Christmas MeMe

Let me preface this with the understanding that we don't celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday and only once in my memory did my family decorate- we never celebrated at home so it seemed a waste of a tree. Mom puts out some candles, winter related decorations and usually gets a wreath, now. I have enjoyed having Christmas trees in my house but it's not a necessity for Christmas. I won't have one this year. I've been leaning more and more towards not because it seems a waste when I'm the only one who ever sees it, it never has gifts under it and I'm not home on Christmas eve or Christmas day. Still, this looks like a fun meme so I'll keep going.

1. Eggnog or Hot Chocolate?
I like both but since Eggnog is only available at the holidays I tend to glut on it as much as possible.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Presents are wrapped!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Both on the tree when I have one.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No. What's the point when you live alone?

5. When do you put up your decorations?
After Thanksgiving, whenever I have the time.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
I love food so this one is hard. I think it's the layered pumpkin cheesecake that mom makes every once in a while. It's really a hard choice though. Mostly dessert!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child.
The year it snowed up on the hill and my cousin hosed down their very steep driveway. We went sledding on our saucers at midnight and also all the next day. We were country kids and got adept at avoiding the nasty briers, ducking the electric fence, and avoiding the cow legs. If you didn't get slowed down before the end of the drive way you ended up in the blackberries or head first in the ditch. We had a great time, even though Grandma scolded Trevor for saying it was "slicker than snot" (bad language you know. ;>) ).

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't know if I ever really believed in Santa. Grandma signed everything from Santa and we knew that. Mom and Dad never tried to instill the belief and since we opened Christmas gifts on Christmas eve, we didn't follow the traditions.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Actually we open all of them, it's a Scandinavian tradition.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?
I have ornaments I've collected over the years. All bought because I have no hand made ones. It's an eclectic mix.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?
Love it, hate driving in it.

12. Can you ice skate?
Yes but it's really hard on the ankles.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I think it was the Cabbage patch preemie that I got when they were first out and SOOOOO expensive. I wasn't expecting one because they were still in the $50 range.

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

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
I think the above mentioned layered pumpkin cheesecake

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
The family meal together.

17. What tops your tree?
I have a ceramic headed angel dressed in velvet

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving, I think, but I prefer to give hand made gifts. Shopping stinks!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Traditional ones although I like most of the Straight no Chaser albums.

20. Candy Canes?
Eh..I'm not a huge fan

21. Do you feel Christmas is too commercialized?
Absolutely

22. Real tree or artificial?
Real

23. Do you put lights up on the outside of your house?
Nope, never!

24. Do you do a Christmas Dinner or Supper and who cooks?
Christmas dinner usually starts at 1:00. My aunt makes turkey and ham, the rest of the family brings dessert and other sides. It's usually arranged ahead of time.

25. Is your family the everyone unwraps gifts at once sort or do you do it one gift at a time as the others watch?
When it's must my parents and I (and/or my brother) then we do one at a time. I prefer to be able to see what everyone gets and see their reactions to what I give them. When we celebrated as an extended family, it was a free for all.

26. Do your pets share in the festivities?
When we open presents at mom and dad's the dog is usually in the house and intrigued by the activity. None of the animals generally get gifts.

Bah humbug...

This year a number of things have conspired to make me feel less than spirited about the holidays, Christmas in particular.

Due to a number of circumstances I was unable to make gifts for anyone other than my mother (well Durin and Ceridwen got an early Christmas/investiture gift too). My biggest joy in Christmas is giving handmade gifts. I couldn't do that this year. I'm sure that will come as a relief to some. Unfortunately, it makes the holidays all about the crazy, hateful shopping.

Planning holidays to include my family and Robert and Carrie has proven impossible. The stress of trying to sort it all out has made me want to throw my hands in the air and say "Forget it! I'll stay home by myself this year!" It seems I have to choose between the two- either forgo my family and family traditions entirely or forgo spending the holidays with Robert and Carrie. It sucks and it's not fair. This year I will spend Christmas eve with Robert and Carrie and his family in Yoncalla- but it means for the second year I will not see my aunt and uncle who live in Idaho and will not participate in the traditional Christmas eve games and dinner with the extended family. Christmas day I will drive up to join my family in Hopewell. I am excited to see the tradition revived after Andrea's illness but it sounds like I'll be making the drive myself. I've invited Carrie and Robert (although I still need to double check with my aunt) but Carrie doesn't think she wants to travel on Christmas. *shrug* So... one or the other. Maybe I'll figure out how not to care next year. After Christmas we may do a Christmas dinner with Carrie's family but only if they don't know I'm invited- otherwise her mom figures out someway to avoid meeting me.

By contract,I am entitled to Christmas eve, Christmas day, and New Years as holidays. I also get another holiday which can be taken before or after Christmas or before or after New Years. Somehow, being the mentor for the staff at work ended up meaning I got the last choice of holidays. My coworkers chose the days before and after our Christmas holiday (which actually end up being the 23rd and the 28th.) That left me with the 30th or the 3rd (the holiday is the 31st since the 1st is on a weekend). I took the 30th and will only work 2 days that week. *sigh* It's hard to see a) the point of working 2 days or b) taking the stupid holiday when I have to spend it by myself. *shrug* Obviously, I'm not thrilled with the holidays this year.

I hope you and yours have a joyous season and that my mood is unique to me and not contagious.

All done!

I left work at 12:30 today. I forgot my eyedrops and needed to return home for them and with my commute returning to work wasn't all that economical. So I used the time to finish my Christmas shopping. I still have two projects on my knitting needles and I'd like to crochet some pot scrubbers. There will be no disasters if either the projects or the scrubbers don't get done. I've got it covered! But hopefully it will happen.

Tomorrow I'm going up to spend the day with Andrea. We'll play with the knitting and visit. Mike and Marilyn are going to her office party in the evening so I'll stay overnight and probably come home before church in the morning. It should be fun.