Getting to know me...

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends.

NOTE: Okay, people! This is generally sent via email, but I wanted to post it to our blog. Please participate by copying the entry into an email and sending out to all those who love you and would want to know your favorite Christmas traditions!

 Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a  SCROOGE!!!  Just copy not forward) this entire e-mail and paste into a new e-mail that you can send.  Change all the answers so that they apply to you.  Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you......Tis the Season to be NICE!

 1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?  Wrapping paper,generally, unless the size/shape of the gift warrants a bag. Then, it's all-out: matchy-matchy tissue peeking out the top and everything.

 2. Real tree or Artificial?  Prefer real; life dictates artificial until life calms down. Looking like we'll be celebrating with a fake Christmas tree forever.

 3. When do you put up the tree?  Day after Thanksgiving. Who WANTS to go shopping when it's INSANE!?!? Besides, it's my favorite tradition that I have from growing up—we would all bundle up, because in Elbert, it was  inevitable snowing buckets, and all trudge out in the back pasture to pick the perfect tree. Mom always had the final say-so, and no matter how small a tree looks under God's great ceiling, it was always 2 feet too tall for ours!

 4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years'

 5. Do you  like egg nog?  Yes, but it's gotta be chased with some plain ole milk or something—so thick a gal could choke, you know?

 6. Favorite gift received as a child.  I will never forget the Christmas that Santa brought me a whole bunch of sewing stuff. I mean, she – ahem, HE went all out. We three kids would come out on Christmas morning, drop to our knees before our respective collections (so artfully displayed) of gifts from Santa, and dig into the fun. My  little sister, however, did not think that My Pretty Pony (or whatever it was that Santa got her that year—I'm remembering MY favorite, not hers!) was her collection, and Mom had to tell her that that was my stuff and hers was over here. I also remember (may have been the same year?) that Santa brought me a whole slew of art stuff, and I think I still have one of those sketch pads.

 7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes complete with a creche, and also a beautiful cream & gold porcelain one that becomes our Christmas dinner centerpiece. 

 8. Hardest person to buy for? Teenage mutant ninja girls. Just kidding; they give us lists. Um… usually, people I work with. You can't give a gift to everybody, and some will get something more personal, and then there's always the person that you didn't get anything for…

 9. Easiest person to buy for?  Me! I love whatever gifts I get myself. Just kidding. It's pretty easy for me to shop for my husband. He's an extension of me!

 10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Christmas what??? Oh, CARDS? I haven't sent those in years. 

 11.  Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I almost didn't put it, but then, it's not like they'll be reading this anyway… a frying pan. Yeah, how would you feel if the gift you got said "get in the kitchen and fix me some chicken pot pie, woman!" (Vernacular changed; I don't talk like that anymore, but the term of "endearment" started with a B and not a W)

 12. Favorite Christmas Movie. The Nativity Story, the Grinch (the Jim Carrey version, too—he did a great job!), It's a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story (You'll shoot yer eye out, kid!)…  Oh, was I only supposed to name one? Not gonna do it; get over it.

 13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes—and anyone that says no is LYING!

 14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Fudge (I'm going with Margaret on this one!)

 15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? On the tree: both. On the house: varies from year to year, depending upon mood and what strings still light up

 16. Favorite Christmas song?  Silent Night, Holy Night—they REAL version.

 17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay Home – especially this year!

 18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?  Well, I could, but after Grandma got run over, they all got the chair, and he's got new ones now… Greedy, Dopey, Sneezy, Grumpy, Lumpy, and Clueless… Oh, you think not? Don't you watch the news?

 19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  One special one on Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning

 20. Most annoying thing about this time of year?  All the merchants that put stuff out in July and stupid retailers that think I want to buy a Holiday Tree (or worse: a Family Tree. Duh! Those are on paper, you idiots!). Do Jews put up "Hannukah Bushes"? Does anyone besides people celebrating Christmas decorate a tree? Gimme a break!

 21. Favorite ornament, theme, or color? My favorite ornaments are blown-glass; I have some that are "American" blown-glass (generally clear or colored-clear glass), and some that are Czech glass (the shaped and inside-mirrored ones) with the fancy colors. One day, I would like to have a tree with all cream & gold (& glass w/ gold) decorations and white lights. We have so many ornaments in our family, we could easily do two trees, so I may someday get my wish!

 22. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Family and friends  to share it with. And strawberry lemonade!

 23. What do you want for Christmas this year?  To honor Jesus, the Christ and the reason for the celebration, in everything.

 24. Who is most likely to respond to this?  Got it from Margaret, and she's the one I would have said…

 25. Who is least likely to respond to this?  All the rest? Hey, it's Christmas, and these things take TIME! Now, go get on those Christmas emails, ya'll!