Christmas Meme

I found this Christmas Meme at the blog Learning by Living. It looks like fun! If you do this on your blog, tell me in the Comments 'cause I want to see what you wrote! :)

1) Wrapping paper or gift bags? I use both. If it is wrappable at all, I will gift wrap it because I love to wrap! I love to use different paper on all my gifts with pretty ribbon and homemade stamped gift tags! But gift bags have their purpose, too.

2) Real or Artificial Tree? We have an artificial tree. We have done real ones in the past, but I like the ease of an artificial one.

3) When do you put up the tree? Hmmm...it seems to get later and later every year. It's usually about 2 weeks before Christmas day.

4) When do you take down the tree? Just whenever. One year, before we had kids, we left our tree up until July. Don't even ask me why. No, seriously - don't ask me. I can't remember why!

5) Do you like eggnog? No. I like boiled custard, though!

6) Favorite gift received as a child? We didn't have a lot of money growing up. So when Cabbage Patch kids were all the rage, my parents couldn't afford one. So I got a Cauliflower Kid. No, I'm not kidding. It was a doll stuffed into a green plastic cauliflower with a white top. It sounds really cheesy, but I loved that thing. I think I loved the plastic cauliflower more than the doll. I can't remember what the doll looked like. But I remember keeping that plastic cauliflower for years and years, putting "treasures" in there. :)

7) Hardest person to buy for? My mom and grandmother were the hardest ones, but I started buying them photo calendars, and that took care of that! This year, my son was the hardest. I want him to want toys for Christmas, and he wants more "grown-up" stuff like a bow and arrow, BB gun, digital camera, etc. I want to keep him a kid as long as I can!

8) Easiest person to buy for? My 7-year-old daughter. Easy peasy.

9) Do you have a Nativity set? Yes! I love it.

10) Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I make my own every year, using rubber stamps and cardstock. I tuck a 4X6 picture of my kids in there, and spend lots of money on postage, and away they go! It costs lots of money to make and send them, but I love doing it.

11) Worst Christmas present? I don't like it when people try to buy me clothes for Christmas. I am plus-size, and it's hard enough for me to find clothes that fit the way I want them to when I can try them on.

12) Favorite Christmas movie? Ooooh, that's a hard one! I guess it would be a tie between "A Christmas Story" and "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation". I love them both!

13) When do you start shopping for Christmas gifts? LOL! I start shopping the day after Christmas! I shop all year, especially the couple of months following Christmas with all the sales, so that when Thanksgiving arrives, I just have a few to buy for. I usually save our parents, my sister and BIL, and Prince and Princess for last. But since I do shop all year, when all the good deals come around Thanksgiving time, I have money to buy stuff for myself!

14) Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Heck, yeah!

15) Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? I love eating my Peanut Butter Balls! I only make them at Christmas, and they are my favorite candy! I can't wait to eat them again this year!

16) Colored or white lights? Colored! I grew up with colored lights, and I still continue with them. I just can't get into white lights for me. They are beautiful on others' trees. But my tree will always have colored! I used to put colored bubble lights on my tree until I had kids. They are beautiful, too.

17) Favorite Christmas song? Probably "O Holy Night". There's so many. I actually love all of them.

18) Travel at Christmas or stay at home? We travel on Christmas day, but not too far away, just an hour and a half. We usually come back that night.

19) Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph

20) Angel or star on top of the tree? Oh, man. Honestly, I can't remember what we had last year! It's changed throughout the years. I've had angels, bows, and those long pointy glass ornament thingys. We put something new on there last year, but for the life of me, I can't remember what it was!!

21) Open the gifts Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning!

22) Most annoying thing about this time of year? Hands down, the crowds. The traffic. Ugh. I hate crowds and traffic!

23) Favorite ornmanet? I guess I would have to say these ice skates that my grandmother crocheted with paper clips on the bottom. They are so tiny and cute! I love all of the ornaments that both of my grandmothers made. My other grandmother made lots of crocheted white stars that I love and will treasure always. I wish I knew how to make them.

24) Favorite Christmas story or book? It would have to be the story of how Jesus was born. It never gets old.

25) Favorite Christmas tradition? We don't really have any traditions with our kids. I would love to make some. I think I am going to research doing a Jesse tree every year and/or the advent. But I guess I will have to start next year. I've got some books that give all kinds of ideas for starting traditions. I wish we did something like make a gingerbread house every year, or bake sugar cookies, or read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve, or something like that. I guess within my extended family, the one tradition that comes to mind that I look forward to every year is the gag gifts we give. It's kind of like a competition to see who can "get" someone with the best gag gift. I don't think most families do gag gifts. But it's really fun. You should try it!