A Holiday Survey!

[Clyde-B]

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?   Depends on the gift and how rushed I am.  If I'm rushed or the gift is weird shaped (like those things in plastic bubbles) I use bags otherwise wrapping paper. 

2. Real tree or Artificial?   Artificial with real boughs for centerpieces and additional decorations, so you get the pine smell.

3 When do you put your tree up?  Thanksgiving day while dinner is cooking and before football.

4 When do you take the tree down?   New Year's Day after the Rose Parade and before the Rose Bowl

5. Do you like eggnog?  Yes! with Jack Daniels!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?  Erector set. and a metal Buck Roger's ray gun made by Daisy


7 Hardest person to buy for?    Anybody that doesn't give me a list.

8. Easiest person to buy for?   Me.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?    Yes.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  Christmas cards.  (Old fashioned, like Currier and Ives)
 
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  Clothes from relatives trying to change my tastes.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?     Christmas Story and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  January 1

14. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present?   We had this hideous tie that got passed around and around as a gag.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?   Chocolate Peanut butter fudge

16. Lights on the tree?  Individual blinking multicolor or bubble lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?   White Christmas.
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?   Travel to friends.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?    Yes.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?   Angel (cheap and cardboard, but old enough to be an antique.)

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning?   Both.  There are two shifts.  Christmas Eve is five way chili night (I make the cornbread) for a small group of immediate family and friends.  We watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation as a tension reliever from planning a big party and because it's a comic  version of what tomorrow is going to be like.  Christmas day it's presents for the rest of the family when they come for dinner.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?    Unpredictable weather.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color?  Old fashioned ornaments.  I like a Christmas setting that evokes a timeless nostalgia.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?    Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?    Financial security for me and my friends. 

[jstephens9]

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  I prefer wrapping paper, but sometimes I use bags if I am in a hurry. I think wrapping a present gives it more meaning for some reason. Let's put it this way if I were giving my special one a gift it would be wrapped.

2. Real tree or Artificial?  I prefer real trees although artificial ones are easier and safer. I like the smell the real ones give the house.

3 When do you put your tree up? Well, I think about putting it up early every year, but then it seems like I never get around to it until a week or less before Christmas. Sometimes I do better than that.

4 When do you take the tree down?  Never ever before New Years Day. I always heard it was bad luck to take it down before New Years Day.

5. Do you like eggnog?  Yes I love egg nog, especially if it has liquor in it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?   Hmmmmmm, I'm not sure. There were plenty of favorite gifts.

7 Hardest person to buy for?    My father.

8. Easiest person to buy for?  My mother.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?     No.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?   I believe in being old fashioned when it comes to cards. I mail them. That adds a special touch as far as I'm concerned. I'm not a big fan of email cards in general. I used to like them when I first discovered them, but now I would rather go for the real thing.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?   This thing that looked like some kind of doll. I never understood that one.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?    I'm not sure. 

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?   Well I try to do it early, but then I seem to end up waiting until the last minute. However, I do not wait until Christmas Eve.

14. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present?  No. 

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?   Turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole

16. Lights on the tree?   Definitely!!! What is a Christmas tree without lights?

17. Favorite Christmas song?   All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?   Stay home I guess although I would love to go to New York, Los Angeles, or San Francisco. I think each would have its own magic.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?    Yes.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?   Angel.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning?   Christmas morning of course. Santa Claus doesn't come until very late on Christmas Eve so how can you open presents before?

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?    The repetitive nature of family gatherings.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color?   Icicles, but you can't use them if you have a pet. Colors are red, blue, and green.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?     Turkey and all the trimmings.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?    The special one I mentioned who I would wrap a present for.

[serious crayons]

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper for most under-the-tree-type gifts, bags for little-nice-gesture presents or odd-shaped ones.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real! Unless it's one of those unabashedly fake trees, like the retro silver ones.

3 When do you put your tree up? We aim for a couple of weeks before Christmas.

4 When do you take the tree down? Not on New Year's Day, but as soon as possible thereafter.

5. Do you like eggnog? Ask my waistline.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? A bright-red typewriter.

7 Hardest person to buy for?  My kids. They're not interested in anything that doesn't cost at least $100.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Myself!

9. Do you have a nativity scene?    No. I'm not Christian.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  I jettisoned the card tradition several years ago.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  An easel. When I saw the long skinny package, I thought it was X-country skis.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?   "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  I try really, really hard to start shortly after Thanksgiving.

14. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present? No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies.

16. Lights on the tree?  Yup!

17. Favorite Christmas song?  "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," and all the verses of "Deck the Halls."
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?  This year, stay home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?    Yes, except I keep calling one of them Nixon.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?  A tinfoil Happy New Year's tiara.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning?  Both, with different branches of the family.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?   Too much to do.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color?  Eclectic.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?    Duck.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?    A clean house.

[Penthesilea]

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  wrapping paper

2. Real tree or Artificial?   sadly artificial because of allergy

3 When do you put your tree up? one or two days before Christmas

4 When do you take the tree down?  on or around Epiphany (Jan. 6th)

5. Do you like eggnog?   yes!

6. Favorite gift received as a child?   a Sony walkman (I was a teenager then, hope it counts )

7 Hardest person to buy for?    all men

8. Easiest person to buy for?  my son

9. Do you have a nativity scene?     yes

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?   both

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?   dunno

12. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?     hm, difficult. Maybe Scrooged

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?   about two weeks before Christmas

14. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present?    no!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?    Christmas cookies

16. Lights on the tree?   white, non twinkling

17. Favorite Christmas song?   dunno
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?   kind of both. staying at home, but putting lots of miles on the car visiting our extended families

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?    no

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?   neither. A bell

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning?   Christmas Eve. All of them.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?     weather

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color?   gold and blue

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?     Castle's Secret

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?    I don't tell

[serious crayons]

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?     Castle's Secret

What's that, Chrissi?

