Holiday edition of getting to know each other

Egg nog, with artificial sweetener if I'm on my diet.

Both.

Yes.

No.

In the time before son was born on Dec 14 (last year), on Thanksgiving Day. Now, the weekend after his birthday.

"Favorite" potatoes (aka "funeral" potatoes).

Christmas Eve at my great-grandmother's house, coming home to go to sleep with Christmas lights in my room and hearing Nat King Cole on the stereo singing the Christmas song.

I was 8 or 9. I told a girl that Santa brought me whatever toy and she said there was no such thing as Santa. I got mad and tattled on her to my dad, who said, "You tell her you can believe anything you want." So I did. Later that day, my mom and dad had The Talk with me, and I broke down sobbing. My heart was totally broken.

Say, why am I okay with perpetuating this on my children? Oh, RIIIIGHT. He's a symbol.

Christmas morning.

BH (Before Husband), I had a tree I kept decorated all year round. Took it out of the closet on Thanksgiving Day and took the sheet of it. Put the sheet back on it on New Year's Day and stuck it back in the closet.

Now, with cats and children, I usually get a small Norfolk pine and decorate sparingly. We'll get bigger trees as the children grow and can keep their mits off.

Love it!

The very thought makes my ankles break a little in dread.

One that lets me know the person really thought about what I might want.

Color, light, coziness, good smells.

Sugar cookies.

The Christmas Eve gathering.

When I have a Norfolk pine--nothing. Otherwise, I have a gold filigree star.

Depends on how broke I am that year.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) sung by Nat King Cole (yes, even better than Mel Torme)

No, thanks. Don't like hard candy.

Rudolph.

Both

Wrapped

White lights on tree (except for a strand of colored lights wrapped around the trunk). No lights outside. No tree this year for us, though.

No mistletoe. Not high enough on the priority list.

If and when we survive Nutcracker season.

cookies (what? those are dessert? who says?)

Spending time with family

What "truth about Santa?"

Christmas Eve (stockings Christmas morning)

When we do a tree: strand of colored lights down the trunk, lots and lots of white lights (in and out on the branches--not just wrapped around), little red glass berries all over, crystal beaded garland, loads and loads of ornaments, mostly glass.

Eh, can do without it, though I wouldn't mind it if it managed a nice snow on Christmas Eve that would disappear within a few days ;-)

Minimally competent, but don't enjoy it.

Not picky, but I love books especially. Nothing better than curling up with a good book at Christmas.

Family, by a long shot.

Christmas cookies

Being together with family. I'd love to be able to travel more for Christmas and call that a tradition ;-)

angel

Giving

Hard to say. If we're home for Christmas I almost always play at church, and I always look for a new, nice arrangement of a Christmas carol.

Eh, okay, but not my favoriate

Hm....hard to say...not a huge fan of either

I'm not much for movies.

Best wishes, Ericka NutKnackered...

Hot chocolate, peppermint schnapps optional.

When I was a child, my family put our wrapped gifts on the dining room table and Santa would out them under the tree, adding his. He also hid our stockings, which we were allowed to open without our parents being present.

Colored on the tree (LOTS. I get about 1300 lights on our six and a half foot tree.) and white Italian lights outside. Bushes get white Italian lights with red C-5 lights.

Nope. (And I don't hang any either. ;-) )

Usually the weekend closest to my birthday (Dec. 6) but I don't have the house clean enough for interior decorations yet. Should be this week.

We never had anything specfically "Christmas"

Going to my great-grandma's on Christmas Eve then celebrating twice on Christmas Day, with immediate family and then at Grandma and Grandpa's.

I do not recall, nor was I traumatized by the discovery.

I don't open birthday gifts the day before my birthday. I don't open Christmas gifts before Christmas. (Well, that's my line anyway. DH comes from a Christmas Eve-opening family so there's sometimes some negotiation that goes on.)

Everything I can get on it goes there, although we tend to leave off glass ornaments. We have a cat and while we can close off the room where the tree is I'm still a little concerned about her causing destruction. The nice glass ornaments get hung from swags of garland at the windows.

