But hopefully a fun one! It’s a Christmas meme! Blatantly stolen from Bozoette Mary. Enjoy!

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Egg nog! I love hot chocolate as much as the next person, but I can have that any time of the year (although I will admit it usually doesn’t taste quite as good as it does during the wintertime!), and Christmas is the only time I can drink egg nog. With a little nutmeg sprinkled on top.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He always wrapped them unless they were too big and didn’t come in a box, like a bike, then he’d leave them out for all the world to see.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? When I was little we used multi-coloured blinking lights on our Christmas tree (we never did lights outside), but back when I was living in Lincoln City, OR, I was into the minimalist look (it helped that we didn’t have Christmas decorations for a year or two), and just had a couple strings of white lights on the tree. I still have the white ones, but next year I might just switch it up and go back to multi-coloured blinking lights. It would be so “retro”.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. There’s really no reason for it.

5. When do you put your decorations up? It depends on how my mom and I are feeling. Usually the weekend of Thanksgiving or the weekend immediately following (like we did this year). However, last year, we didn’t decorate at all. Neither of us was in the mood.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love the turkey! Dark meat from the thigh, please and thank you.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? When I was little, my family would go out into the woods and chop down our Christmas tree. I don’t recall if we went to an actual Christmas tree farm (or if they even had those things back then) or just out into the wilderness, but we’d head out, stomp through the snow, hunt down the perfect (or nearly perfect) Christmas tree, and my dad would chop it down, then we’d drag it back, throw it in the back of the pick-up and head home. We had some odd looking trees, but the whole experience was great fun!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Honestly I don’t remember. I do remember snooping in my parents’ closet when I was 9 or 10 and finding a bunch of presents, and it was either that year or the year after that I snuck out after they’d gone to bed and saw all the extra presents and the new bike under the tree. However, I’m not sure if I discovered this on my own, or if some kids at school put a seed of doubt in my mind and sent me searching for the truth.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, we always used to open one gift on Christmas eve. Nowadays, however, we don’t do gifts – it’s just too hard; everyone is too old and can just buy whatever they want themselves.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? With white lights (see #3) and ornaments I’ve had since I was a little kid. I have several Betsy Clark ornaments my Aunt Alice gave me, a set of wooden paint-by-number ornaments (Just the ones my mom painted because they looked nice; the ones I did were sucky, and I threw them out last year. Yes, I do regret that now.)

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? If I’m inside and don’t have to go out I love snow! It’s so beautiful to watch the snow falling and seeing the undisturbed snow smooth on the ground. And, okay, I’ll admit it, sometimes I even like going out and playing in the snow – making a snowman, making snow angels, catching snowflakes on my tongue … But, if I have to drive anywhere, I dread it! I slid off the highway once in compact snow and ice conditions, and I’ve been really nervous about driving in snow ever since. However, it’s all moot, as I live on the Central Coast of California, and we don’t get snow.

12. Can you ice skate? No. I’ve never tried, so I’m pretty sure I can’t do it. That blade is just too narrow. I’m sure I’d snap my ankles in half if I tried.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really. There’ve been so many great gifts over the years. I loved the Malibu Barbie, Ken and Skipper dolls and the Malibu Camper; the Sunshine Family with their pick-up truck, my bear Brandon, my bike … etc.

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you? Celebrating the birth of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Pumpkin pie with Cool Whip, without a doubt!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? My family used to go to the Candle Light Service at church Christmas Eve, then come home and have a little cocktail-type party. Later, after everyone has left, mom and I sit down to relax and watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”. We don’t do the church service or the after-church party anymore, but my mom and I still watch “Wonderful Life”.

17. What tops your tree? A “retro” silver star with multi-coloured lights. It’s pretty old; maybe even from my childhood, but I’m not entirely sure.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving. I love watching the recipient’s face when they open it, especially if I did good, and chose just the right thing.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? “Joy to the World”. It’s so uplifting and, well, joyful!

20. Candy canes? One or two. Love ‘em! I’ll take two, please!

21. Favorite Christmas movie? Without a doubt, “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

22. What do you leave for Santa? We used to leave cookies and milk, but of course, Santa doesn’t visit this old fart anymore, so I don’t bother leaving him any food.