[Brown Eyes]

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? 

Both, but more often, wrapping paper.  I love, love, love wrapping presents.  I find it really a fun and calming activity.  It's fun to see how excited my cat gets over the activity too.

2. Real tree or Artificial? 

In my apartment I usually don't bother decorating at all.  But at my parents' house we have an artificial tree.  Long, long ago, my Mom was once in a building where a Christmas tree caught fire, and I guess that was enough to scare her into using an artificial tree all these years.

3 When do you put your tree up?

My family's tradition is to put up all the Christmas decorations the day and weekend following Thanksgiving.  If I was home right now, today would be the first decorating day.  But, alas, I'm writing this post from my office.  One nice thing about the artificial tree is that you can leave it up all month without worrying about anything.

4 When do you take the tree down? 

My parents usually take the tree down on New Years day or shortly thereafter.

5. Do you like eggnog?  

I love eggnog.  If it was socially acceptable, I'd swim in it. 

6. Favorite gift received as a child?  

When I was about 8 or 9 my parents got me an old fashioned wooden dollhouse kit.  My Dad and I spent years building it. It's very, very elaborate and even has electricity both indoors and outdoors.  We put real wood siding on it and wood shingles on one by one.  Inside we wallpapered each room and spent a long time decorating it. There was a really neat dollhouse supply store not far from our house.  It was actually part of our weekly errands for a while to go to Lollies (that was the store's name) and pick out one new thing for the house each week.  Really it's a work in progress still to this day.

7 Hardest person to buy for?    

I have a lot of out of town friends who I buy for still... and it's hard to know exactly what they might want these days since I don't exactly know what they're up to on a daily basis anymore.  My parents are very easy to buy for.

8. Easiest person to buy for? 

My Dad.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?    

No.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?  

Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?  

No one thing stands out.  I have received various awful articles of clothing over the years, but again none stand out as the absolute worst.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?     

A Christmas Story.  And, the televised version of The Nutcracker

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?  

October

14. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present?   

Shamefully, yes.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?   

I love very old-fashioned, though now seemingly weird foods.  My fav is plum pudding with brandy sauce.

16. Lights on the tree?  

white lights

17. Favorite Christmas song?   

"Good King Wenceslas"
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?   

I have to travel to get to my parents' house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?    

no

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?   

star

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning?  

Christmas morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?    

Having to deal with travel and having to deal with the post office a lot in shipping things.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color?  

I like retro ornaments.  I also like Dickens Village lighted house displays.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?    

anything having to do with sweet potatoes

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?    

a new stereo with multi-CD changer.  some new furniture items for my apartment.  those are the big items on my list

[jstephens9]

I thought when you said "Lights on a tree?" it was a yes or no question  If we are talking about what kind I would say multi colored, steady with a twinkle every now and then.

[Brown Eyes]

17. Favorite Christmas song?  "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
 

This is my Mom's favorite Christmas song!  She had my Dad make her a cassette tape for the car with all the different versions of that song (different singers, eras, etc.) he could find.  So, she drives around listening to that song over and over again during the holiday season.

I like the song too.  It has an interesting almost melancholy sound to it.  And, the Judy Garland/WWII history to it is pretty interesting too.

[Penthesilea]

Castle's sectret

What's that, Chrissi?

It's basically medallions of pork fillet in Bressot- sauce. You wrap every slice of medallion in a slice of bacon. Not really bacon, something in higher quality, like Spanish Jamon, with much less fat than bacon has.
Place the medallions tightly packed in a casserole dish (but sauté the medallions gently before). The sauce is made of Bressot and sour cream. Bressot is a specific cream cheese with herbs.
Mix sour cream with Bressot, pour it on the medallions and put the whole thing in the oven.

We always serve it with wide noodles. Green salad fits nicely as a healthy side dish, since the Castle's Secret is a heavy, high-calory meal.

Hubby and me made it a tradition in our family to have it every Christmas Eve.

And it's called "secret" because you can't see what's in the casserole when you take it out of the oven. The sauce is so thick, you don't see the meat. But I have no idea where the "castle" part comes from .

[ednbarby]

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial?  Artificial, but I like the pine scent so I get a couple of pine scent Yankee candles to burn.

3 When do you put your tree up?  The weekend before Thanksgiving this year, but usually the weekend after.

4 When do you take the tree down?  The weekend after New Year's Day.

5. Do you like eggnog?   LOVE it.  Especially with whiskey in it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?   Barbie's Dream House.  I wanted that soooooooo bad.

7 Hardest person to buy for?    My husband.  He's very picky about... everything.

8. Easiest person to buy for?   My son.  He provides Santa with a detailed list every year.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?   No.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?   Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?   Workout clothes from my husband that were already too small for me.  So wrong on so many levels.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie/Cartoon?  The Homecoming / How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?   Usually right after Halloween.

14. Have you ever regifted a Christmas present?   No.  But I've received some I'm sure were regifts (I know because one was something I'd given her the year before!)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Frosted Christmas sugar cookies. 

16. Lights on the tree?  Yes.  I like white lights, but we did multi-colored this year at my son's request.

17. Favorite Christmas song?  O, Holy Night and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (preferably the Judy Garland version)
 
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?   Depends on where the rest of the family is.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?    Yes.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?   Star - that lights up!

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning?   One on Christmas Eve, the rest on Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?   Not getting to be with all the family members I want to be with.

23. Favorite Ornament theme or color?   Traditional red and green.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?    Turkey or ham, potatoes, green beans and rolls.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?   I already got it on November 4.  Other than that, a Dyson roller vacuum cleaner!  Seriously!  And safe and happy travels for all of us.