If it's gotta be cold, it might as well snow.

About 80% of the time.

Having it be Christmas again.

Making memories for our kids like the ones we have from our own childhoods.

Gingerbread with whipped cream.

I can't keep it very well now, but: When I was a kid we got a real tree fro Christmas. For years, we got it from a farm that grew the trees on site. We'd go out the weekend closest to my DB's birthday in October to tag our tree and then go back the weekend closest to mine to cut it down. Oddly enough, DH shares my DB's birthday, but we don't use a real tree and I don't know of any "tag 'em early/ cut 'em later" tree farms in our area.

Lighted angel. That's what DH's family has always had.

Giving and opening. It's not so much the _having_ end of it, but I love the surprise of seeing what someone has chosen for me.

So tough to pick just one. i do love Carol of the Bells.

I'm ambivalent, but they do go nicely with the hot chocolate/peppermint schnapps combo.

The Grinch, but I have an unexplainable soft spot for "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". I love the Winter Warlock.

Without a doubt, Miracle on 34th Street. My dad will call me when ti's on near him just so he can let me listen to a couple specific scenes. All I need to do is hear the first three notes of the opening theme and I'm squealin with glee.

Karen E., who would have gotten the tree up this weekend except she was camping at Fort Leavenworth with DS's Boy Scout troop.

1, Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Neither - too hot here in December. Think Vodka and lots of ice. 2. Does Santa wrap presents or set under tree? Wrapped 3. coloured lights on tree/house? No lights.

1. Hand mistletoe? Doesn't grow here, and the plastic stuff does not have an overly romantic look to it
2. When do you put up decorations? Don't put up decorations at all - stopped when I always seemed to have a new puppy about this time of year and found that a puppy and Christmas decorations weren't compatible. 6. Favourite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Seafood (November to April is crayfish or Western Rock Lobster Season - they are cheap and plentiful, as are north west prawns etc) 7. Favourite holiday memory as a child? Father was a police officer, and in the bad old days all holidays were 'leave cancelled' times, so we did not ever have holidays in the usual times. (And the holidays we did have don't contribute to favourite childhood memories!)
3. When did you learn the truth about Santa? Can't actually recall ever thinking that Santa was for real. 9. When do you open gifts? Christmas morning 10. How do you decorate tree? No tree, a puppy ate it about 1983.
4. Snow! Love it or dread it? Never seen it, Christmas day in Western Australia is routinely

+100°F, and 2006 gave the Perth metropolitan area the first sub zero night ever.

1. Do you know how to ice skate? Yes, it was a teenage pastime at a very primitive rink in Fremantle.
2. Your favourite gift? Anything personal, and if handmade, even better.

1. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? That the world returns to normal in about a month.

1. Favourite holiday dessert? Pavlova 16. Favourite tradition? n/a 17. What tops your tree? Prior to the incident mentioned in Q5, I had the angel that sat on top of the trees we had as kids. She had a lovely china face, and a cardboard body covered in the softest, whitest feathers. Same puppy thought the feathers were a blast, and they were strewn about the house for weeks. The china face was rescued, and I always intended to reincarnate the angel, but there was some minor mishap involving the ceramic tile floor and the angel head - and no amount of king's horses and king's men were ever going to get the angel together again.

1. What do you prefer, giving or getting? Giving 19. Favourite Christmas song? Silent night 20. Candy canes Yuck or yum Yuck

21 .RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER OR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS No idea to what the question refers (is it obvious that I'm not much of a Christmas person)

1. Favourite Holiday Movie? Not much of a movie watcher

Joanne in a hot hot hot Western Australia

ladies show up at 10 tomorrow morning for my stitch in!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Not fond of either. Hot apple cider, please.

