I stole this from Karen, so thanks, Karen!

1. What is your Favorite Christmas Movie?
We watch Love Actually every year while we put the tree up. I think it’s cute. Hugh Grant is Christmas eye-candy too.

2. What is your Least favorite Christmas Movie?
The ones that would qualify are movies I haven’t seen, primarily ones from recent years like Elf, which I’m sure I would find particularly annoying because I don’t care for Will Ferrell.

3. What is your favorite Christmas song?
I like a lot of Christmas songs, but I’m especially fond of Blue Christmas by Elvis. Don’t make fun of me, but I’m also partial to Last Christmas by Wham, although the Jimmy Eat World version is good. I’ve never cared for Mariah Carey, but I also like All I Want for Christmas. There’s a certain South Park Christmas song I enjoy too, but I’ll just leave it at that.

4. What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy?
I really haven’t listened to much Christmas music so far this year, so I can’t think of the ones that “drive me crazy”. If I happen to catch any that I find especially annoying, maybe I’ll come back and edit this.

5. What is your favorite Christmas Drink? (ie. egg nog, hot chocolate)
Diet Coke. That counts, right??

6. What is your favorite Christmas Memory?
When I was a kid, my great-grandma had a huge family party every Christmas Eve, and that was the absolute highlight up until I was maybe 13 or so. After that, she got too old to host such a big shin-dig, and fewer people started coming because people were more dispersed, had other obligations, etc. In my tweens and early teens, my cousins and I would sleep over at my Granny’s house, and my cousin, Desiree, and I would sleep on the sleeper sofa in the living room, staying up way too late.

7. What is the best toy/gift you’ve received on Christmas?
I got an awesome pink tricycle when I was 5, which I think was partly a sympathy gift since I’d been diagnosed 2 months earlier. When I was 15, instead of having presents, we had a family ski trip to Killington, VT, and I got to bring one of my girlfriends, so that was a lot of fun. During our first Christmas together, which was not quite 2 months after we had started dating, Jason got me a Patsy Cline CD box set, which is kind of a sentimental favorite because on our second date I sang “Walking After Midnight” to him.

8. What is the worst toy/gift you’ve received on Christmas?
I remember being really disappointed in getting knee socks when I was like 11 years old, give or take. As it turns out, I still have those socks, and I still wear them, so they turned out to be a pretty good gift. I honestly don’t remember getting any gifts that I thought were terrible though. It can be hard to pick out the right thing for some people, and it might be a cliche, but it is the thought that counts.

9. What do you LOVE about the holidays?
I adore and collect Christmas ornaments. At some point within the next couple of weeks, hopefully, I’ll get to share some with you. It’s kind of silly, but I think they’re beautiful, and the important ones tend to have stories attached to them too.

10. What annoys you about the holidays?
It concerns me to see parents going to extreme lengths to get “must-have” toys. When I see news stories about parents paying out the wazoo to get certain gifts for their kids, or worse, stories about people assaulting or treating others disrespectfully in an effort to attain a certain toy, it just makes me shake my head in disgust. No kid needs any toy that much. The worst part, in my humble opinion, is the lesson that type of behavior imparts to children.

11. Do you prefer star or angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else?
We have an angel. I like angels because they’re often made with beautiful fabrics, and generally, I think they’re more aesthetically pleasing. It really depends on the particular tree-topper though.

12. What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas?
My Nan’s cornbread dressing. Technically, I guess that’s a Thanksgiving recipe, but I’m not too big on ham, so if we make Christmas dinner, we make turkey, dressing, and sugar-free cranberry sauce.

13. Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime?
I think I’m a Who, but I’m human, so I certainly can have Grinchy moments.

14. Christmas light displays – Love them or Hate them?
OK, I admit, I’m kind of particular about lights, so much so that some people might think I’m a light-snob. Jason even teases me that I’m racist when it comes to lights because I only like white lights.

I do kind of enjoy the all-out crazy displays that make you wonder what kind of enormous electric bills people are accruing. It has to be a pretty extreme display to fall into the so-tacky-it-works category though. If nothing else, those people get mad points for effort because it takes a lot of time to put that degree of display together.

Despite of all that, driving through the neighborhood, seeing the lights is much more interesting when all the houses do it differently, so while they may not be done the same way I would do it, I like to see them, and I would be very disappointed if people stopped decorating.

Rocking the Pink Tricycle, 1978

15. Santa’s at the mall – Fun times or Creepy?
I reckon it depends on the Santa. Mostly, I thought getting pictures made with Santa was fun though once I outgrew my strange-person-in-a-costume anxiety I had when I was like 3 and 4.

16. Christmas cards – do you send them, yes or no?
Every year, I want to send them, but it pretty much never happens… until this year! If you read regularly, you likely know that I begged for addresses from all who might like a handmade card from me. I’ve sent a few out already, but I’m still making them. I’m hoping to get them finished and mailed by Monday. I hear it might snow or something, so I should have time to finish this weekend.

17. What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion?
I like that it can bring out the best in people, but being with Jason is what’s most important to me.

18. What is the worst thing about Christmas?
I don’t like to see it bring out the worst in some people – greed and selfishness.

19. When do you put the tree up and take it down?
Normally, the first or second weekend of December, although we’ve yet to do it this year. Dexter’s tank is in the spot where we’ve put the tree in years past, and we’re space-challenged, so we haven’t figured out where to put it that won’t involve putting furniture in other rooms or the basement. I hate the thought of waking up to open presents on Christmas morning and not having a tree though, so I guess we’d better figure something out soon.

20. Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your truelove to give to you?
Really? Who would want any of that crap except for the golden rings? So, yes, I’d take the golden rings. White gold only though, please. Shiny yellow gold isn’t my style.

21. Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer?
Maybe she got confused, wandered outside, and just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Also, her white hair and big flannel gown blended with the snow.

22. Who is your favorite reindeer?
I like Comet. I’ve had an interest in geoscience and astronomy since I was a kid. I vaguely remember when Haley’s Comet made its orbit towards the earth back when I was maybe 12 or 13, and how cool and interesting I thought that was.

23. Do you believe in Santa Claus?
Of course! Unless you just don’t celebrate Christmas, why wouldn’t you??

24. What is your favorite smell at Christmas time?
I do love the scent of a fresh Christmas tree, although we have a fake tree. Since we’ve been married, one of top 3 worst arguments Jason and I have had was about a fresh versus fake tree during our first married Christmas together. We got the fake one though. If we ever have a house big enough to accommodate 2 trees – which we’ll need to accommodate our ornaments – one will be fresh.

25. What would make you happy at Christmas this year?
We have tentative plans to spend Christmas Eve with friends since we’ll be family-less, but they are like family to us, so we’re looking forward to that. Christmas day, we’ll just hang out at home. I might cook something, maybe we’ll watch some movies. Nothing fancy, but it will make me happy.