[Prudence]

Ooh! Survey time!


1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
What is this "or" you speak of?

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Wraps!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
It depends. I like to mix it up. Multi-colored one year, clear the next, blue and white the next. Different shapes, sizes, I love lights!

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Anything that resembles a plant gets dismantled by the cats. They'd get it somehow. So, no.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
(sigh) Late. Usually not until after finals. (sigh).

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert.)
Inside-the-turkey stuffing. Seriously. I am a stuffing fiend.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
Hmmm...I don't know that I can pick one. I don't think I have any amazingly stuning memories. There are lots of really good ones. Here's a cute one: One year my cousin got a $50 bill for his birthday in August from my grandparents because at some point he had said that he'd never seen one. I pointed out that I'd never seen a $100 bill. I got one for Christmas. Oh - also from the same grandparents (although entirely my grandfather's doing that time) I got a deck of cards. Which was wrapped and inside another box, which was wrapped and inside another box....all the way up to the starting box, which was formerly a case of Tide.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
When I was in Kindergarten, a classmate revealed the truth about the Tooth Fairy and I quickly extrapolated. I was then threatened with grievous bodily harm if I ever told my brother, who believed for a really long time.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Sometimes. The rules have varied - sometimes one, sometimes two, sometimes all the ones from relatives, sometimes none. In BT's house growing up, Santa came on Christmas Eve and all the presents were opened then so the parents could sleep in the next morning. This causes some "discussion" now.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
It's kind of a mish-mosh. We used to get an ornament each year as a kid, and then I started collecting some of the Hallmark series (Wizard of Oz is the big one) but that one's getting out of hand and there are just too many of them and they just keep coming! So I've started collecting but not displaying them. Lately our tree has been very Disney oriented. I go nuts buying ornaments at the park. We have a Mickey/Minnie tree skirt, character ornaments, those mouse head colored glass ornaments, and so forth.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Mixed feelings. Here? Dread, because we have lots of hills and lots of morons. It's really pretty if I'm going to be at home anyhow, but if I have to go out it's just impossible. If I'm elsewhere, though, where they actually plan for and deal with snow, it's nice.

12. Can you ice skate?
Nope.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Nope.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Traditions.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
The cookies my mom makes. Those are the ONLY holiday dessert.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Hands down, the traditional Christmas Eve dinner make-your-own-sandwich cold cuts buffet at my folks'. That is the one thing I can't miss. And my dad making his "cider", which consists of redhots melted in apple juice in a pan on the stove.

17. What tops your tree?
A clip-on spangled "partridge."

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving?
Again with the "or"!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Toss up between "O Holy Night", which I like to sing, and "The Christmas Song", which I like to play. Which reminds me that it's time to drag out my Reader's Digest Christmas Songbook.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
I must get them, but I don't eat them.