Christmas stuff....

Great idea from the lovely Phoebe. In honor of the Christmas season, I'm tagging you all on the below:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
If calories weren't an issue, egg nog with freshly grated nutmeg and some rum. Yummm.

2. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Gift bags, because of the convenience. But, for a child of my own, I would exclusively wrap gifts. It was such joy tearing them apart when I was little.

3. Real tree or artificial?
I love real, I hate fake trees and yet, my trouble-making pain-in-the-ass cat forced me to buy a fake tree this year (even though I didn't put it up). It was on sale for 50% off at Target - 7 foot. If he tries to climb it or baps the ornaments off, I'm going to smack him senseless. Of course, he'd just smack me back and I'd lose that fight. A friend of mine sent me a Hallmark Christmas Card that just cracked me up because it's so purrrfect. There is an orange tabby on the front with a Santa hat on and the caption says "O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, your ornaments are history." Oh yeah, that's MY cat!

4. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Colors, LOTS!

5. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
There is no design plan. I use balls, lights, garland, ornaments, crafty things, pictures, berries.

6. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No. I do celebrate Christmas but in every way a non-believer would. I celebrate the spirit of the season but the religious meaning doesn't carry through in any way.

8. Mail or email Christmas cards?
E-Card - but a great one. Every year I use Photoshop to crop pics of my furbabies into a Christmas scene. Last year I put them into a Volkswagon Bug with my little Pekingese driving. This year they're on a sled. I'm too last-minute to sit down and write out cards - though I LOVE the idea.

9. What is your favorite holiday dish?
I'll be in Miami this week celebrating with my family and the traditional Cuban meat is roasted pig. It's good stuff.

10. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
I grew up with a little boy named Matthew. We lived in a 2 family house and spent all of our time together, like brother and sister. One Christmas Eve, we were on my mom's bed watching TV, talking about what we hoped to get from Santa the next day, etc. and, suddenly, we heard the sleigh bells as loud as you can imagine, just booming, and we panicked because we were wide awake and Santa was coming and he would leave if we were still awake. Our hearts were beating out of our chests and we were freaking out, noting that we thought it was too early for him to come and we were almost in tears when my mom came into the room and said it was time for Matthew to go home (downstairs) because it was late and we told her our worry and she laughed and said the bells were from the record she had playing, it was the opening music to a song. :)

11. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
A couple of years prior, Matthew and I had just learned that the Easter Bunny wasn't true, at the heels of the Tooth Fairy revelation, and we stood in the hallway noting how distrustful we were now and that the "only thing we can truly count on is Santa!" HA!

12. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
No, I'm a Christmas morning girl.

13. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
I love snow, I love cold, I love winter. I could live in a snowy winter climate for 8 months out of the year and a 50-70 degree climate for the remainder of time. If I want oppressive heat, I'm more than happy to board a plane and fly to a Caribbean island and fry for a week. I've never had great tolerance for heat - though because my idea of heat is usually the 90% humid heat of the east coast vs. the beautiful California warmth, I admit it's tainted.

14. Have you ever recycled a gift?
I actually don't think I have.

15. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
The decor and the fantasy of what it is more than the reality.

16. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
I love dessert more than meals so it's hard to pick. My mom's flan (super rich with cream cheese blended in), chocolate-pecan pie, cream puffs.

17. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Don't have any :( But I sure intend to start a few in a mother role!

18. What tops your tree?
Just a star.

19. Favorite Christmas Show?
Santa Claus is coming to Town.

20. Saddest Christmas Song?
I reeeeeeeealy dislike Christmas music, don't know why.

21. What is your favorite Christmas Holiday Song?
See above.