TWENTY (CHRISTMAS) QUESTIONS
making a list and checking it
once.
It's been a while since I've done a good,
old-fashioned, answer-a-few-silly-questions sort of meme -- perhaps because most
of the people who used to tag me with them are no longer regularly blogging.
But I came across this one yesterday morning, and, after an afternoon and
evening of talking about Christmas stories and traditions with Wendy and the
boys and some other members of my big, crazy, wonderful extended family, this
seemed like a good one to do. And, of course, a great time to do
it...
1. EGG NOG OR HOT CHOCOLATE?
Like 'em both, but if I have to pick one -- hot chocolate.
2. WRAPPING OR GIFT BAGS?
Wrapping. (On the rare occasions I use gift bags, everything inside them is wrapped.) It's all about tearing off the paper.
3. LIGHTS: COLORED OR WHITE?
White.
4. HOW DO YOU DECORATE YOUR TREE?
A traditional, eclectic mix of hand-picked ornaments and sentimental favorites. Each one has a story.
5. WHAT TOPS YOUR TREE?
A teddy bear angel.
6. GIVING OR RECEIVING?
Giving. I could easily go the rest of my life without receiving another Christmas present. I couldn't even go the rest of this week without giving one. Or many. It's my favorite part of Christmas.
7. CANDY CANES?
Definitely.
8. NATIVITY SCENE?
Yes. Usually on the fireplace near the tree; this year on the book shelf above the stockings.
9. DO YOU WRITE A CHRISTMAS LETTER?
Dear God, no.
10. DO YOU OPEN A GIFT ON CHRISTMAS EVE?
There was a time, for a period of about ten years, when my parents and grandparents and I opened all of our presents on Christmas Eve. It was a lovely tradition -- usually far less rushed and much more relaxed than on Christmas morning -- and it was made all the lovelier by the fact that, from the time I was 8 until the time I was 18, it always felt like I was getting a jump on the rest of the world. There's much to be said for that feeling, and especially at those ages. I'm happy to be back in the Christmas morning groove, but sometimes it's fun to let the boys open one on Christmas Eve, both for a bit of nostalgia and for the considerable benefit of relieving just a bit of their considerable anxiousness.
11. WITH WHOM DO YOU SPEND THE HOLIDAYS?
Family, of course. Though rarely as much as I would like.
12. DO YOU MAKE (OR EAT) ANY SPECIAL FOODS?
Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast. Chicken Divan for dinner. Wilbur Buds all day long.
13. HOLIDAY SHOPPING: STICK TO A BUDGET, OR OVERSPEND?
Overspend. (See the answer to #6)
14. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS COOKIE
I've always been a sucker for a good sugar cookie, and the Toll House cookies I grew up with will always hold that special place in my heart, but for the last ten years, the cookies I associate most closely with Christmas are my sister-in-law's chocolate chips. (I just got a big bag full last night; thanks, Adrienne!)
15. FAVORITE TELEVISION HOLIDAY SPECIAL
There are, of course, a lot of classics. And those Rankin/Bass guys deserve holiday sainthood for all their delightful, if slightly demented, glory. But my favorite has always been and will always be How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It may be the best adaptation of a classic book ever. Simply brilliant. And it earns a whole stocking-full of bonus points for the simple fact that it is, to this day, the only visual media adaptation of any Dr. Seuss story that has not completely sucked.
16. FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE
When I'm feeling particularly cheeky, I like to say Die Hard. (It begins on Christmas Eve, and by the time Bruce Willis is leaping off the exploding roof, it's already Christmas morning!) And Elf has risen awfully high on my list awfully fast these past few years. But it probably needs a few more years to catch up to the fondness and the reverence I feel for A Christmas Story.
17. FAVORITE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS SONG
O Holy Night. With the right singer and the right arrangement, guaranteed to move me to tears.
18. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CD
There an awful lot of good ones out there -- A Charlie Brown Christmas is practically a part of my DNA, Aimee Mann's One More Drifter in the Snow is great, and Raul Malo just released a fantastic new one (Marshmallow World & Other Favorites) this year. But from the first time I ever slipped it into my stereo, Bruce Cockburn's Christmas has been my desert-island, go-to disc for the holidays. Perfection from first note to last. And the best version of Silent Night I've ever heard.
19. WORST CHRISTMAS PRESENT
I don't remember what it was any more -- a toy bow-and-arrow set, I think -- but it was something I received from a great aunt when I was about twelve years old and she clearly thought I was still about six.
20. BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Far, far, far too many to mention. But if absolutely pressed at candy-cane-point to name one, I'd have to say that no present ever excited me more at the time, nor paid greater dividends of joy in the long run, than my first stereo. That was thirty years ago tomorrow, and I can still see it -- and hear it -- like it was yesterday. Maybe because every time I listen to music, it still is.