1. Does Santa wrap presents or set under tree? Unwrapped under the tree (or wherever there is room)

2. Colored lights on tree/house? Colored lights on tree

1. Hang mistletoe? Yeech!

2. When do you put up decorations? Thanksgiving weekend

1. Favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Any cheesy potatoes (sour cream is a plus)

2. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Snowmobiling and sledding on the Big Hill and the Cedar River up at my uncle's farm

1. When did you learn the truth about Santa? Don't remember. It wasn't really earth shattering

2. When do you open gifts? This year: Dec. 19 with DH, DD, and pup Dec. 23 with my extended family Dec. 24 with my parents and sister Dec. 25 with DH's extended family Dec. 26 with DH's parents and brothers &c.

1. How do you decorate tree? Drag boxes up from basement, strew stuff all over living room, pull

4-yr-old out of lights, test lights, untangle lights, pull 4-yr-old out of lights, put lights on tree, take ornaments out of boxes, put batteries in ornaments requiring such, take breakable ornaments away from 4-yr-old, hang breakables at the TOP of the tree, let 4-yr-old hang "safe" ornaments on the lower 1/3 of tree--often 3-4 per branch, give 4-yr-old cookies to distract her so you can re-arrange her ornaments, get out miniature tree and ornaments for it, decorate it, place it on top of piano so 4-yr-old can't reach it, get a stiff drink.

1. Snow! Love it or dread it? Beats 90° in the shade!

2. Do you know how to ice skate? Yes

1. Your favorite gift? Kisses from DD

2. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Not gaining weight

1. Favorite holiday dessert? Cut-out sugar cookies

2. Favorite tradition? Dad deciding if it's after midnight, it is the "proper time" to open gifts

1. What tops your tree? Star

2. What do you prefer, giving or getting? Giving

1. Favorite Christmas song? Stille Nacht

2. Candy canes Yuck or yum Not so much

1. RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER OR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS Neither. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town but ONLY if Jessica's song (My World Is Beginning Today) isn't cut {*&%@! commercial networks!}

2. Favorite Holiday Movie? Who has time to watch movies over the holidays (see 9 above)

1, Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

1. Does Santa wrap presents or set under tree? Unwrapped on the kids' old rocking chairs by the fireplace along with their filled stockings.

2. Colored lights on tree/house? Colored lights on tree only.

1. Hand mistletoe? Nope.

2. When do you put up decorations? I prefer to put them up after the first full week of December. My kids, however, have them out and around the day after Thanksgiving.

1. Favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? good old green bean casserole

2. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Spending Christmas Eve at my grandparents'. They had a white tabletop tree that they placed in front of their fireplace, which was bricked up, and all our gifts were on the floor around the table it was on. As I got a bit older (preteen and up), we had moved away, and my favorite memory was in the evenings, turning out all the lights but the tree. We have a wind-up church that plays "Silent Night", and we'd wind that up and listen before going to bed. Still do that now with my kids now that I have the church.

1. When did you learn the truth about Santa? I was 6 or 7 and found the gift from Santa that Mom was taking to the church Christmas party where Santa handed out presents to everyone. Caught Mom off guard, and she stuttered 1 too many times before the "Santa needs helpers" line.

2. When do you open gifts? Christmas morning

1. How do you decorate tree? Breakables on top, cat-friendly items on the bottom. Colored lights. Some handmade ornaments by the kids, but mostly ornaments that have been bought for them over the years. Tinsel goes on last. Have a cloth angel for the top, but the kids really want a star, so will probably buy a new one this year.

2. Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it! If it's going to be cold, we might as well have snow to go with it.

1. Do you know how to ice skate? Yes, just went yesterday, but not very good at all.

2. Your favorite gift? Anything the kids get me, especially if they make it.

1. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Trying to keep the commercialization down and focus on the birth of Christ.

2. Favorite holiday dessert? Cut-out cookies

1. Favorite tradition? It used to be going to something called "The Bethlehem Experience" in eastern Ohio, but the church that sponsored it cancelled this year. So I'd have to say attending Christmas Eve services at church after opening presents with my side of the family earlier in the afternoon.

2. What tops your tree? Usually a fabric angel, but as I mentioned, the kids really want a star, so we'll see what we find this year.

