More Christmas Copying

Diva Katherine and Pink Drink Queen emailed me the Christmas Version of Getting to Know Your Friends. Thought I'd share mine with you, Poodle:

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags until I run out or don’t have the right size
Real tree or Artificial? Both. I’m allergic to tree sap as we’ve previously discussed, but have a real one downstairs and a fake one upstairs, which I am delighted to report will stay in tact (just without decorations) and be stored in my ample storage space when ‘tisn’t the season.
When do you put up the tree? As fast as possible after Thanksgiving. I just LOVE Christmas and want it to last as long as possible and get here as soon as is un-annoying.
When do you take the tree down? My goal is to have everything down by Valentine’s Day. It really takes that pressure off and generally, I’m quite successful
Do you like egg nog? Not at all. I feel freakish about it, but I chock it up to lactose intolerance.
Favorite gift received as a child? Barbie Dream Condo (3 stories, thank you) with an elevator. Hands DOWN!!!! It was the BEST Barbie thing EVER. I simply cannot imagine why they don’t make it any more, except perhaps it was cheap and fell apart with great regularity, not that I cared one whit. I was the luckiest girl in the world. The other great Santa surprises were the strings that led from the stockings to the matching bikes that Caroline and I got one year. Mine = blue; Caroline’s = red. The next year, the string led to a TRAMPOLINE that was set up in the garage and was moved to the yard after the rain-soaked ground could handle the trauma of bouncing children.

However, the gift that I have used FOREVER is my clock radio that I’ve had since I was 8. Thanks, Santa! It’s still by my bed. It’s huge and the numbers are a strange shade of green that has grown on me over the years. I think I’ll lord that over my kids and add to my “take care of your things so they’ll last a long time” lecture.

Favorite Christmas gift ever? PHOEBE!!! The cat that one sister found for me and named. She was the best pet for me. I just loved her! I still miss her tons!!!! She was the greatest present I’ve EVER gotten. So far, she’s the best pet I’ve ever had. Jingle, the cat-who-thinks-he's-a-dog is fine for now. Maybe a Sheltie will enter my world at some point and restore that exuberance of mommy-pet love that I know can exist.
Do you have a nativity scene? I have 3. The third, I hate particularly robustly, so I haven’t even gotten it out. It’s kind of like Precious Moments Nativity. Especially horrible. Why didn’t I force that on the ex-spouse? I dunno. Probably because I forced a plastic one with a light bulb on him from his childhood and felt some lingering feelings about trying to be fair and take a terrible one for myself. The problem is he probably doesn’t think the light-up plastic one is offensive at all. I digress. The others, though, are nice – one Italian one that a dear gave me when I got married and each year she adds another piece for a Christmas present. The other one, the mom-in-law brought back from Ireland. Heck, we had like 6 nativity sets. I divvied them up and freed up a lot of space in the storage area. I’m pleased to have the Irish one. Any takers on the “adorable” Precious Moments-esque one?

Hardest person to buy for? The Main Squeeze
Easiest person to buy for? My kids
Mail or email Christmas cards? This year it’s leaning heavily towards email. The mail cards haven’t gotten out reliably in 2 years. I get a batch or two out and then they wind up on my closet floor addressed and everything, just can’t seem to hit the mailbox from there. I don’t understand it, but it seems to be a thing.
Worst Christmas gift ever received? Well, I’ve never admitted this, but one year, I wanted a puppy so bad for Christmas. I mean REAL BAD. My dad HATES animals (But thanks to his wonderful wife, he’s since softened a little), so there was no chance in hell I was getting one, but I was still hoping that because I wanted it so badly, my parents would get it for me. No dice. I was 8 (same year as the clock radio). Santa brought me a placebo stuffed dog. White with brown spots and ears. I jumped up and down and put my face in it – only to hide my real emotion of sheer and utter disappointment (yep, I’m a total people pleaser). A few years later, a sister threw up all over it on a LONG car trip when my dad was driving on a curvy road like a bat out of hell (it was renamed Barfy at that moment – Seriously, my mother referred to it as Barfy the dog). We had to check into a motel just to clean up that poor wretch and throw that stuffed dog away. Hmmm… it’s not too late to turn this story into a country music song, is it?
Favorite Christmas movie? Love Actually
When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually shop throughout the year due to sheer overwhelm of the Birthday Extravaganza of the boys’ Fall birthdays.
Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Most definitely. Bad wine that some lovely yet unsophisticated/cheap friend unknowingly purchased. I give it to another lovely yet unsophisticated friend and strongly suggest she cook with it.
Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Hooch dressing when possible. I also love oysters at Christmas – an adult onset thing.
Clear lights or colored on the tree? Both. See the two trees response. The fake one has mini colored lights. The live one has mini white lights. I do like Katherine’s idea of mixing sizes of white lights.
Favorite Christmas song? Well, I must start by saying that The First Noel bores the poof out of me. I just hate it a lot. On a more festive note: There is a simply gorgeous duet of O, Holy Night that about brings me to tears when I hear it. Then, there’s the Boston College University Chorale “theme song” Tolite Hostias (I have no idea how to spell it any more) which I am fairly certain you’d not be able to call that one up without some work with Google and then you still may not recognize it. It’s just festive and super fun to sing, which I have with my two BC Chorale alumnae sisters. Then, there’s the #1 Choral Hit of Christmas or Ever for that matter, the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. I’d be remiss if I didn’t also include Handel’s other best hit according to moi: For Unto Us a Child is Born. And in my heart of hearts, the solo I’m dying for someone to ask me to perform is Gesu Bambino (it’s the song that incorporates O, Come All Ye Faithful and has lots of pretty grace notes throughout). I sing that in the playroom to the toys on a regular basis (they’re a wonderful audience!). So, those are my top faves along with several secret musical confessions.
Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home for the event. Travel after a day or two of recovering from it AND while the boys are with their dad.
Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yep. I also know the real words to the start of “Santa Claus is coming to town”
Angel on the tree top or a star? Stars on both. I would love an angel, but they all look like stupid, bad dolls and I just can’t bring myself to pay for cheap looking angels.
Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.
Most annoying thing about this time of year? OH GOD!! Thanks for asking so I can scream this from the top of my hoarse lungs: those Radio Christmas Wish stories submitted by friends of people “in need” – like a dying couple, usually high school sweethearts married forever, still in love, who have been violently crushed by 1,000 pound steel coils (or something obscure and freakish), yet one is still miraculously working the factory production job with merely one arm and in a wheelchair due to her having no legs anymore while the husband is on a ventilator in ICU and their 8 children are in diapers, living with caring neighbors. SHUT UP!!! Like a turkey and a $200 Visa Gift Card are going to make a freakin’ dent!!!! GET REAL - HOW can they cook the stupid turkey in their conditions?! This is not helpful!!! They’ll have to puree it for Ventilator Husband! Where are people from their church?!?!? I swear, I think the striking writers are submitting these tales of woe. It’s NOT REAL! Give me a break. I can’t change the station fast enough. If I hear one more sobbing woman before 9:00, I’m going to find Barfy. Moving on….
Favorite ornament theme or color? I do several shades of red with gold. I collect Santa ornaments from around the world.
Favorite for Christmas dinner? Anything I don’t cook.
What do you want for Christmas this year? Here’s Katherine’s Response: I'll have to go with Molly on this one - are you kidding? I always want jewelry! ; )
I want a keyboard/piano. I was going to get it myself and found out that someone special was getting that for me. So, this year, Santa’s bringing me a faux fur throw from Tar-jhet (on sale for $19!), chocolates, maybe some music, and a piece of a garage organization system.