1. EGG NOG OR HOT CHOCOLATE?
Like 'em both, but if I have to pick one -- hot chocolate.
2. WRAPPING OR GIFT BAGS?
Wrapping. (On the rare occasions I use gift bags, everything inside them is wrapped.) It's all about tearing off the paper.
3. LIGHTS: COLORED OR WHITE?
White.
4. HOW DO YOU DECORATE YOUR TREE?
A traditional, eclectic mix of hand-picked ornaments and sentimental favorites. Each one has a story.
5. WHAT TOPS YOUR TREE?
A teddy bear angel.
6. GIVING OR RECEIVING?
Giving. I could easily go the rest of my life without receiving another Christmas present. I couldn't even go the rest of this week without giving one. Or many. It's my favorite part of Christmas.
7. CANDY CANES?
Definitely.
8. NATIVITY SCENE?
Yes. Usually on the fireplace near the tree; this year on the book shelf above the stockings.
9. DO YOU WRITE A CHRISTMAS LETTER?
Dear God, no.
10. DO YOU OPEN A GIFT ON CHRISTMAS EVE?
There was a time, for a period of about ten years, when my parents and grandparents and I opened all of our presents on Christmas Eve. It was a lovely tradition -- usually far less rushed and much more relaxed than on Christmas morning -- and it was made all the lovelier by the fact that, from the time I was 8 until the time I was 18, it always felt like I was getting a jump on the rest of the world. There's much to be said for that feeling, and especially at those ages. I'm happy to be back in the Christmas morning groove, but sometimes it's fun to let the boys open one on Christmas Eve, both for a bit of nostalgia and for the considerable benefit of relieving just a bit of their considerable anxiousness.
11. WITH WHOM DO YOU SPEND THE HOLIDAYS?
Family, of course. Though rarely as much as I would like.
12. DO YOU MAKE (OR EAT) ANY SPECIAL FOODS?
Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast. Chicken Divan for dinner. Wilbur Buds all day long.
13. HOLIDAY SHOPPING: STICK TO A BUDGET, OR OVERSPEND?
Overspend. (See the answer to #6)
14. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS COOKIE
I've always been a sucker for a good sugar cookie, and the Toll House cookies I grew up with will always hold that special place in my heart, but for the last ten years, the cookies I associate most closely with Christmas are my sister-in-law's chocolate chips. (I just got a big bag full last night; thanks, Adrienne!)
15. FAVORITE TELEVISION HOLIDAY SPECIAL
There are, of course, a lot of classics. And those Rankin/Bass guys deserve holiday sainthood for all their delightful, if slightly demented, glory. But my favorite has always been and will always be How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It may be the best adaptation of a classic book ever. Simply brilliant. And it earns a whole stocking-full of bonus points for the simple fact that it is, to this day, the only visual media adaptation of any Dr. Seuss story that has not completely sucked.
16. FAVORITE HOLIDAY MOVIE
When I'm feeling particularly cheeky, I like to say Die Hard. (It begins on Christmas Eve, and by the time Bruce Willis is leaping off the exploding roof, it's already Christmas morning!) And Elf has risen awfully high on my list awfully fast these past few years. But it probably needs a few more years to catch up to the fondness and the reverence I feel for A Christmas Story.
17. FAVORITE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS SONG
O Holy Night. With the right singer and the right arrangement, guaranteed to move me to tears.
18. FAVORITE CHRISTMAS CD
There an awful lot of good ones out there -- A Charlie Brown Christmas is practically a part of my DNA, Aimee Mann's One More Drifter in the Snow is great, and Raul Malo just released a fantastic new one (Marshmallow World & Other Favorites) this year. But from the first time I ever slipped it into my stereo, Bruce Cockburn's Christmas has been my desert-island, go-to disc for the holidays. Perfection from first note to last. And the best version of Silent Night I've ever heard.
19. WORST CHRISTMAS PRESENT
I don't remember what it was any more -- a toy bow-and-arrow set, I think -- but it was something I received from a great aunt when I was about twelve years old and she clearly thought I was still about six.
20. BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Far, far, far too many to mention. But if absolutely pressed at candy-cane-point to name one, I'd have to say that no present ever excited me more at the time, nor paid greater dividends of joy in the long run, than my first stereo. That was thirty years ago tomorrow, and I can still see it -- and hear it -- like it was yesterday. Maybe because every time I listen to music, it still is.
Posted: Sun - December 23, 2007 at 07:20 PM
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Published On: Aug 28, 2008 10:24 PM
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Published On: Aug 28, 2008 10:24 PM