Christmas Meme

Jared tagged me, so here goes:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Egg Nog preferably with some brandy or rum for added holiday cheer (or to keep me cheery when the tree isn’t cooperating as I try to get it in the stand as C “supervises” and Br. Puppy tries to “help”.).

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Most of the gifts under the tree are for Br. Puppy. C and I have decided that we exchange one gift and then buy gifts for another “home”. Temenos Catholic Worker is the home of choice.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White on both tree and balcony rail—colored lights are tacky; C says colored lights make your house look like a “Puf”, meaning brothel in German.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

No. But that’s not a bad idea, though I think I’ll wait until after Saturday (see 5).

5. When do you put your decorations up?

This year, for the first time, we can truly host friends for a big party, so we’re having an Adventstee this coming Saturday, and while we will have the tree up with lights and ribbon already, we’re going to let our guests decorate the tree (with our pre-selected assortment of ornaments, naturally—I wouldn’t want anything tacky or kitsch—it’s bad enough C has a love affair with Santa and he shows up everywhere around the house). Our theme for Christmas is always silver and blue (with white added in), and our decorations reflect this.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

Ham baked in a brown sugar-orange glaze. I love the crackled skin. Mmmm.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

We didn’t begin celebrating Christmas until I started school in first grade, as the Pentecostal sect we belonged to thought Christmas was a pagan celebration. My parents decided to start celebrating when I started school for fear that I would feel embarrassed. Anyway, my dad put up a 9ft. tree he’d cut down in the forest, and we didn’t have a lot of money, so my mom baked large sugar cookies of various shapes, frosted them in various colors, and we hung them on the tree with yarn through pre-made holes. I loved reaching up and eating the cookies off the tree as Christmas neared.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I was in third grade. A neighborhood friend ruined it for both my brother and I. We were in shock for some time after that. I still believe in the magic of Christmas and St. Nicholas, however. Underneath all that pessimism is a romantic heart.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

No, because C has to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so we have started our own tradition of opening gifts on December 23, the Feast Day of St. Servulus.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

This year, see 5. If they don’t do a good job, we’ll rearrange after they leave.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

A light dusting the day before Christmas Day is beautiful, but having lived in some rather snowy places in my life, Oregon, Wyoming, and Alaska, I can’t say I like snow, especially shoveling out the driveway. C loves snow—he’s the “baby” in his family, so he never had to shovel out the driveway.

12. Can you ice skate?

I’m decent at ice skating, but prefer roller skating—I simply do not like winter sports because of the cold and wet.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Optimus Prime. Christmas of 1986. Still have it.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Sharing time with my immediate family—C and Br. Puppy, and my mom; and I’d love to see my paternal grandmother in Oregon, and dad, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew, all in Alaska, but won’t this year, at least not for Christmas. I won’t wax long about how my extended family all come together across our differences and remember how much we love one another, as there are family with whom I have nothing to do with and they have nothing to do with me, and this time of year tends to bring up how much that sometimes hurts, but this time around I’ve come to some peace in my heart that sometimes this is just the way things are and I can do little to change this.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream on top. Marzipan stollen comes in a close second.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Watching Br. Puppy open his presents. Also, preparing the meal. I love to cook big meals and eat them with family and friends. Their enjoyment of the food I cook gives me great pleasure.

17. What tops your tree?

We have a retro star circa 1930’s we snapped up from Target a few years back, and it fits the décor perfectly.

18.Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

That’s a little more incarnational than we want to get, don’t you think?

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

I agree with Jared, “O Holy Night”. Though I love “Little Drummer Boy”, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”, “ Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”, and “Stille Nacht” as well. I’m no Advent scrooge, and I’m already singing them around the house and in the car preparing my heart.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?

Just say “no”. C loves them though. I’m not a big mint fan, and when they get gooey, they’re downright gross.

I'm tagging LutherPunk, Michael at The Wild Reed, Caelius, Annie at Myriad Musings, and anyone else who wishes to join in.