1. What do you prefer, giving or getting? Giving

2. Favorite Christmas song? Silent Night

1. Candy canes Yuck or yum Depends on my mood

21 .RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER OR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS Rudolph

1. Favorite Holiday Movie? Good question. Does the Charlie Brown Christmas count? Otherwise I'd have to say Miracle on 34th Street, the original version

Carolyn

1, Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog -- I can get hot chocolate any time of the year but egg nog is only available during the holidays.

1. Does Santa wrap presents or set under tree? For kids, Santa gifts are under the tree and not wrapped. For grownups and big kids, Santa gifts are wrapped and under the tree.
2. Colored lights on tree/house? Colored on the fresh cut tree. White on both the artificial white tree and the artificial green Garfield Cat tree.
3. Hang mistletoe? I have phony mistletoe attached to the Moose Mistletoe Holder that hangs in the entry. I also usually buy some fresh from the Boy Scouts who stand outside the grocery store selling it.
4. When do you put up decorations? Outside light are put up Thanksgiving week (DH takes vacation so he can do that) and they are turned on at 6:00 PM Thanksgiving night as that is the official start of Christmas in my family. Inside decorations are put up as soon as I get the Autumn Village and other decorations taken down which is usually about Saturday night (after T-day).
5. Favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Nothing particular -- we never had any specifically "Christmas Only" holiday foods that weren't dessert.
6. Favorite holiday memory as a child? The family outing to pick out the Christmas Tree.
7. When did you learn the truth about Santa? If this means that there isn't a Jolly little elf in a red suit who delivers gifts on Christmas Eve, then I don't really remember so it must not have been traumatic. There IS a Santa, and "he" is whichever person goes to the trouble to sneak around and surprise children with gifts they don't expect to get!
8. When do you open gifts? DH was a Christmas Eve family and I was a Christmas morning family. When DD was small, ot was Christmas Day, after she moved out on her own, DH and I compromised and opened gifts AFTER midnight when it is officially December 25th. As a child, we could open one gift on 24 Dec. but had to wait for Christmas morning to open the rest.
9. How do you decorate tree? Many strings of colored lights that are the C7 type, not the little ones that are a PITA! Lots of ornaments, unique store bought and many hand-made, many of them kitty cats -- I even have 2 that were my on my Mom's tree at the beginning of WW2. Then glass bead garland -- 4 strands of it also from my Mom's tree. Lastly the icicles, loads and loads of icicles -- so much that you have to get up close and personal to actually see the ornaments. And it's not just laid on the outside but covers the length of the branches!
10. Snow! Love it or dread it? LOVE it but growing up in LALA Land and then living in Lizard Land (AKA Scottsdale, AZ) I never had any. Here in Magnoliaville (AKA Atlanta Metro area), we get a few inches every few years.
11. Do you know how to ice skate? Yep, learned at the nearby skating rink owned by the Zamboni family, one of whom invented the famous Zamboni machine that cleans the ice :-) 13. Your favorite gift? It's usually something that someone had gotten me that is totally unexpected -- doesn't happen often but when it does, it is NEVER forgotten! Last year DH got me Tahitian Black Pearls, something I have wanted ever since we vacationed in Tahiti but could never afford and would NEVER ask for.
12. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with my family and friends on Christmas. Next to that it is shopping for special gifts for them and my friends. I don't just buy something I think they will like. I *always* try to find something specific that will really show the recipient that I have thought about what I was giving.
13. Favorite holiday dessert? Has to be my Date Torte Squares. I only make it at Christmas and the stuff is addictive!
14. Favorite tradition? I don't know if I have one. The whole holiday season is so filled with traditions that it's hard to choose! It's probably still going to buy the Christmas tree.
15. What tops your tree? An angel -- one with lights up her dress!!!!!!
16. What do you prefer, giving or getting? OH -- giving by far. I love to open my own gifts to see what someone has gotten me but I much prefer to see family and friends open their gifts. Both are selfish for me, either I am getting a gift or I am getting that "good feeling" from having a gift I gave make someone else happy!
17. Favorite Christmas song? I have several. The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole (even Mel Torme said Nat did the best rendition!); White Christmas by Bing Crosby (who else???); Carol of the Bells by some group who recorded in the 1960's (Robert Simeon Chorale or something like that).
18. Candy canes Yuck or yum YUM! Peppermint is my all time favourite hard candy. I LOVE the large candy canes made by BOB'S and buy as many of them as I can find. Then I have DH hide them from me and only give me one when I specifically ask for it but never more than one a week!! Unfortunately, I can't find them here in Magnoliaville so I have to try and find them when we got to Lizard Land every year.

