You know you’re getting older when you ask for a firesafe for Christmas!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story – “You’ll shoot your eye out!”

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I try to find things all year – I hate shopping the week before!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My friend Tim's homemade English toffee. And sugar cookies, esp. with sugar chunks on top.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Currently clear, but maybe blue one of these years.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Most all of them. I like to play "Joy to the World" really loud on the piano.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Both. Prefer to be home for Christmas, though.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes. (It didn't ask me to actually name them, did it?)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Currently a brass star ornament, but it’s temporary until we find or make something that we really like. I grew up with an angel on top of our tree.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Morning. More like Christmas afternoon now that we all sleep in. But crack of dawn when my sister was little.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Mall traffic (which is why I don’t go) and cheesy versions of perfectly good Christmas songs on Muzak

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? We try to pick ornaments that symbolize events or things in our lives, so I guess just the ornaments themselves are my favorites.

24. Do you have a stocking? Yes, but currently no mantle on our fireplace, so we have to get creative as to how/where to hang them up.

25. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Anything my Mom cooks, MIL’s lamb roast, or anything FIL puts on the smoker.

26. What do you want for Christmas this year? A Wii would be cool, but I don't think that's happening with supply issues and all. And probably not the Nikon D80 'cause it's too expensive. Sparklies, purple iPod, and an ink jet printer would be nice. And world peace, of course.