Christmas Traditions - A Stolen Survey

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I’m not a huge fan of either.  But I will drink some of each.  Ever try Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate?  A coworker and I drank them for a week straight in Pittsburgh one year, then realized they had bazillion calories in them.  Whoops.  Give me a Quad Espresso (now with 3 shots decaf) over ice in a venti cup with extra caramel drizzle and a splash of skim and I’m a happy girl.  Any time of the year!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Of course Santa doesn’t wrap presents.  He is a busy man up there in the North Poll.  His elves on the other hand – they wrap them.   Growing up Santa & my parents had different wrapping papers because when I was two I pointed out that Santa and my parents had the same.  Mom made sure NEVER to use the same paper as Santa again.  She must have made special calls to the North Pole to check in with the elves. 

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Oh most definitely colored on the tree.  We haven’t put any on the house, but I think we will do white if we do.  Although - As a kid I always hated that we only had white lights on the outside when everyone else seemed to have colored.  Now I feel like everyone has white lights outside, so maybe we need to do colored?

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.  Kissing boys is yucky.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the first/second week of December. 

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Growing up I would say it was a toss up between the Cheese on the deli platter and the French onion dip.  During my late teens it was probably Gram’s homemade baked mac and cheese.  Now it’s probably the homemade pierogi’s at my In-Laws which are made in early December at a “pierogi boot camp” held by Dan’s Dad’s siblings.

 
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Christmas Eve.  I loved going to Church and singing Silent Night by candle light, then spending the night opening presents with my Grandparents/Aunts/Uncles/Cousins.   

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What truth?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? When I was growing up we got to open a pair of Christmas Pajama’s on Christmas Eve.  Except my freshman year of college when I accidentally opened two new bathing suits (think swim team not beach).  My Dad got in trouble for this, obviously it was his fault for marking the boxes incorrectly, and I had to sleep in old pajamas and didn’t open my new ones until the next morning. 

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With colored lights (see number 3 above), a ridiculous number of ornaments, all which have special meaning behind them, a white star on top, and a tree skirt made by my mom with materials from my childhood and wedding. 

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it in small doses.  I don’t care for it when it leaves me powerless in October for 3 days.  There is something so romantic about being outside at night after snow has just fallen. 

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, but not too well.  Dan can skate circles around me.  No “toe-pick” for him though… hockey skates.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I don't think I have just one...

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with our families - While we are suckers for the commercialized version of Christmas, I also hope to bring Ryann up understanding the true meaning behind Christmas as well.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? We really don’t do much as far as desserts go.  We are too full from all the eating.  I guess I will go with a Chocolate Chip/Brownie-ish/Cheesecake-ish dish that my Aunt makes for Christmas Day.   

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Oh we have soooo many.  I love everything we do.   Spending time with family, running between houses, going to Church, watching those I love open presents, reading the labels on the gifts tagged by my Dad (he gets pretty creative), and the list goes on and on.  One specific tradition that I’m sure is very unique to our family – Every year on Christmas Eve my Grandfather would have a glass of Ol Grandad Whiskey.  After he died we would stop at the Cemetary every year on our way to church.  Unbeknown to my sister and I, my parents would bring a nip, take a small sip, and dump the rest on his grave.  Now we all participate in this.  On top of this after all the presents are opened on Christmas Eve we all take a shot of Ol Grandad in his honor. 

17. What tops your tree? A star (see above)

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love giving.  I would be so much happier to give presents, and not get any.  I hate being forced to “cut” the number of people we buy for.  I love to give to everyone I care about.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Ehhh...

20. Favorite Christmas show? Movie? As a Kid I couldn’t wait to see Rudolph even though I would get scared.  I was also a Fan of Babes in Toyland. 

21. Saddest Christmas Song? Christmas Shoes

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? Silent Night / Away in a Manger for religion based songs.  Baby It’s Cold Outside/All I want for Christmas is you (think Mariah Carey version) for commercialized songs.

And again, I'm that crazy lady that posts millions of pictures of her kid... Here are some of the "Failed attempts" for Ry's Christmas Photo, and a few pictures from our first married Christmas.  Dan and I didn't live together for long before we got married (only the 3 months after we bought our house before our wedding).  There was something so magical about that first Christmas together.  I opted out of including the picture of me carrying two large glasses of wine over to the tree while we opened presents.  Starting traditions together was something that will always hold a special place in my heart.  And, in Dan's case, probably gave him a glimpse into just how crazy my mom I am.  Yes, I am my Mother's daughter - even if I'm not as good at cleaning as she is.