Christmas Meme

I saw this MEME on my friend Mel's blog.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I prefer gift bags but end up using paper sometimes too. I like gift bags because they are so recyclable! [as long as the 2 yo doesn't crush them....]

2. Real tree or artificial? Well, I LOVE real trees, but we end up using the same tired little artificial one that my husband and I bought our second Christmas together [11 years now!]. It is time to retire it, but I always have better stuff to spend my money on around Christmas....

3. When do you put up the tree? We do it on the Feast of St. Nicholas [Dec. 6] or as close to that as possible.


4. When do you take the tree down? The day after Epiphany.


5. Do you like eggnog? I don't think so.


6. Favorite gift received as a child? Fisher Price Little People barn and animals.


7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes, absolutely. Our most important "decoration". And NO, baby Jesus is not in the manger - he doesn't arrive until Christmas Day. :)


8. Hardest person to buy for? My MIL. She will never share any ideas on what she wants, has a birthday 4 days before Christmas too [double whammy] and anything she wants she buys for herself immediately. *sigh*

9. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A shirt from one of my in-laws that was *literally* 8 sizes too large. Do ya think they think I'm a fat cow?! LOL!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I usually mail Christmas cards with a photo of the kids. I am not this year. :)

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? When I was little I loved "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Now I'm not so much in to Christmas movies.

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Usually by October, I prefer to be done by Thanksgiving [I'm not this year :) ]. I do almost all of it online.


13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so.


14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My brother's smoked ham.


15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? I like the tacky colored lights. What can I say... you can take the girl out of the trailer park but you can't take the trailer park out of the girl... LOL! [OK, so I never lived in a trailer... I still want those colored lights ;) ]


16. Favorite Christmas song. Little Drummer Boy, Silent Night


17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We go to my parents' [A little over an hour away] on Christmas Eve and stay home Christmas day except for Mass. We made this change 2 years ago. We used to be required to drive around to at least 2 or 3 different in-law homes all day Christmas and it was terrible - draining, exhausting, and made the day awful. We stopped 2 years ago when they changed their celebration to Christmas Eve and I refused to not go to my family's "thing" on Christmas eve. This was the best thing that could have happened to our Christmas.


18. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer. Yes, indeed I can.


19. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel


20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Our kids open their presents from my family on Christmas Eve, then on Christmas morning they open their 3 gifts from St. Nicholas, and then on Epiphany they open a couple of other gifts from us [their parents] and each other.

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I have to agree with Mel - I really dislike secular people that celebrate Christmas [which IS a Christian holiday] and then complain about it being "too Christian" and try to completely secularize it. I mean, next year I don't plan to celebrate Ramadan or Yom Kippur and complain about it being too Muslim or too Jewish.... but I guess if you don't believe in *anything* you have no choice but to go steal other people's celebrations.