Christmas Meme

I already write plenty about the 'Weird Things About Me', so I'm skipping that tag. But this one is fun.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Definitely eggnog. Though I prefer it watered down just a tad; it's so very rich. Brandy is also a necessary addition.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa always wraps presents, though the CBM Elf helped out a couple of years ago by getting 12 nesting boxes - the 12 Days of Christmas - which make wrapping really fast!! Some gifts are in boxes, some are wrapped. I wish I had the patience and the talent to make really pretty bows and things for the packages, but I don't.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored lights and white on the tree; mostly white ones on the house.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
The outdoor ones go up first; usually we start the second weekend in December; they stay up until Twelfth Night (Jan 6), or the next weekend.

6.What is your favorite holiday dish?
My family recipe for cranberry relish; the cranberries are cooked whole with sugar, then apples, oranges, and nuts are added into a sugar-free lemon jello base. There is so much fruit you barely notice the jello holding it all together.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
Let's just pass on this.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
There's a truth??

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
We open all our gifts on Christmas Eve. We make dinner from hors d'oeuvres and break out the champagne. First we write checks to the charities we missed during the year, and then we open our gifts, one at a time, alternating between his and hers. If it's cool enough, we light a fire.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
White and colored mini-lights; lots of ornaments, collected over the years, with special ones for each year; plus garlands and glass icicles. There is no theme, but there are a lot of cat ornaments!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Not applicable - this is Los Angeles. I spent 20+ years in Wyoming and Denver, and DH grew up in Washington State, plus he spent 7 years in Alaska. We've done snow enough for the rest of our lifetimes, TYVM.

12. Can you ice skate?
Not a chance.

13.Do you remember your favorite gift?
Yes. It is a crocheted afghan my mother made for me nearly 30 years ago, using the pineapple motifs. I still have it and use it. It is the best gift she ever gave me.

14.What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Remembering the love and the affection we have for family and friends.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
DH makes his mother's recipes for 2 holiday breads: banana bread with maraschino cherries, walnuts and chocolate chips; and the other with halved cranberries and a zing of orange. The cranberries *must* be halved, not chopped.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Writing checks to charity before opening our gifts - see #9

17.What tops your tree?
We've had a dove, a glass spiky thing, a star, etc.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. I love to find things throughout the year that I want to give to friends and family. Receiving is fun, too.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
I like a lot of them, just not before Thanksgiving. Here are a few: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Joy to the World, Little Drummer Boy, Do You Hear What I Hear?

20. Candy Canes?
Why would I want one? They aren't chocolate.