Holiday Questionnaire

This is from Baltimore Snacker by way of Chris at Tallfreak.com. Take the quiz and pass it on.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot Chocolate. Egg Nog makes me gag. Although I love custard sprinkled with nutmeg, just not raw.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
When I was a kid, they occasionally were "wrapped" in plastic garbage bags, since my Dad did (still does) everything at the last possible minute. But my husband and I wrap everything.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White lights with green and red chile pepper-shaped covers.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. I can kiss my husband any time I please.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
First or second weekend in December.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
We don't have standards every year anymore so I have no favorite. When I was a kid, it was always baked ham, mashed potatoes, and kapusta i kielbasy. Every year, every holiday. Love Ostrowski's fresh and garlicky kielbasa, but it doesn't love me. These days I mix it up. Last year it was short ribs, this year it's going to be pasta Carbonara.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Every year, my older cousins (25 years older) would arrive to the family festivities late, but bearing the most expensive gifts for my brother and I. After they ate dinner, they would come upstairs to our part of the house (Grandma had the first two floors) and help assemble said expensive gifts.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I'm not sure I ever really believed. Our apartment was small and it was hard to conceal things, so I was pretty sure it was Dad putting gifts under the tree with Mom's supervision rather than some old dude in a red suit.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Not usually.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Duh - with ornaments and lights! I have a fetish for pine cone-shaped ornaments, so there are lots of those, and mermaids.

11. Snow: love it or hate it?
I like the way it looks when it's falling, but I hate shoveling it and walking through it from the bus stop. We have neighbors who just don't bother shoveling at all.

12. Can you ice skate?
Not well, but yes.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I get favorites every year!

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
The sense of belonging I get when I spend time with my family and friends. I don't get to see so many people at one time during the rest of the year.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Pumpkin pie, but I secretly love Christmas Pudding, especially when drowned in Bird's Custard.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Baking cookies with my brother is one of the few traditions carried over from my single days. I always enjoy putting up the tree too.

17. What tops your tree?
If memory serves, a star.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving, but receiving is always nice, particularly if it's something I really really want!

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
I love Christmas music, everything from the old standards (particularly when sung by Ella Fitzgerald) to new tunes by the Barenaked Ladies. But my favorite is probably "Let it Snow" sung by Dean Martin, for errr...sentimental reasons.

20. Candy canes:
Peppermint ones, yes!

21. Favorite Christmas movie?
White Christmas

22. What do you leave for Santa?
nothing