Christmas Questions

I stole these questions from the other August Moms. ;-)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I use wrapping paper. Though I have plenty of gift bags on hand for Fly Guy to use. ;-)

2. Real or artificial tree? Is this a question? Of course a real one. I live in Maine for Pete's Sake where there is a Christmas Tree farm in nearly every town.

3. When do you put up the tree?

Normally the weekend after the first complete week in December

4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day

5. Do you like Eggnog? One cup a season is good

6. Favorite Gift you received as a child? a My Friend Mandy doll

7. Do you have a nativity scene? yes a Fisher Price nativity scene, but we keep it out all year round...maybe now the girls are older I will put it away during the year....I will have to talk to them about it

8. Hardest person to buy for? I am not sure. I think my Sister-in-law is the hardest because I don't know her as well as I should

9. Easiest person to buy for? Horse Girl

10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? some of the sweaters my mother has gotten me....LL Bean rules they take back anything they have sold even if it has been monogrammed. ;-)

11. Christmas Cards…Snail mail or E-mail? snail mail, but I haven't gotten them out yet

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Nester the Long Eared Donkey...not really a movie, but a TV special

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? In August most years

14. Have you ever ‘recycled’ a Christmas present? yes.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Seafood newburg

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? colored and clear...the clear blinks if I can get it to work. I used to be all clear lights non-blinking, but after 9/11 I needed something wild and crazy and I haven't turned back.

17. Favorite Christmas Song? Such a Night by Aaron Neville

18. Travel at Christmas or Stay Home? stay home for the most part...we drive a cross town to see my parents, but that is still home because we don't need to stay there or stay at a hotel.

19. Can you name Santa’s Reindeer? yes and there is often a debate in our household is Olive a reindeer...so is there 9 or 10 reindeer.

20. Do you have an Angel or a Star on top of your tree? Angel

21. Open the Presents Christmas Eve or Morning? Both....Christmas Eve we exchange presents with my brother and his family, Christmas morning we open presents to each other and Christmas afternoon we go to my parents and open presents over there

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? people do something charitable during this time of the year and feel that covers them in being a pain in the butt and selfish the rest of the year

23. Shopping…Mall or on-line? both

24. Do you decorate outside for Christmas or just inside (or at all?) normally with are both inside and outside, but with my lack of time this year I barely got the tree up, since we are now doing 100% hydro electricity and it is quite a bit more expensive, we decided not to do window lights. I would have put lights outside, but we got too much snow too early and I refuse to put lights on a tree that already has snow on it, because the snow is prettier then the lights ever could be.

25. Favorite Christmas cookie? Filled cookies that my Great Grandmother used to make and now my mother makes once and awhile.

26. Do you own Christmasy clothing or jewelry? Yes working for the toy fund I have a couple sweaters

27. Do you believe in Santa? yes...I work with many people who have Santa in their heart all the year. There is a man I know who traveled to New Orleans after Katrina and helped people, he went to California to fight the wild fires, he packs toys for kids in need. He is 75+ years old and he is the personification of Santa to me. He gives and gives. I also know a couple who travels around the country in their RV and they stop places and build for Habitat for Humanity and do work for Churches and do charitable work feeding the hungry....they also pack toys for kids in need. They also are Santa.

28. Favorite ornament: Mice made out of corn husks. Growing up my parents had a corn husk mouse selling candied apples and now I have a set of corn husk mice dress in Victorian outfits ice skating. I have loved all these corn husk mice.