Christmas Meme...

My mother 'assigned' each of us kids (there are 5 of us) to do this meme for a project she is working on. Since I *did* it, thought I might as well post it along with everyone else:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Must you even ask? Of course, Hot Chocolate – the current favorite being a toss-up between Dagoba’s Xocolatl, or Trader Joe’s Sipping Chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
I can’t remember there ever being an unwrapped present. Occasionally, with a very large one, it may not be wrapped in paper, but will be covered with a blanket and have a bow.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
My children insist on colored lights for the tree (and if they are the spiffy ones that you can program to blink in all sorts of patterns – even better!) but I use white for everywhere else in the house. Growing up, I remember being enamored with the all blue lights that always decorated the ‘formal’ flocked tree in the living room. The décor in there for a number of years was silver, and metallic blue and green. The family room had the less formal, multi-colored and multi-ornamented tree and décor.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I always want to –but don’t really have a good place to in this house. I can’t remember if we ever hung it growing up.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Traditionally it’s the few days after Thanksgiving. I

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Hmmm…. That’s harder. I enjoy the years we have king crab legs for dinner. When we have Christmas with my husband's mother, it’s always holiday Korean food (which is fabulous!) Maybe the thing that we’ve had the most consistently as holiday fare is my mother’s famous *butter rolls*. Pretty darn amazingly yummy.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Making “Twelve Days of Christmas” booklets for other members of the family using previous years' Christmas cards while listening to Julie Andrews, Barbra Streisand and Percy Faith on the record player.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don’t remember ever really believing – or really, ever stopping believing…

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Most years. My daughter would like to open ALL of them Christmas Eve. If there are many a particular year, we may open two.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Lots of colored lights, red glass balls, our eclectic mix of ornaments collected during our marriage and additionally the last few years - with Christmas cards!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it as long as the roads don’t ice over. Or if they do, as long as we don’t have to drive! (We get it so rarely here, it is a total novelty.)

12. Can you ice skate?
Nope. I have notoriously weak ankles. The last time I tried ice skating I was in college and fell so hard I had a bruised tailbone for weeks.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
My favorite gifts have been of the writing kind – I’ve received a few letters for Christmas that have been personal, specific, and loving and have touched me to the core. Those are what I remember.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Thinking of family and good friends. Connecting through cards, calls and gifts (and in person if possible!). Doing for others. Reflecting on the spirit of Christ and giving and peace and trying to hold on to that for as long as possible. Peace on earth, good will to men!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
Growing up, my mother made a couple of yummy fruitcake variations that I really liked – one with chewy orange candy and the other with maraschino cherries and nuts. There was also a sour cherry pudding cake that I still can never get enough of.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
The one thing that I only allow myself to indulge in at the holidays is jigsaw puzzles. I am a compulsive puzzler – so I can’t start one if I don’t the time to finish it (luckily I do them fairly quickly).

17. What tops your tree?
Our angel was a victim of our shed-rat – so currently, the top of our tree is bare.

18. Which do you prefer: giving or Receiving?
Giving – by far. I am a compulsive giver. Can’t seem to stop myself.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Some versions of “Oh Holy Night.” (There are a number of versions that do NOT rank amongst my favorites). Hilary Week’s version is currently my preferred one.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Don’t like them much by themselves. However, dark chocolate and candy-cane peppermint is one of my very favorite combinations. Trader Joe’s used to sell containers of little chewy peppermint sticks that had been dipped in dark chocolate that I found absolutely addictive. Unfortunately they discontinued them this year!

If you haven't given in to this particular meme - you are running short on time to do it before Christmas! :-)