On the Third Day of Christmas...

I’ve seen this little Christmas Questionnaire going around, and I thought I’d join in the fun.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Eggnog?! Who likes eggnog? Oh yeah, Blake likes eggnog. Blake LOVES eggnog. I don’t get it. I don’t get why he would like something that tastes so…gross. I prefer hot chocolate, thank you very much.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa rarely wrapped presents. He just created a pile for each of us on the couch cushions, and we knew which pile was ours based on where our stocking was placed.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colored lights were only for the outside of the house. White lights were for the tree. And they couldn’t be those blinking white lights either. It was on or nothing.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. Except one year, when I was a freshman at Ricks, my roommates bought some from a door-to-door salesman. I think they had big plans and high hopes that revolved around the dorm boys. They were pretty much mostly disappointed with their purchase.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
Growing up, it was done the weekend after Thanksgiving, although the tree wasn’t purchased until about 2 weeks before Christmas. We do not advocate fire hazards at our house. I don’t own too many decorations now that I’m married and out on my own – just a few hand-me-downs – and Blake and I are mostly pretty lazy in getting them out…something about finals needing to be done or whathaveyou before we can really get in the spirit of things. We haven’t pulled out anything this year, probably because we’re just waiting to “borrow” decorations from Blake’s family while we visit them.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Definitely my mom’s cheeseball. Definitely.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
I don’t know if this is a favorite, but it definitely stands out. One year, after we’d been out among our presents for about a half an hour, we kids, I regret to say, got pretty whiney. So my parents canceled Christmas and sent us to our rooms. We were sad…very, very sad. We cried for a while about the unfairness of it all, but in all truthfulness, we were acting pretty rotten. After they figured we’d had enough time to think about that rottenness, my parents decided to have pity on us and invited back out to the living room and un-canceled Christmas. We were all pretty solemn, and to help us get back in the mood, my parents decided we should open a family gift. The chosen present was from my Uncle Joel – a man who has a good sense of humor. Upon opening the gift, we discovered it was a rather bizarre sort of gift – especially for a family of potty-trained people. It was a book – perhaps you’ve heard of it – called Everyone Poops. The title alone was enough to make us giggle, but when my mom decided to read it out loud to us, we pretty much lost all control and in the midst of our laughter forgot we’d ever been in trouble. It was The Book That Saved Christmas.

8. How and when did you learn the truth about Santa?
The year we got the Nintendo. I think I was 7 or 8. Because it was a “for-all-the-kids” gift, Santa had wrapped it and put it under the tree. Only he had used my mom’s very distinct handwriting to label the package. I don’t think I was crushed…it was about time I grew out of it anyway, I suppose. I think I was mostly startled because I realized then that Santa and the Tooth Fairy were one in the same. (Yes, the Tooth Fairy left a card along with the 25-cent payment for each tooth – in my mom’s very distinct handwriting.)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Occasionally we have, but only if it was new pajamas or new pillows.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
Blake and I didn’t get a Christmas tree this year. Last year we bought a tiny little tree which was rather Charlie Brown-ish for $5 at Lowe’s. We decorated it with the few decorations we owned, which pretty much all came from Blake, seeing as he was given a new ornament each year for Christmas. I am, though, all about red-and-white candy canes as decorations along with white lights. Oh, I am also all for real trees. I do not advocate plastic.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Usually, I love it. Only I start to hate it when it freezes and I have to drive on it. Especially in Muncie – the town that does not seem to understand the benefits of snowplows.

12. Can you ice skate?
I can. When I was a teenager, my siblings and I all took lessons down at Utah Lake. I’m not very good – I can only go forward and I don’t know how to stop unless there’s a wall nearby.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I know that every year I had a favorite or two because I documented it well in my journals. But off the top of my head, I can’t think of any. It all seems so ephemeral and unimportant now. But I do know what I want this year more than anything, and if I get it, it will be the favorite of all favorites for many years to come. Maybe, if I get it, I’ll let you know what it is.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
I think being with people – particularly family – is very important. Last year our Christmas consisted of just Blake and I because we were too far away and too poor to see family. And though we were able to talk to them on the phone, it really wasn’t the same. This year, though, we’ll get to see all of Blake’s family down in Texas and I am VERY excited.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
My mom’s toffee squares. They are heavenly! But I’m open to just about any holiday treat – particularly those that involve chocolate.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Please see previous post. I don’t want to write that novel all over again.

17. What tops your tree?
I don’t own a tree topper yet (and this year we don’t even have a tree – again…planning to borrow the one in San Antonio). Maybe next year. Growing up, though, we had an angel for the top.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Now that I’m older, I much prefer giving. But I’m pretty much mostly lazy – or just too tired of crowds – to go out shopping. I mean, why would a girl who doesn’t really like shopping during those other 11 months suddenly like it at crazy Christmastime? Plus, I’m usually not very good at concocting the perfect gift. I’m working on that though.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Ever since I was little, I have loved the hymn (because I think it can be called a hymn even to those who are not LDS) “Away in a Manger.”

20. What is your favorite Christmas story?
If we’re talking “Christmas Picture Book,” I have a list of favorites. I’ll spare you here, though, and just narrow it down. I love the books The Clown of God, by Tomie de Paola and The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden. If we’re talking “The Story of the First Christmas,” I adore the LDS film, Luke II. It’s only 5 minutes, but it makes my cry every time.