I've Been Tagged!

I'm pretty excited about it, as it's the first time I've been tagged, I do believe. Ami tagged a bunch of people, though, so maybe it's not all that special...

At any rate, here we go:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Whatever. We use wrapping paper, old gift bags, homemade out of grocery bag gift bags, boxes, anything we have on hand. I try not to buy too much in the way of packaging.

2. Real tree or Artificial?

Neither this year or last...We were out of town for two weeks at Christmas time last year and will be out of town for a week this year. Instead of a tree last year, we put the lights up all over inside the house and hung the tree decorations from them. Davan says it's like living inside a Christmas tree and was quite enamored. I liked not dealing with a tree. This year we'll add pine boughs from my MIL's place to give it that Christmas tree scent, though.

As if that weren't a long enough answer, I'll also tell you that we've done both real and artificial in the past. We had an artificial tree for three years and, while I liked the idea of not killing real trees, I didn't like the artificial tree. It was a pain to deploy and put away again and it still shed during those processes. It wasn't a cheapie tree, either. We went back to real and maybe we'll have a tree again when we'll be around to care for it in future years.

3. When do you put up the tree?

If we're putting one up, we put it up sometime in early December. Davan's birthday is on the 16th and I used to wait, but she likes having Christmas decorations up for her birthday.

4. When do you take the tree down?

Whenever we get around to it. Usually by the 1st if not sooner.

5. Do you like eggnog?

It astounds me that people do.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

Does 17 still count as a child? If so, it was a car. I got the keys in my stocking and everything. It was very cool. Of course, it was a quite well used car, but still. A car.

Prior to that, it would have been a doll in a basket with a whole set of clothes the year I announced that I wasn't too old for dolls yet.

7. Hardest person to buy for?

Anyone not in my immediate family, really.

8. Easiest person to buy for?

I don't know that she's easy, but my favorite person to buy for is Davan.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?

Nope. Well, not me personally, at any rate. Davan owns one that my grandmother gave her last year. It's big, too. Thanks, Grandma. I love storing stuff.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

I like receiving Christmas cards in the mail with news from the sender. I don't actually do it myself, though, so I can't complain.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

I dunno - it'd be hard to say. Sweater sets from Grandma? Anything that requires dusting on a regular basis? The choices are endless.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

I don't think I have one right now. We just read "When Santa Fell to Earth" and enjoyed it very much, so that might be my favorite Christmas book at the moment.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

This varies a lot. Usually in November, though, I'd guess. Although, this year, I got a couple of small things this summer that are tucked away for a certain someone's stocking.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

Oh yeah.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

I'm feeling stumped by this one. Chocolate, probably.

16. What decorations are on your tree?

A wide assortment of homemade, inherited ones from Anthony's and my childhood (more his than mine) and ones given as gifts over the years. My MIL always gives an ornament at Christmas. Plus we have several given by a certain favorite Girl Scout leader.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

Oh...I love Christmas carols. My favorite, though? I have sentimental ties to "Silent Night" as it was what my mom sung to me when I was a baby, being the only lullaby she could remember the words to.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home?

My ideal? We'd live in a place with snow and not have to go anywhere. We'd go out for a snowshoe or cross country ski to visit a relative on Christmas Eve, then just stay home on Christmas day. Friends and family would be welcome to drop by for visits on Christmas day after about noon.

In reality? Travel gets us away from having to run around at Christmas (MIL for Christmas Eve, FIL Christmas day, ect) and is kind of fun. These days, though, as Davan has gotten older, I don't mind my MIL's for Christmas Eve, but I want to stay home on Christmas day.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolf the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose...

20. Angel on top of tree or star?

Santa.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning mostly, but we do presents with the in-laws on Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?

Exchanging gifts with people outside of my immediate family. Save your money and buy what you'd like for yourself rather than try to guess what I want. And giving cash? Really, if we're just going to exchange money, why bother? I find it very stressful to buy for cousins and grandparents.

23 What theme or color are you using when you decorate?

There's supposed to be a theme? I guess it'd be eclectic and mostly homemade, then.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?

Ah! We do something a little different. We've done it for years now. Each person (that'd be me, Anthony, Davan, my mom and my stepdad) picks about two items to have for Christmas day. We get enough to share. Anthony always picks Coco Pebbles and Cream for one of his. There is usually pepper bacon. We also have things like fruit on hand. We eat on this stuff all day. This year we're each picking two junk food (in our opinion) items and then also having a few other things around. My choices this year are Costco muffins and turkey bacon. I'll also make sure there is some Dave's Killer Bread, cuties, avocado and stuff for chocolate cherry smoothies on hand. Yum.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

I have a whole list! My magic gift would be to wake up Christmas morning in an ideal condo with everything moved (or cleaned out as necessary) and have the mortgage be a little less than what we're paying now. That'll happen, right?