21 RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER OR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS Assuming this means the movies, then neither actually! Rudolph is that Clay-mation stuff which I don't like but it's by far much better than the Grinch. I do NOT like the Grinch in any way shape or form -- I'm not a big Dr. Suess fan.

1. Favorite Holiday Movie? Miracle on 34th Street, of course!!! I like both the first one made with Maureen O'Hara (or was it O'Sullivan??) ads the Mom and Natalie Wood as the little girl. I like the third one made (I *think* there have only been 3 versions made) equally as well but can't think of the name of anyone who played in it. It follows the first one almost to the letter. The little girl is the one who has played in tons of movies but the only one I can even remotely remember is the one where Danny DeVito was her dad and he was horrible to her.

Here's mine - I added two at the bottom I thought should be on here:

1, Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg nog.

1. Does Santa wrap presents or set under tree? Wrapped

2. Colored lights on tree/house?

Colored and whilte on the tree only.

1. Hand mistletoe? No.

1. When do you put up decorations? Somewhere around the 15th - they stay up until New Year's Day.

2. Favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Roast duck

1. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Santa showing up one Christmas Eve while I was in the bathtub.

2. When did you learn the truth about Santa? Around 4th grade.

1. When do you open gifts? My family always did Christmas Eve, my husband's Christmas morning. We compromise - gifts from people who love you are opened on Christmas Eve and Santa visits on Christmas morning.

2. How do you decorate tree? Lights, then all the ornaments that fit.

1. Snow! Love it or dread it? Dread it! These 15" have made me think about moving south!

2. Do you know how to ice skate? Yes, but its been years.

1. Your favorite gift? My husband and children - I try never to take them for granted. Even 22 years later, I can't believe he chose me!

2. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Family.

1. Favorite holiday dessert? Anything chocolate

2. Favorite tradition? Everyone picking a new each year and then remembering why that was picked the following years.

1. What tops your tree? Depends on the top of the tree: either a Santa with a hollow plastic bottom or a star.

2. What do you prefer, giving or getting? Giving

1. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night, Angels we Have Heard on High, Christmas Bells (The Snoopy Song)

2. Candy canes Yuck or yum Somewhere in the middle.

21 .RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER OR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS The Grinch, but the cartoon version

23 Real or artificial tree?

Real.

1. How long do the decorations stay up? Until New Year's Day.

Hot chocolate. Spiced, mulled good red wine. Hot cider. Rarely eggnog.

Hmmmm - the Chanukah elf does them for DH & his family. Individual things come out on different nights by the menorah - sometimes just miraculously apperaing. Personally - I think that Puckster takes care of it.

Ditto for the most part. Green faceted lights in the largish Holly tree. But, this year - Dancing Dreidel lights on the front porch railings and the compromise of "teal,blue, purple" mini-lights going up on the front porch roof, and pillars. If we find them - some open sphere things hanging from deck trellis, and rope lights under the lip of deck railing. Also, waving mini (about 10" tall") set of 5 snowmen - too funny to resist last year. Nothing up yet.

Yup - what she said.

Probably about mid December - likely this Friday.

Not that. Hmmmm, good question. Good, fresh potato latkes. WRT the Christmas stuff - don't really have one - though I usually cook something festive. Generally a rib roast - and if everyone's lucky - good popovers.

N/A . Unless sneaking into my parent's walk-in closet to uncover a whole load of barbie cloths - something for each night of Chanukah.

