CHRISTMAS

now this is a meme I can get behind!
link to the person that tagged you-thanks to house of flying monkeys
post the rules on your blog
share Christmas facts about yourself.
tag 7 random people including links to their blogs
now that the rules are out of the way

1. wrapping or gift bags? wrapping all the way and in an OCD sort of way I usually assign each family a specific roll of paper. Santa of course has his own paper as well. I found it odd that Santa used the same paper as my mother when I was growing up.

2. real or artificial tree? I must hang my head in shame yes we have a fake tree but we also have a vacuum that works(see post from last week)

3. when do put the tree up? just after Thanksgiving. The Christmas season does not start in my household till the day after Thanksgiving

4. when do you take the tree down? after Jan 6 the feast of the epiphany. I am still Catholic after all

5. do you like eggnog? yes with rum or in muffins I really need to get my mom's recipe

6.favorite gift received as a child? wow I always got really great gifts but honestly I would say the best was my annual trip to NYC with my Uncle. We would leave on the 26th and do whatever I wanted to in NYC for a few days, museums, book stores, Macy's & Bloomies, Rockefeller Plaza, The Russian Tea Room, South Street Seaport, Empire State Building just about anything I wanted to do they were always WONDERFUL trips

7. do you have a nativity scene? yes well sort of I have a hand carved manger that my grandfather made but no figurines currently. The ones that I inherited were a sad mixed bag of broken items I suppose I should buy a set one of these years

8. worst Christmas gift ever received? the old lady track suit my dear hubby gave me our first holiday together

9. mail or email Christmas cards? mail even though they are sitting on my kitchen table waiting to be addressed & stamped hell I still have a few days

10. favorite christmas movie? Christmas Story hands down. If you had asked about cartoon that would be The Year Without A Santa Claus although it would not be Christmas without at least 1 viewing of the Grinch

11. when do you start shopping for Christmas? I have become a last minute panic shopper. Each year I vow to be finished by Thanksgiving so I can enjoy the season but that has happened yet

12. favorite thing to eat at Christmas? christmas cookies

13. clear lights or colored on the tree? colored but not blinking. Blinking lights make me want to have a seizure.

14. favorite christmas song? Oh Holy Night but I pretty much like them all

15. travel at christmas or stay home? prefer to stay home but don't mind traveling to my parent's house which use to be home. We haven't had christmas with my parents since C was 1 so I am looking forward to the trip(except for the driving part)

16. can you name all of Santa's reindeer? you bet your sweet bippie I can

17. angel or star on top of the tree? we have a star currently but my mother gave my a gorgeous Louis Nicole angel that I will use when we have a better tree-don't want that angel to fall & break!

18. open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? hell Santa comes Christmas Eve what are you doing opening them before he comes? 30 years ago I would have answered this differently

19. the most annoying thing about this time of year? that retailers start the season earlier each year.

20. do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color? all about family I have ornaments from my family growing up and my family now

21. what do you leave for Santa? growing up he would get cookies & Jack Daniels these days he gets a single malt Scotch and cookies

22. least favorite holiday song? Grandma got run over by a reindeer-hysterical when I was 8 but a little over done at this point

23. favorite ornament? I have lots of favorites but I suppose the little gold guitar that was picked out for me when I was an infant. As I previously blogged growing up each family member would get a new ornament each year when we got married my mom sent boxes of stuff to each of us so my tree is rich with family history.

I don't think I know 7 people to hassle with this but I can get a few-please feed the monkeys, retro-moderns, appalachian feminist breeder , my brother if he had a blog...