Holidays are Coming!

my dad | husband | me | my cousin
{ this picture is from Thanksgiving 2 years ago }

This picture was taken outside of St. Nicks, my favorite holiday store in Denver.

My dad came to visit for Thanksgiving that year,
so we made the annual trip while he was in town.

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We are now less than one week away

from the biggest holiday shopping day of the year.

Wasn't it just Halloween yesterday?! Gosh.

Just yesterday I saw this holiday survey over at Ashley's blog { Sloanbook }.

Go check out her answers too! Since Christmas is getting closer with each passing day, I might as well start thinking about what the holiday brings....

I hope my answers aren't too long and that you'll read all the way through.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

That's a tough one. I'd say egg nog in November and December, and hot chocolate every other month of the year. Egg nog gets its time to shine too. Although I really do enjoy a mug of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows. Yum!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

My best guess is that the elves probably wrap the presents and Santa just takes credit for it. All I know is that whoever wraps our presents does a pretty nice job and puts a lot of time into it. They must really love wrapping presents ;)

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I love both. I think it would be fun to have two trees some day, one with colored lights and another with white lights. They both have their place in Christmas decorations. (:

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

We don't have one now, but there was always a mistletoe hanging at my Grandmas's house. I'd have to say that's something we'll add to our decorations in the future. It's fun to have in the house!

5. When do you put your decorations up?

The day after Thanksgiving! Since I'll be working on Black Friday this year, we'll probably have to wait. I'm sure the very first chance we get after Thanksgiving our place will be filled with lights and decorations though. I am really a big proponent of not decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?

I always loved my Grandma's homemade macaroni and cheese when I was younger. It's still a favorite, and it's tough choosing just one. I'd have to go with all of the baked goods and sweets that we always had around my Grandma's house!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

I come from a very musical family on my dad's side, and Christmas eve was always my favorite time. My Grandma hosted a Christmas party every year on Christmas eve, and the entire house would be filled with my uncle Ray playing piano and everyone singing along to Christmas carols! It was sort of magical.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?

I remember one year asking my parents why they had the same wrapping paper as Santa. It was around that age when most kids find out, but boy was it disappointing knowing that guy in the red suit wasn't the one dropping them off the night before Christmas.... oh well.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

With enough pestering, my parents usually let me open one gift the night before. (:

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

I have a small fake tree that my aunt gave me as a birthday gift when I was in college. We decorate it with lights and tons of ornaments that have accumulated over the years. It's an interesting collection. You'll find everything from wood to glass and vegetables to animals. It's always fun recalling memories with each ornament that we place on the tree. It's a great tradition!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

If you had asked me this while growing up in northern Michigan, I would have said I hated it. After moving to Denver, I learned to love the snow. Mostly because it didn't stick around for a solid 3-4 months straight. I love the snow now! My husband and I are both going to miss it now that we live in Florida.

12. Can you ice skate?

Yes! Again... I grew up in northern Michigan, which could be confused with Canada at times. I used to get out a shovel and attempt to shovel the snow off the ice on the lake outside my house. I'd usually shovel off a little rectangle big enough to skate on, but it would always be very bumpy and difficult to skate on.... it was good enough to skate around on though!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Oh boy. One comes to mind. I loved everything Barbie, and one year Santa gave me a Barbie mansion complete with working elevator. It was a few feet tall and had multiple rooms. That mansion was a source of many hours of entertainment and imagination.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Even though Christmas can get expensive and stressful at times, I think the most important thing to remember is what the holiday is really about. Any pettiness, hate, or judgements should be checked at the door. 

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Homemade cookies are number one. Not sure if this counts as a dessert, but we always had homemade Chex Mix at my Grandma's. The spices were always so yummy!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Besides getting together with family to decorate the Christmas tree, I'm not sure what my favorite holiday tradition is. I really look forward to making new holiday traditions with my husband though. We used to make an annual trip to a Christmas store in Denver to buy a new ornament, so we'll have to try and find a store like that in Florida to carry on that tradition.

17. What tops your tree?

A gold star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

Both!

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

Yum, yum, yum.... and yum yum!

20. Favorite Christmas show? Show or movie?

I have a ba-jillion favorite Christmas movies! National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is probably my favorite. I also love A Christmas Story! "You'll shoot your eye out, kid."

21. Saddest Christmas Song?

The saddest would probably be I'll Be Home For Christmas. Listen to it { here }

I always get a little teary-eyed when singing that one.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?

Oh my goodness. It's too hard to choose just one.

I'm going to pick my favorite Christmas album instead.

I absolutely love the Vince Guaraldi Trio's: A Charlie Brown Christmas very much!

Again, the piano reminds me of Christmas Eve at my Grandma's

with my uncle playing piano to all of these songs. (:

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Let me know if you fill this out too!

Again, go see Ashley's answers over at { Sloanbook } also.

Happy Holidays!