christmas traditions : )

light show at wanamaker's in philadelphia

1. eggnog or hot chocolate?
"put your hands together."  (just a little f.r.i.e.n.d.s. reference for all of you who miss them as much as i do...)  i make killer hot chocolate that's mixed with egg nog instead of milk.  yum!

2. does santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
presents of santa are unwrapped.  presents from family are wrapped : )

3. colored lights or white lights on the tree/house?
growing up we did our big, 12ft tree in the family room with white lights and our little, 6ft tree in the living room with colored lights.  at our place this year, craig and i decorated both tree & barn with colored lights.  it looks awfully cute, if i do say so myself...

4. do you have mistletoe?
not currently.

5. when do you start putting your decorations up?
about a week after thanksgiving.

6. what is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
does "holiday" include thanksgiving?  because i really love my mom's stuffing.  mmm mmm good.  oh, and also my homemade cranberry sauce.

7. favorite holiday memory as a child?
that's a tough one.  i have sooo many wonderful memories.  decorating the house.  baking christmas goodies.  carolling.  holiday gatherings with family & friends.  christmas eve dinner at hotel du village.  not being able to sleep at all on christmas eve.  one thing i have very fond memories of is our annual christmas ride, which we still do to this day. we all pile into the car in our pjs and drive around to see all the lights and decorations while munching on fun (i.e. unhealthy) food and listening to christmas music! 

hotel du village

8. do you open a gift on christmas eve?
craig & i are doing our gift exchange on christmas eve this year before spending the holiday with family.

9. when and how did you learn the truth about santa?
hmm...i don't remember exactly.  i think i was 8 or 9 when i first started questioning.  but, to this day, i still refuse to become a true non-believer.

10. how do you decorate your christmas tree?
growing up, we decorated the big tree with hand-crafted, homemade ornaments and then decked the little tree with all the truly special antique ornaments.  craig and i don't have many of our own ornaments yet, so we invested in a small starter kit of red, green and gold ornaments.

11. snow! love it or hate it?
are you joking?  who cannot love snow?!!  (especially at christmas)

12. can you ice skate?
i don't think so.  i haven't tried since i was about 7 years old.  craig's a fabulous skater, though.  (he's a hockey boy.)

craig in all his glory : )

13. do you remember your favorite gift?
one of my favorite and most memorable gifts was my cockatiel, tucket.  i desperately wanted a bird in a beautiful cage and come christmas morning, there he was beside the tree.  magical.

14. what is the most important thing about the holidays for you?
being with family & friends and savoring every minute!

15. what tops your tree?
usually an angel.  but, this year, my parents' tree is too tall for the angel to fit.  and craig and i have a small sock monkey ornament bedecked with scarf and hat atop ours : )

16. what's your favorite holiday tradition?
what isn't my favorite?!  i love them all.  i'm big on traditions...  but i would have to say that my ultimate fave is our philadelphia weekend.  for years, we've gone into philly around the holidays to see the light show at wanamaker's (now macy's) and walk through the dickens' village.  in the past, we've stayed at the rittenhouse hotel for the entire weekend to christmas shop and enjoy delicious meals at amazing restaurants.  this year, we're heading in on the 18th!  i cannot wait : ) 

lobby at the rittenhouse hotel

17. which do you prefer giving or receiving?
giving.  i love watching someone open a present that i'm excited to give.

18. what is your favorite holiday dessert?
hmm...another tough one.  i love all the homemade cookies that we bake each year.  especially the shortbread cookies that i just wrote about in my previous post.  so delicious!  and the oatmeal scotchies are great too!

19. what is your favorite christmas song?
i love "the christmas song" sung by karen carpenter.  "white christmas" performed by bing crosby.  and "have yourself a merry little christmas" sung by judy garland.

20. candy canes! yuck or yum?
candy canes, though not my favorite holiday treat, definitely have their place.  i like stirring my hot cocoa with them : )

21. what is your favorite christmas special/movie?
i adore the oldies.  "christmas in connecticut" with barbara stanwyck, "white christmas" with danny kaye and bing crosby and "miracle on 34th street" (both the old and new versions).

christmas in connecticut

feel free to answer any/all of these questions on your blog.  just be sure to send me the link so i can read yours, too!