The Christmas Quiz

'Tis the season for Christmas quizzes!
(shamelessly stolen from Jane.) 

Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? 

Hot chocolate, please. Egg Nog for one sip once a year only, just enough to remember I don't really like it.

Colored lights on tree/house or white? 

For the most part, colored lights. I always hated white lights as a kid. I think they're gorgeous and elegant now, but there's just something more fun about colored lights- definitely for the tree.

Do you hang mistletoe? 

No, but I would love to make it a tradition for us.

When do you put your decorations up?
Tradition in my family was always the day after Thanksgiving, and so it is with me.

What is your favorite holiday dish? 
For Thanksgiving, the canned, jello-y cranberry sauce is a must. My mom makes wonderful homemade rolls. Sometimes we would have hot spiced cider, too. 

Favorite Holiday memory as a child? 
We still talk about it every Christmas- my parents, my little brother, and I went to a Christmas Eve service at church with a few aunts and uncles. When we got home, the tree was lit up and dozens of presents were underneath, and there had been nothing there when we left. I never noticed anyone leave the church, and to this day, I have no idea how they pulled it off. No one will tell me, either!

When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? 

Probably the very next Christmas after the one above, I crept downstairs in the dark. I saw my parents sitting in the living room, wrapping and putting presents underneath the tree. Sigh.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? 
I remember sometimes convincing my parents to let us open one, but I don't really believe in it now.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? 

Traditionally, it involved driving out to a tree farm in the country, picking one taller than me, watching my dad saw at it and see it tumble down. We'd bring it home and decorate it with the big, colored bulbs that people don't use much anymore (they're my favorite), handmade ornaments through the years and ones that my parents had when they were little. We'd finish it with handfuls of tinsel that usually weren't spread out very well, and top it with an angel. The closer I can get to recreating this every year, the happier I am!

Snow! Love it or dread it?

To look at, love love love it. To play in, the same. To drive in, not so much, although I'm fairly pro at it considering I'm a Midwestern girl.

Do you remember your favorite gift? 

I don't know that I have had one especially memorable, although getting contacts one year from my parents meant freedom from the ugly glasses frames I had, and that was pretty exciting for a 14 year old.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? 

The sugar cookies (Betty Crocker recipe) and the wreathes (like rice crispies, but made with cornflakes and dyed green) that I make every year, per tradition.

What is your favorite holiday tradition? 

Definitely the two desserts above! I'm a girl who is all wrapped up in traditions, so holidays are sentimental for me, and I find myself wanting to recreate everything from my childhood, especially now that Millie is here.

Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? 
Uh, YUM. Peppermint and all the other flavors. Delish.

 

Favorite Christmas movie? 
It's a Wonderful Life. Favorite movie ever, not just for Christmas.

Saddest Christmas song? 
I can't really think of one, although, for the record, "Christmas Shoes" is one of my least favorite songs ever.

What is your favorite Christmas song?
My favorite non-church-carol is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It's beautiful, and I tear up often when I hear it. My favorite more traditional song is probably Hark the Harold Angel Sing, because I always picture little Janey in It's a Wonderful Life practicing it on her piano.