Christmas Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Hot Chocolate, for two reasons: first, I love chocolate and second, the thought of drinking warm eggs is not particularly appealing to me. I've dreamed about the river of chocolate from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory; is that wrong?

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

I'm not sure - Santa has us on the "Soon to be Added" list for Christmas 2007. Guess we'll find out then, eh?

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White lights on house and tree and everything else. White lights on the house when I can get up off my lazy butt and put them up (like next year).

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Nope - wouldn't even know where to get it.

5. When do you put your decorations up?

Beloved is a "soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is cool" decorations person. Me, I'd prefer to wait - but with no specific reason other than I'm a charter member of the Society for the Preservation of Advent.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

Mmmmm - potato sausage. Mmmmm - ostekaka. Mmmmm - Grandma's Swedish tea ring. Mmmmm - krumkaka. Mmmmm - lefse. Mmmmm - lutefisk - WAIT, NO! BLECCCCHHH!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

First, the Christmas Eve service, which should be held at 10:00 or later - bedtime be damned. Singing "Silent Night" with only our candles to light the dark sanctuary. Smell of pine and beeswax and the snow outside (not to mention mom's chili in our stomachs and on our breath - wonder why no one would sit in front of us?)

Then we would go to my grandparents house on Christmas Day - either to my mom's parents in Winside or my dad's parents just a mile from our farm. All my cousins would be there, and we would badger our uncles to come outside and play football. Usually we'd play Monopoly if it was too cold for football.

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

I honestly don't remember. I'll have to ask my parents. I think in some small way I still believe in Santa; at least, I believe in a good-hearted saint who gives children gifts to celebrate the birth of Christ. Maybe I actually believe more in St. Nicholas than Santa? Hard to say.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Yes - and I'm not sure how that tradition will continue once Little Miss makes her arrival. Right now, we've opened "our" gifts on Christmas Eve every year, but next year we may wait until Christmas morning to share it with our little one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

We would need to HAVE a tree in order to decorate. This year with all the rush and bother of Impending Parenthood and the annual Trip to See the Family we just decided not to have a tree. I'm wondering when I wandered into a John Grisham novel...

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE snow. Biggest disappointment about Minnesota thus far has been the wimpy winters we've had in most of the time I've been here. I honestly can't get enough of the stuff, even when I have to shovel it by hand.

12. Can you ice skate?

Will I fall down lots? No. Am I Brian Boitano? No.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

This is going to sound weird, but one of the most meaningful gifts I've received was from my ex-wife while we were dating. As a summer camp site manager I had taken some neat pictures of Tipi Village - she got them enlarged & professionally framed, and even now, ten years later and thousands of miles apart, those pictures still hang in my house. Not a favorite gift - those would be too many to mention. But a meaningful gift nonetheless.

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

Time with family, without a question. It's such a treasure because we're so far away from family; Beloved's in Oregon, mine in Nebraska (with the exception of Beloved's sister & her family in the Cities). The Christmas flight to Eugene or drive to Wakefield is about the longest day of the year.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

All of them - except mincemeat or sour cream raisin pie. I may try to make ostekaka this year, if I can find Grandma Johnson's recipe.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Probably soup & songs on Christmas Eve. A few years ago I taped a couple of Lutheran college Christmas Concerts on public TV and I like to pop that video in while we make supper. Hopefully they'll have new ones on this year, since our congregation is only having one Christmas Eve service - we'll be home together all night and we'll have lots of time for singing.

17. What tops your tree?

I bought an angel at a local gift shop the first year I was in Barrett. It's technically an ornament, not a tree topper, but it's beautiful and we like it. See above for why it's not up this year.

18.Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

The only thing I don't like about giving is not knowing if I've done well. Like this year: my brother's present was an easy one, but Beloved's has been very difficult to figure out.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

I actually like a lot of Advent songs more than Christmas songs. "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come" is a favorite, as is "Comfort, Comfort Now My People" "Wake, Awake, for Night is Flying" gets me every time. "The Promise" and "Immanuel" by Michael Card, and also "Don Oiche Ud I mBeithil" by the Chieftains and Burgess Meredith. "Of the Father's Love Begotten" and "Once In Royal David's City" are also beautiful Christmas songs. I used to love "O Holy Night" but the overkill has done me in this year. Can we pass a moratorium on that one for a few years so my ears can recover?

As for "secular" songs, I heard an Elmer Fudd version of "Blue Christmas" a few years ago that never fails to bring me to tears of laughter.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?

Yum, I guess - but no great desire either way, TBH.

Now you've read this - now you're tagged. Your turn!