I couldn't resist

You know I can't resist a chance to answer questions and to ask them of you. AND, when this activity includes a new vocabulary word, I'm SOLD!

So, when Cheryl Cash posted this meme (pronounced meem), I had to look up the word and then respond.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Anything but egg nog. Mom's hot chocolate is the best.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Sets them under the tree. When I was a kid, he set the big one under the tree unwrapped and had smaller presents wrapped, but now he only brings one gift for each kid (and a stocking full of goodies for everyone).

3. Colored lights or white?
White. Colored lights bring back memories of the 1970's. One year we had a 3 foot tree with a rotating lighted base that made the whole room glow in technicolored glory. What could Mom have been thinking?

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No, though I always think it would be a nice touch. Mistletoe brings back memories of climbing trees in northern CA to collect the bunches of fungus. I couldn't believe mistletoe was a real plant, not just a piece of beribboned plastic.

5. When do you decorate for Christmas?
About a week after Thanksgiving. If I pull out the stuff too early, I start feeling crowded way before the holiday is over. I love taking out my angel collection and arranging each one. And this year I did something I've wanted to do for years. I bought a pre-lit tree. Gone are the temptations to succumb to swearing at the wads of tangled lights!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert?
Fondue... and Mom's cinnamon rolls, a Christmas morning must.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Not my favorite at the time, but we used to tape our Christmas for Grandma Alta. Audio cassette tape. It was brutal. each package had to be described in detail before, during and after opening, then photos were taken and the gift was described again before anyone could move on to the next gift. After that, the time Santa left ashy footprints from the fireplace to the tree.

8. When and how, did you learn the truth about Santa?
What are you talking about?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
The kids open one gift on Christmas Eve after BEGGING their dad to remember this tradition. Begging is part of the tradition, as is the father's apparent memory lapse that it's always been done this way.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Every ornament has a meaning-- most are handmade by the kids. Others are mementoes of places we've been (a seashell for our 10th anniversary cruise, Togolese carvings, a few from my childhood). Lots of felt and foam shapes and handprints cut from cardstock, each more beautiful than the last.

11. Snow. Love it or hate it?
Love it. Except when it gets balled up on the end of your corduroys and drips down inside your boots.

12. Can you ice skate?
Last time I tried skating was at the Olympic ice rink in Albertville, France. At the time, I'm sure someone asked me to never do that again, though I think I could still make my way around the ice.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
It's a tie between the hamster and the violin (but since the $ for the violin came from my own bank account, I guess I'll have to go with the hamster).

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you?
Jesus. Family. Secrets. and Fun.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
What isn't? I love them all.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Fondue on Christmas Eve. Hot chocolate. Stockings.

17. What tops your tree?
This year, a golden wire angel playing violin. I keep saying she's only temporary, but she's been up there for several years now.

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Giving... no question. Though I love to get a thoughtful gift, too.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
We're all humming "I Want a Hippopatamus for Christmas" this year, though I doubt it will stand the test of time. Kind of like "the 12 Days After Christmas". I'll have to go with "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel."

20. Candy canes. Yuck or yum?
Ho-Hum. I'll eat them, but there's no great pleasure there. There are plenty of other super delicious treats to have.

So there you go... a meme from me to you. Wanna send one back?