via Violet because tis the season to be busy lalalalala lala la la. 1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? 2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? 3. Coloured lights on tree/house or white? 4. Do you hang mistletoe? 5. When do you put your decorations up? 6. What is your favourite holiday dish? 7. Favourite Holiday memory? So far this year: The Boy digging his heels in the supermarket when i suggested the 3 foot bubblegum pink Christmas tree would be perfect for the flat (at less than a fiver it was a bargain too). Burning the first batch of Christmas biscuit and The Boy eating his despite the terrible taste of charcoal. 8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? 9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? 10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? 11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? 12. Can you ice skate? 13. Do you remember your favourite gift? 14. What’s the most important thing about Christmas? 15. What is your favourite Holiday Dessert? 16. What is your favourite holiday tradition? 16.5. What is your least favourite holiday tradition? 17. What tops your tree? 18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? 19. Favourite Christmas Song?
Christmas meme
First tried egg nog last Saturday. Sipped from MFC's cup. I am still undecided about it. I have to be in the right mood for hot chocolate. Could I not just have a cup of tea instead please?
Presents? What presents?
White. 40 of them on the 3ft tree.
Nope.
Not before 1st December is the rule.
My grandmother's capon stuffed with her special mushroom and foie gras stuffing.
Too many to choose from. Having all my cousins around and trying to stay awake as late as we could. The smell of my grandmother's bedding. Brioche for breakfast (the pinnacle of decadence when I was 8). Finding the presents under our shoes by the fireplace in the morning. Being allowed on my roller skates in my grandparents' living room. The delight on The Boy's as he unwrapped Annie and Clarabel one christmas morning. Having cheese, bread and wine in bed the first time The Boy spent Christmas away. The Boy enquiring as to why Santa had given him a doll when he unwrapped and action man one year "doesn't Santa know dolls are for girls mummy?".
I was told numerous times at school but never believed it. My parents were too cunning. You see there were no presents under our shoes near the tree when we left the house and they were there when we came back so he *had* to exist and they *had* to be wrong, although why the Père Noel never seemed to get it quite right and sometimes made such strange choices did bother me a little.
Nope
I believe that Christmas trees are the trannies of the tree world. Only somebody with immense talent can make them look tasteful. This year I have given up on the "let's try to limit the level of tackyness and stick to red, glass and gold decorations dogma". We have plastic candy canes and plastic sweets. There's blue, red, green yellow and pink as well as the oh so delicate glass baubles I like so much. Still no tinsel though, there are limits to how much tack I will embrace in one year.
I still love it.
Enough to be able to go around the rink a few times without ending up sprawled on the ice. Not so much that it looks graceful of comfortable.
I am a bit funny about presents, that's all I'll say for now.
The family rituals.
My aunt's fruits déguisés, the chocolates and the kilos of easy peelers that never seem to taste quite as nice once Christmas is over.
Putting the Tree up with The Boy.
Secret Santa. Did I mention I am a bit funny about receiving presents?
A star. To be more precise, 2 star ornaments tied together with invisible threads to make a tree topper. All the tree toppers in the shop were designed with huge trees in mind and would have looked plain silly on one more scaled to the living room.
Giving.
At the moment? Hark the Herald Angels Sing because it features in pretty much every carol service I ever go to and it never fails to amuse me to hear people stumble on the verses where the meter doesn't naturally match the rhythm of the music. Me? I don't mumble as I struggle to recall which syllable should be swallowed since I follow The Boy's orders to mime so he doesn't get embarrassed by how off key I am.
18.12.07 23:47
