A Christmas Meme

I have been tagged by Alexa. So here goes:

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot Chocolate, with whipped cream on top, and chocolate sprinkles if we have them.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa comes on Dec. 6th (Saint Nicholas). On Christmas day, the stockings are from St. Nick, the presents are from mom and dad.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I use colored lights around the interior of the tree, and white lights on the exterior. So there is usually 3 times as many white lights as colored lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but maybe this will be the year.

5. When do you put your decorations up? We used to always decorate the week before Christmas, but this year is different. I am tired of being an exhausted cranky Scrooge on Christmas Eve because everything piled up on me. So we still celebrate Advent, actually we beging earlier now that we follow the Eastern Christian tradition, and after Thanksgiving we begin, one box at a time, preparing our home for Christmas.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I don't have one, excluding dessert. What's this excluding dessert nonsense? There is no other favorite food as far as I am concerned. Honestly, I love Clementines, and only have them on the holidays.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child: The excited feeling in my stomach as I went to bed on Christmas eve, barely able to fall asleep, unbelievable that its really Christmas TOMORROW!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember. I do know at some point (I was in fifth grade) I "figured it out" and came out of my room one night, crying because I felt guilty that I now knew the truth, and mom and dad hadn't told me. I was the oldest in my family and felt a huge responsibility to keep the belief alive.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? My grandma on my dad's side always sends us the funkiest gifts. They are counter-intuitive (like oven mitts for a four year old), but funny enough, everyone's favorites. It's fun to see what a four year old does with oven mitts. Anyway, we always open my grandma's gifts on Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It's loaded with all my ornaments from childhood, each of my seven kids get one each year, and we make some each year. We need two trees soon!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? Love it. I don't have to leave the house if I don't want to, so I just love it.

12. Can you ice skate? Not really. I haven't tried since my body became a mother's body. Not sure how it would go.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? My husband gave me a flute one year for Christmas. I used to play, and through the years and moves, my flute got lost. He bought me a gorgeous, silver flute, all reconditioned and shiney. I don't play it enough, but there is still time for that, I hope.

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? To prepare my heart as a fertile place where Christ can grow, as well as making great memories for my family that are rich with eternal truths. I am vigilantly attmempting to banish all anxiety about the commercial Christmas from myself. So far so good, but it's still a ways to go.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Russian Tea Cakes, sugar cookies, and pumkin pie, with whipped cream.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Decorating the tree together, having snacks and hot cocoa, then on Christmas, getting up early with the kids to open stockings, and then getting ready for church. Then going to church (The Liturgy is the best of Celebrations), then coming home, breaking out the cookies and opening gifts. Then off to my folks house, with all my siblings and their families, and ham and hot friut and sour cream potatoes, and pie, and more gifts. Then everyone sings Christmas carols, and plays their new games, and drinks hot cider and chats and naps, and changes into their new p.j.'s and then, home. Ahh. It's lovely.

17. What tops your tree? We have an old glass tree topper that we used when our tree was smaller. Now we have a St. Nicholas that graces the top of the tree.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving, except if I am not sure if I got the right thing. Usually, though, I get it right and love the reactions from the giftee.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? God Rest You Merry Gentleman.

20. Candy canes: Banished from my home. Can you say S-T-I-C-K-Y?

21. Favorite Christmas movie? A Charlie Brown Christmas

22. What do you leave for Santa? Cookies and hot cocoa. This year, though, I think it'll be a hot toddy.