Christmas Questionnaire

Saw this at Mercy Every Morning, and wanted to join in...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? It depends -- usually gift bags, because they are reusable. Some items very easily lend themselves to being wrapped (they're nice and square/rectangular), while others look best popped into a bag. Then there are some things that are too big.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real -- and we cut it down ourselves. You couldn't ask for a fresher tree than we got this year (it was very close to our house). The only downside is that since they are so fresh, they drink a **lot** of water.

3. When do you put up the tree? There is no "usual" here. This year, we did it this past weekend, because it was a beautiful weekend for it. Chuck and I have been married 6 Christmases, and a few of them we didn't even have a tree at all -- just decorated with lights around the living room and ornaments hanging on the lights!

4. When do you take the tree down? Again, it depends. Last year, we visited my husband's brothers for Christmas and were gone for more than a week, so we took the tree down before we left -- before Christmas. This year, I hope we leave it up longer, but we'll just have to see.

5. Do you like Egg Nog? Love it!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmm -- can't remember.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My father-in-law! He can buy anything he wants, so then what do we get him??

8. Easiest person to buy for? my mother-in-law -- she wants a photo album of the year's pictures, so I don't have to decide *what* to buy, just have to make time to do it.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail them, but only a few. It's required to send one to my FIL, so I sent one to him, my MIL, their siblings, my mom, and my husband's and my siblings. (And I hand-delivered the ones to my family since we live close and see each other all the time.)

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I really can't remember one!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a Wonderful Life

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? We only get presents for our kids and our parents and each other. Since my MIL's gift is a given, I sometimes do it at the end of the year and give it to her deliberately late (so I can get the full year in a single photo album, rather than cut it off at Thanksgiving), but there was a good deal on Snapfish, where I do my pictures and the photo album right before Thanksgiving, so I did it then -- along w/my FIL's). I did a photo calendar for my mom when there was a good deal at Snapfish a few months ago; and my husband and I decided to upgrade to a digital camera, so that was our Christmas gift to each other -- a month early! As for the kids, I usually give them stuff from yard sales or when I find things on clearance, so I do that throughout the year, and save it.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably, but can't quite remember for sure.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas and favorite Christmas dessert? We have traditional "turkey with all the trimmings" and it wouldn't be complete without all of them. But I guess the "favorite" is stuffing, since we usually only do that at Thanksgiving and Christmas. As for the dessert, I'd probably say (anything my mom makes, to be honest) German chocolate cake, since that is also a somewhat traditional Christmas dessert with us, and she only makes it on occasion.

16. Lights on the tree? Colored C7s (not the biggest kind, but the next-biggest).

17. Favorite Christmas song? Hard to say, I like a lot of them.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Depends. Last year, we traveled; this year, we're staying home. I prefer to stay home, but it is fun to go see the in-laws and cousins, too.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s? Not sure -- I think I can get about 6 of them.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning! (But sometimes we do stockings on Christmas Eve)

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

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Too tough to call.

24. Handmade ornaments or store bought? Mostly store-bought (the majority of them were after-Christmas sales the first or second year we were married); but we've got a few hand-made ones -- ones my mom did when I was a child, or ones she did for my kids.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Already got it.

First blog post

This is just a test to see how it looks to blog on blogspot. My real blogs are over at WordPress -- Woman to Woman Childbirth Education and Katsyfga.