A Christmas Meme

Oops!! I tagged Jennifer for the meme below, but put the wrong link in! Jennifer from 'Where the Heart Is'...I mean you! (For some reason, I had a brain freeze and put wheretheheartis.blogspot.com).

Sarah tagged me to do a Christmas meme, and I, like her, love all things Christmas so I couldn't refuse. Here you go, Sarah!!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
It depends. For presents going under the tree, I wrap them. I think I wrap most presents for Christmas. I don't usually wrap for other occasions, though. I use bags, because I can never find my wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial?
My mom always used artificial trees, so that's pretty much all I know. We (she and I) got a real tree one year, and she thought it was too much work, so we never did again. My husband always had real trees, but for whatever reason, we bought an artificial one. Now, with Becca's allergies, there's a good chance we will have to have artificial trees. I'll have to burn a candle, like Sarah, or use a Plug-In, like my mother-in-law (who just recently switched to the dark side) .

3. When do you put up the tree?
Sometime over Thanksgiving weekend. If I could put it up earlier, I would. The Christmas 'season' is too short for me. 4 weeks just isn't enough time to get all the enjoyment out of it, in my opinion.

4.When do you take the tree down?
When we're not preparing for a baby right around then? Sometime shortly after New Year's. But the last few years, we've been getting ready for babies, so we've taken it down right after Christmas (much to my disappointment.)

5. Do you like eggnog?
I do. I'm not crazy about it, but I enjoy a glass of nog every once in a while, during the holidays. Again...2 of the last 3 years I haven't been able to have it because I was pregnant, and of course I really wanted it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I don't remember how old I was, but sometime during my childhood, my dad made me a dollhouse. He had recently broken his back riding his motorcycle, and spent his time recovering building me a dollhouse by hand. He then brought it with him across the country (New Orleans to Michigan) on a bus. I never doubted his love for me after that. I don't know what happened to the dollhouse, and that makes me a little sad.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
We have 2, actually. And I would like to buy another one. We received a Precious Moments set for our wedding (I collect them), and then my mom bought Becca a Fisher Price Little People nativity last year. (It helps to have one that she can touch, and one that is just for us.) I would like to get another one that the kids can play with, with more pieces.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Our girls are pretty easy. They want everything.
Other than them? My best friend is pretty easy...I know her pretty well by now, and know for the most part what she likes. My husband is easy too. He's easy to please.

9. Hardest person to buy for?
This is sooooooo easy. My mom. No doubt.
She buys anything that she might possibly want or need, and opens maybe half of what she buys. My husband really doesn't like buying her things to add to her 'stuff', but we do it every year. We are always trying to rack our brains, thinking of things we can buy her that she might actually use. What makes it even harder? She buys so much herself. For instance-she collects Trivial Pursuit games (which are only opened when I make her play them). She knows it, and I know it...this is what I buy her. This year, when she was trying to think of things that she might want, she said "Oh...and don't buy Trivial Pursuit. I already bought it....it was on sale."

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
This is a hard one. I don't really remember. I do know that I have horrible luck when it comes to gift exchanges, or secret Santas. I am always the person who gets forgotten or left out, or gets my gift stolen, and ends up with somebody's re gifted castoff. I try to be cheerful about it, and I enjoy the games themselves, but I have yet to keep an item I've received from secret Santa or a gift exchange. (And 4 of the last 5 times I've done Secret Santa, my 'Santa' has been out sick, or out of town. It's actually really humorous.)

11. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
People really e-mail Christmas cards?
I love to mail them out. That's what we're working on tonight. I take care of all the logistics...the taking of the picture, the printing of the photo cards, the addressing, the stamping, the buying of the paper. My husband writes the Christmas letter, and it always takes him a few days to think of what to say. I also LOVE getting Christmas cards. I love getting the mail this time of year.

12. Favorite Christmas movie?
I can never pin down my favorites in things like this. I like the televised shows a lot. Shows like Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer, Charlie Brown's Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, The Year without a Santa, Nestor, the long eared donkey, ohhh...I could go on. When the Christmas marathon is on, you know where I am! As far as movies? I like the 'Santa Clause' movies, 'Elf', 'White Christmas', and 'Christmas Story. I feel like I'm forgetting some.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
The beginning of November. I'm not really early, but in a dream world, I would have all of my shopping done by Thanksgiving. I don't like the crowds, and the rush after Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Not that I can remember.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Ummm...can I say 'Christmas goodies'? I love Christmas yummies. I like peanut butter bon bons (or bullseyes), all sorts of different cookies, and pies. And my mother-in-law makes these things called (I'm not going to spell this right) klotchskies, and they're so yummy.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
We use colored lights on our Christmas tree. They are my husband's favorite. But I would love to get a house with a living room and a family room. In the living room, I would love to have a tree with clear lights and red bows. I love those colors together.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Again, I can never answer these 'favorite' questions. My tastes always change. Right now I really like a song on Point of Grace's Christmas CD (can't remember which one right now), but it's called 'Let There Be Light'. I just love Christmas music. There is something about it that just fills me with awe. It's so interesting to me that so many people are singing songs proclaiming Jesus' birth, and our salvation, and they don't even realize it. I am moved to tears by all songs that are spiritual, and Christmas.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
My husband always went to his grandparents house on Thanksgiving and Christmas day, and spent the day playing with his cousins. He still goes there, and that will be our tradition too. We would really like to spend some time before the actual day with family, and then spend Christmas Eve in our own home. We'll see how that goes.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Well...it's not really fair, because I read Sarah's post earlier. And I would remember them the same way. "There was Dasher, and Dancer, and Comet, and Cupid. Donner and Blitzen and....oh no!! Even with cheating, I can't remember them. Was there a Vixen? (Could that be right?) And Prancer? I don't remember. Rats!

20. Angel on the tree top, or a star?
A star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
This will mostly be determined by when we celebrate Christmas with my in-laws. If we spend Christmas with them (the actual eve and day), then we open presents on Christmas Eve. But if we spend Christmas Eve in our home, then we will just open one present on Christmas Eve, and it will probably be pj's.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The grinchiness it brings out in some people. Especially when you're out shopping. I love retail this time of year, but some people can just be mean.

23. What I love most about Christmas?
Is this an impossible question or what? How can you narrow it down?
I love the lights, the music, the decorations. The cold, and the hot chocolate. The times with family, and Christmas cards. The food, and the parties. The pictures. Santa Claus. The magic. And of course, it's one of the only times of year when it's openly okay to talk about Jesus in public.

I have never tagged anyone, but I would love to see some answers for this. So...
Tara, Sarah, Jennifer, Jennifer, and Alana...consider yourselves tagged!