The 12 Posts of Christmas, vol. 1

There are sure to be several holiday posts about the upcoming Christmas holiday. There may even be more than twelve of them. But here's one. This "questionnaire" was forwarded to me via email from my friend, C in DC. Feel free to play along if you like. In fact, I know of at least two blogging friends who might like to grab this. So "Stinkypaw" and Amy in Ohio, tag you're it.

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Play along if you'd like.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
• Wrapping paper, mostly. There is less fun in opening a bag.


2. Real tree or Artificial?
• REAL! Always. Never artificial


3. When do you put up the tree?
• My family used to be a Christmas Eve family (Santa used to decorate it after I went to bed. Now it goes up when it comes home. So this year, that will be Sunday.


4. When do you take the tree down?
• Do I have to? My former mother-in-law always used to say she was going to hang Easter eggs on hers. But it usually comes down around Epiphany.


5. Do you like egg nog?
• Ick.


6. Favorite gift received as a child?
• See this post, re: the Atari 2600. Also, the year I received a bicycle that was at the end of a long ribbon that wound through the house. One year, I also got the hot gift, Simon.


7. Do you have a nativity scene?
• I have dibs on the family set that my father hand painted and my mother made at a pottery class.


8. Hardest person to buy for?
• I'm usually pretty good with people. But my brothers-in-law are a little enigmatic to me.


9. Easiest person to buy for?
• Mrs. Brave Astronaut. I usually have to restrain myself because I will always see many things for her. I already have four things for her.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
• Mail, although this year (as when my first son was born) the Christmas card may take the form of a birth announcement.


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
• Underwear. A traditional gift from my mother growing up.


12. Favorite Christmas movie?
• Hands down, It's a Wonderful Life.


13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
• I'm a "snack" shopper, but I try to resist heavy-duty shopping until after Thanksgiving. My mother used to travel to the outlets the first weekend in December to do the bulk of her shopping.


14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
• Not as far as you know. But yes, find me someone who hasn't.


15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
• I'm a sweets kind of guy. Christmas cookies, Mom's Chocolate Bit Delights (sort of a Blondie), her cheesecake or her trifle say Christmas to me.


16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
• Colored. White are too bright for sitting in front of in the dark. It's the wrong "glow." And Christmas lights do NOT blink, ever.


17. Favorite Christmas song?
• Carol? O Come all ye Faithful (Adeste Fidelis), sung in Latin, it will always get me crying. Song? A song I found a few years ago and gets a fair amount of play on my iPod, "the Marvelous Toy." But Snoopy and the Red Baron is pretty good, too.




18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
• Christmas is a stay at home holiday.


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


20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
• Star. One day I might tell you of the story of the star in my family that nearly broke the family apart when my father tossed it. The pain is still too fresh and it was 20 years ago.


21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
• One on Christmas Eve and the rest in the morning (stockings first, then presents)


22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
• Christmas decorations appearing before Halloween


23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
• Duh. Red and Green. I grew up in a predominately Jewish area. One year, my father decorated the house in blue and white lights. It was a little odd.


24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner?
• Growing up, turkey used to make a repeat appearance. But a nice roast beast would be nice, too.


25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
• See the list on the right hand side of the page.


26. Who is most likely to respond to this?
• Hard to say. Who's up to the task?


27. Who is least likely to respond to this?
• Mrs. Brave Astronaut doesn't like these sort of things.