Never an issue. Though the big why questions probably about age 6 or 7. That was the year that our Italian Catholic next door neighbor - my age - decided to teach me what she was learning working up to her first holy communion. I think that spawned some interesting questions to my parents - which led to a family meeting of both families about not sharing our Sunday school lessons. I don't know Pamela didn't want to learn Hebrew - but she was having a great time, and I still remember, going over her books with pictures of guardian angels flying around everything. I think maybe the burning in hell stuff may have caused the awareness of differences - but, heck, we were only 6 or 7.

Ummm, Chanukah nights after candle lighting. And Christmas when we get around to it.

Don't. Though if DH really wanted one we'd have one (as long as it was real). As is, we hang some ornies around the house, and there are candles, etc on the mantle. And, we do have a tree topper Angel - with a porcelain Springer Spaniel head - that sits on the mantle. Y'never know about the tree.

Love it. Have 3 shovels. Don't want to retire where we need a snow blower, but.....

Yes - but no toe picks. And, can actually really skate backwards - not butt-wiggling to propel. Love to skate. Skating good.

Yup that too.

Family, friends, people trying to be somewhat generous and hoping they're not being overwhelmingly materialistic.

Chocolate and ice-cream

Talking with family during the sharing of what everyone's sent around. Latkes and candle-lighting with close friends and god-children.

If we had one it would be the English Springer Spaniel angel.

giving. Don't need anything. Like most, love to receive, but would much rather find and gift things to others.

Anything by the LeeVees - amongst them "Applesauce or Sour Cream" and "At the Time Share" . And the Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler. Dang, now I'm going to meander humming "oh, dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made you out of clay..." Like Little Drummer Boy - and still remember rebelling when 5th grade chorus teacher made all the Jewish kids do Christmas carols - but, what the heck - it's a good song.

Mostly yuck.

Grinch.

"A Christmas Story " - the one which spawned the leg lamp. White Christmas. Christmas in Connecticut. The Santa Clause, I & II.

Enjoy the stitch in.

Ellice who should go finish picking insurance stuff, and then do some follow-up on her resumes which spawned questions, and should consider at least preparing to vacuum.

Excellent answer. I'm thinking you could try a chocolate martini for the holiday. Just had me laughing.

Ellice

*big snip*

The little girl - in the Miranda movie. She's great. That is a good version of Miracle on 34th Street.

ellice

Eggnog - hot chocolate is a staple, eggnog comes but once a year

wrapped

NO -

no

2-3 days before Xmas eve

Does ribbon candy count?

Hmmm- have to be sitting on my grandfather's lap as he read The Night before Christmas to me

About age 8

First thing in the morning

Unfold from box and set up

Dread it now, used to love it

Sort of (hockey skates only)

Really tacky tree pin from DD last year

Ribbon candy

Stuffing the kids' stockings

Don't remember

Giving - though getting can be good

I Believe in Father Christmas - ELP

Only the peppermint kind are good - otherwise YUCK

Original Grinch

Charlie Brown Christmas

Hot Chocolate, with little marshmallows

Always wrapped, no tree

no

No decorations except maybe for a snowman or a little Santa

Going to Radio City Music Hall to see the Christmas show and the Rockettes dancing

I don't think it was ever real in my house where Chanukka was celebrated.

No tree

Loved it as a kid but I didn't have to shovel it then

Very badly.

Nothing special comes to mind

My friends enjoying their celebrations

Dark Chocolate Cream pie

Don't have any

No tree

Mel Torme's Christmas Song

Peppermint is one of my favorite things

I can't think of any one that comes to mind, so I guess I don't have one.

1, Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog

1. Does Santa wrap presents or set under tree? Wrap, with paper not used anywhere else.

1. Colored lights on tree/house? Coloured; I have no preference, but he grew up with one too many white lighted decorator trees in his life.

2. Hand mistletoe? Nope
3. When do you put up decorations? No set tradition; usually based on parties. Has been Xmas eve in the past, or weeks earlier.

1. Favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Sausage Rolls

1. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Hanging out with my brother in his bedroom Xmas morning. I was allowed to get our stockings as we would open them up ourselves (word searches, fruit, etc). We played with those until we could wake our parents at 9am. Thanks for that, I had all but forgotten that.
2. When did you learn the truth about Santa? I was 6 when I started a new school, and it was one of the neighbourhood kids that told me. My mother still talks about wanting brain the kid that ruined it for me, 35 years later.:-)
3. When do you open gifts? Christmas morning

1. How do you decorate tree? Combination of glass balls and stitched items. Mutli coloured flashing lights. Beads and tin icicles (to save the cat's digestive system)

2. Snow! Love it or dread it? Dread it. A foot Christmas morning is fine, the rest of the time, can't stand the stuff.

1. Do you know how to ice skate? Sure, who can't stand on two slivers of metal and be pulled around the rink. Oh, I guess you mean with some panache. I can do that too, sit on chair and be pulled around the rink.

2. Your favorite gift? Hand made rag doll my mother made for me when I was in my 20s.
3. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Spending time with friends and family.
4. Favorite holiday dessert? Don't have a favourite, but Liz's boysenberry pie sounds like it would be a winner. :-) Sadly, I'm usually stuck with apple pie.

1. Favorite tradition? Christmas baking; core are sausage rolls, butter cookies, shortbread, sandies, and gingersnaps.

2. What tops your tree? One tree has a St. Nick (Woodland I think; he has a birdhouse) the other has St. Mac (Mac being a common dog's name; it's a dog faced santa)

1. What do you prefer, giving or getting? Giving

1. Favorite Christmas song? Deck the Halls or Good King Wenceslas

1. Candy canes Yuck or yum Yuck. We put them on the tree anyway. And throw them out when we take the tree down (or at least the ones the dog and cat haven't eaten)

21 .RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER OR HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS Grinch

1. Favorite Holiday Movie? Miracle on 42nd Street

Tara

23 Real or artificial tree? Real; both trees. Short version, we entertain upstairs in the living room. We spend our alone time downstairs in the family room. Both areas need a tree. :-)

1. How long do the decorations stay up? Usually 2-3 days before they pick up the tree (mid January), or when it falls over to bad to correct; whichever comes first. :-)

Last year I had abdominal surgery, so Blue put the tree (only one, since I couldn't get to the basement anyway) in the stand. I think it was Boxing Day when it hit the floor for the third time in a week, and rather than try to put it back together, it got turfed on the front lawn. :-) Every other year it's mid January.

tara

Miracle on 42nd Street ??

Lucille

Sure, the store moved up market. OK, I guess it was 34th street. ;-)

Tara

A nice dry sherry!

When kids were young, the major big toy was unwrapped under the tee. Evrything else was wrapped.

white lights on tree

No

A week or two before Christmas. I don't like them too early.

mince pies

I remember being about 6 years old, and dad's big golf stocking was pinned to the bottom of my bed. I woke up, and KNEW I saw Santa come in. As I got older I realised it was my dad in his red dressing gown!

probably around 7

Christmas morning. DH used not be able to wait, so we made our own customnof opening one each on Christmas Eve.

Current new one has the lights on it. I put all my favorite ornament s on it, and have thrown away the excess crap that the DMIL insisted went on it. It looks pretty nice. We have started a custom ( about 10 years back) od buying golden ornaments of places we have been. We look at the tree and remember these fantastic sights.

Love it...maybe we will be up north!! Too hot in Florida

Nope

1. Your favorite gift?

The dazor DH surprised me with about 10 years back

Sadly, nothing really anymore, other than tradition

Christmas pud!

None

Haven't put it up yet, and the angel croaked last year

Giving to DH, and IF the kids remember, I love being remembered!

Grandma got run over by the reindeer! ( Not really, but it made you giggle).

pretty

None, don't like movies1

Gillian

>

Yeah. The, um, "lady" on 42nd Street didn't charge him. ;)