Christmas Meme

I saw this lovely Meme on Sarah Jane's blog. I just had to try it. So here goes :-)

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Neither I’m allergic to dairy, eggs, and chocolate. I like apple cider.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We don’t do Santa Claus in our house. As a kid, my mom taught my brother and me that Santa Claus lived a long time ago and is now dead. So, we went around telling our friends that Santa Claus is dead. Yeah, we were popular J

3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white? I prefer white lights on my own tree. I like the colored lights, if they’re small. But, again, for my own tree I prefer white lights. I like how peaceful and calm the white lights look.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I have never hung mistletoe. I grew up in the desert where mistletoes don’t exist J

5. When do you put your Christmas decorations up? As a kid, we put our tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving. I still like to decorate at that time.

6. Favorite holiday dish? Oooh, that’s such a hard question. I think I’ll have to say anything with pumpkin in it. I love pumpkin pie!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Every year the church I grew up in has a wonderful Christmas Eve service filled with candle light, music, and a telling of the Christmas Story. Pastor Dale invites the children up to the stage and together they tell the Christmas Story. It’s absolutely adorable and hilarious. Some of the things these kids say are so cute. My favorite is seeing how these little ones know who Jesus is. It’s awesome to hear a child say that Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. What a blessing.

8. When did you learn the truth about Santa? From day one, we didn’t have Santa in our house. We knew who the historical Santa Claus was, but the Jolly Old Elf was not welcome in our home.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? As a kid we sometimes would open one gift. As we grew older we would go to our Grandparents’ home and open gifts Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate a tree? I like to capture as much of the 18^th century in my decorations as I can. I do use bulbs, but I also use old ornaments. My tree last year had a kind of folk art feel. This year we have skipped the tree all together and I made garland and wreaths instead.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I love snow. I just don’t like driving in it, when there are people out and about who don’t know how to drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? I can. I didn’t grow up ice skating, again the whole desert thing. Anyway, I first went ice skating when I was 13 in New York and I have loved it ever since. I haven’t been in a while, though.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Yes, but it wasn’t a gift in the traditional sense. I was 16 and my mom was going through breast cancer. She had her surgery a few weeks before Christmas and was still recovering. I remember my dad saying we wouldn’t have a lot of gifts that year, and I didn’t care. My mom’s life was the best gift I ever received. I was so happy that she had made it through surgery and her prognosis was positive. It’s been 8 years since then, and my mom is with us and healthy.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you? Remembering why we celebrate. The presents, food, and family is fun, but the real reason we have this day is to honor our Savior who came to earth to save us.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Pumpkin pie!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Well, Aaron and I haven’t really established our own traditions yet. But as a kid, I think staying up late Christmas Eve with my brother watching “The Christmas Story” 24 hour marathon.

17. What tops your tree? Normally we have a star of some sort.

18. Which do you prefer-Giving or Receiving? I like them both. Although, the giving is more fulfilling. But, I like to give useful gifts. It's very hard for me to buy for someone who has everything.

19. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells

20. Candy Canes-Yuck or Yum? I like a good candy cane this time of year.

21. Favorite Christmas show? The Christmas Story and A Muppet Christmas Carol

22. Saddest Christmas song? The Christmas Shoes, I hate that song.

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas Season and a wonderful New Year! God Bless!

P.S. If you would like to do this meme, leave me a comment so I can go and read it.