a holiday meme

WOW! i got tagged for something--this is a first. apparently meredith tagged me on tuesday and just realized it today. that should tell you something about how this week has been. i took today off just to get errands done. but anyway--i HAVE to respond since this is the first time and all. so--here you go: jackie's first meme!

1.Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.
yes, please. maybe not one right after the other, but i love both! i like making both, and i like drinking both. yum. (i have some fabulous recipes if y'all want 'em.)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
who is this santa person of whom you speak? i busted my parents doing the santa thing when i was 4, and that was it for me and santa. however. all gifts should be wapped. also, ribbons are for tying.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
i like colored lights AND white lights. and i think you can take either one TOO FAR. i used to have some colored tree lights, but last year SOMEONE vacuumed the plug right off them, so now--the tree is white. i have twinkly lights inside the tree and white paperwhite lights from smith & hawken on the outside. outside, i just have lights for the porch--those are snowflake shaed and therefore must be white. but i like colored ones too.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
yes, if i make it to the farmer's market or my parents' house. i am a fan of kisses.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
anytime after turkey day.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
roast beast. mmmmmm...

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child:
getting lifted up by my daddy to put the star on top of the spindly cedar tree we always had. i remember the smell and the feel of his hands and the prickliness of the needles like it was yesterday.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
the aforementioned 4-year-old busting of the parents. i was determined to stay up till santa came so i could see him. and i did.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
absolutely. i open a gift every chance i get, and i am Very Bad at waiting!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
the hippie does the internal lights (because he loves me), and then i put everything i own on there. i want more decorations. no themes or anything--i just put ornaments on it. and any time i come across an ornament i like, i grab it, too. it's a total hodgepodge of stuff.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
love. love. love. snow always meant a day off from school for me to read and sled and make snow cream (and watch bewitched without having to preend to be sick). now it means making a big pot of stew and a fire and snuggling in with the hippie. as long as the power doesn't go out, i'm good. i really AM dreaming of a white christmas.

12. Can you ice skate?
um. no. i tried it once, and well--my knees did not have a good time.

13. Favorite Holiday movie:
love actually. also on the list of DVD contenders are the following: the family stone, how the grinch stole christmas (the REAL one, not that jim carrey nightmare), rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, the peanuts christmas special, holiday inn, christmas in connecticut. guilty pleasure: i really liked the first home alone.

14. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
i am a HUGE fan of christmas cookies. and pie. a thing has only to be homemade for me to want to eat it.

15. What is a favorite holiday tradition?
cristmas eve dinner with friends. i get to cook and have a house full of people and treat everyone! and then when everyone's gone, the hippie and i open our presents to each other.

16. What tops your tree?
a brand new russian glass thingy. but until this year, it's always been a light up porcelain angel i've had since i was 15. poor angel is looking a tiny bit rough, so i gave her a break this year.

17. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
giving!!! LOVE shopping for gifts, LOVE making gifts, LOVE wraping them up all pretty! what i don't love is MAILING, and i have to do a lot of it. i am always late--ask anyone.

18. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
santa baby by eartha kitt and anything ella fitzgerald sang. guilty pleasure: i adore elvis, especially singing blue christmas.

19. Candy Canes?
yes! the peppermint kind, please--i don't like all the weird flavors.

ok, and now, i get to tag people, too. I think i am supposed to tag 4 people. so, flaurella, allegra, laura, and kristen, y'all are IT.

sorry for the lack of posts. life is a bit insane at the moment. don't worry though--i'll be back! WITH pictures. :)