Getting to know you survey - Winter Holiday 2008 edition

[WebLady]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas/Yes :candycane:

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes, the tree is one of my fav parts of the holiday! We have a nice pre-lit fake tree.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Usually Thanksgiving night.

Lights on the tree? Yep; we have the clear ones on our tree.

What goes on top of your tree? Crystal looking star :star:

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? Yes; we do silver and purple, with some white or clear stuff in there too.

When do you take the tree down? Some time before New Years; when ever we have the time.

When do you start gift shopping? Usually around or after Thanksgiving

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? I will use either; it depends on the gift.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? I guess my Dad and my hubby.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My sister; I guess I just know her pretty well

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? I don't know; nothing really stands out ... maybe some of my tattoos.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Oh, I have gotten lots of bad gifts in the past ... Tacky holiday sweaters, cheap makeup that I wouldn't use, random trinkets that are just not me, socks, etc ;)

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? A couple of times, but only if I think someone else would like it better. It would not like that would be the only thing I'd give and I would not claim that I got it for them.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Yep; usually about the 2nd week in December.

Favorite Holiday Movie? I don't know, I guess A Christmas Story ... I also like some of the modern remakes of A Christmas Carol too.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Everything :bblol:

Do you like eggnog? No, but hubby does *yuk*

Favorite Holiday songs?Rockin around the Christmas tree, Jingle Bell Rock, Oh Come all ye faithful ... most any of them that don't talk about Santa ;)

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Usually stay close to home, but we do visit with family that don't live far.

How do celebrate with your family? In my family we always do dinner and exchange gifts on Christmas eve. Then we have dinner and do our gift exchanges with Earnie's family on Christmas day.

Anything special on your list this year? Nothing in particular really. I just want to have a nice Christmas with our families :)

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I love it all; I love the decorations, I love gift giving and I love the food and spending time with our families when everyone is happy :grinhappy:

[SarahPearl]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas/Yes :candycane:

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes, of course! We have a nice pre-lit fake tree.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Two weeks before Thanksgiving.

Lights on the tree? Yep; we have the clear ones on our tree.

What goes on top of your tree? Crystal looking star :star:

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? The traditional red and gold is always nice.

When do you take the tree down? After New Years...But I hate taking it down

When do you start gift shopping? Usually around or after Thanksgiving

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Totally depends on the gift, but I like an assortment of wrapping under the tree, it makes it look colorful :grinhappy:

Who is the hardest person to buy for? FH, he likes car parts and expensive electronics..

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My Brother, he appreciates good clothes..

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Gift Card to Ruehls

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Shoes that were hideous beyond measure

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? For white elephant gifts at partys lol

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? No, but I'd like to start doing that when FH and I are married

Favorite Holiday Movie? I JUST BOUGHT THEM! Elf and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Jim Carrey)

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Everything :bblol:

Do you like eggnog? No, but FH does *yuk*

Favorite Holiday songs? Last Christmas, Alvin and The Chipmunks Christmas CD, I want you Home for Christmas (Danity Kane)

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travelling this year for the first time!! SO EXCITED!

How do celebrate with your family? We make a fancy breakfast, read the Bible, open presents, then watch Christmas movies in our pjs all day, while enjoying endless cups of coffee/or hot chocolate.

Anything special on your list this year? Clothes, can never have enough

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I enjoy everything about the holidays, the joy of giving, AND recieving :P, being with family and friends...and then the upcoming start of a new year!

[Katie-ryn]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is is religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)?
Christmas/New Years/No

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial?
Yes, we put up an artificial tree.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it?
First day of November.

Lights on the tree?
Yes, we have white LED lights.

What goes on top of your tree?
A Christmas tree. It's a cone made of dark plastic that looks like twigs, with little pieces of sparkly plastic all over it.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color?
Yeah, I love my green ornaments, since green is my favourite colour.

When do you take the tree down?
Last day of January.

When do you start gift shopping?
When I find something I think someone would like. I have no set time to start shopping.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags?
I use paper. My work (ME) makes wrapping paper for our customers and the workers get some to. I use it, since I designed it.

Who is the hardest person to buy for?
My in laws. Never have any idea what to get them. Or my brother and youngest sister.

Who is the easiest person to buy for?
My one sister. I'm constantly finding things I think she'd like.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far?
Not sure...

Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Not sure...

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present?
I guess once. I got a brown tote from my MIL but I didn't think I'd ever use it so I gave it to my mom.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when?
No.

Favorite Holiday Movie?
Rudolph

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays?
Turkey

Do you like eggnog?
Ew no.

Favorite Holiday songs?
Not sure. I like a lot of the melodies, but being an atheist most of the lyrics don't sit well with me.

Travel at Christmas or stay home?
We usually go back to our hometown and visit his parents, and my mom is up visiting her parents/siblings, so we meet there.

How do celebrate with your family?
Beginning of December my dad's family all gets together in my aunt and uncles basement (they have a big finished basement, and my aunt is in a wheelchair with MS, so she really can't travel much). We have supper and everyone sits around and talks and the kids do crafts. Then we have leftovers for supper. Christmas Eve my mom's family all gets together. We have turkey and appetizers. Christmas Day we spend with my ILs and we open presents. Then on New Years Eve I open gifts with my mom and siblings.

Anything special on your list this year?
Guitar Hero: World Tour, the drum kit and microphone.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays?
I love the food. I love turkey. I would make one like once a month if I could.

[acidcookie]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is is religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas, not for religion (my family is not religious), just out of tradition. Christmas is a very big German holiday. Because I'm not religious and a number of my friends celebrate Hanukkah, I celebrate that with them now too.

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? No tree. We have a little artificial 3' tree but I don't feel like putting it up.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Growing up my mom and I did it on Thanksgiving since it was just a day off for us.

Lights on the tree? --

What goes on top of your tree? Growing up it was always a star or an angel.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? I just like things that sparkle. And I love red.

When do you take the tree down? It usually ended up staying up till my birthday (Feb 5)!

When do you start gift shopping? We don't do much gift-giving past my very immediate family so I just buy stuff throughout the year when I see things that would make good gifts for people.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags?I usually re-use something I had, like comics, cool magazine ads, or wrapping paper I've acquired. If I have lots of tissue paper I'll use that and decorate a bag. Don't think I've bought wrapping paper for years!

Who is the hardest person to buy for? Mom. She needs nothing! I usually make something for her.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? FH I guess.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Maybe my dSLR FH gave me 2 Christmases ago.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Probably Dollar Store trinkets. Not because they were from the Dollar Store but because they were not something I need or want at all.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? I think so! And I think if you have true intentions knowing that something you own would be more appreciated by someone else, it's perfectly acceptable.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Usually, at the beginning of Dec. When I'm smart I by them on sale after Christmas for next year. I send out generic "winter" cards since I like the overall holiday season more than anything and some of my friends celebrate Hanukkah instead of Christmas, some are all about the winter solstice, etc...

Favorite Holiday Movie? Not a movie really, but my mom are starting to make a tradition of see the Oregon ballet perform the Nutcracker. FH and I are seeing it with here again this year.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Take in the magical atmosphere.

Do you like eggnog? I've never had it because I've never been tempted to try it

Favorite Holiday songs? Christmas songs really drive me crazy. Carol of the Bells is the only one I really like, and yet it's abused in several sale commercials each year. I do like O Holy Night as well. But I really can't stand most anything else.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? It's the one time a year at this point that I make it back to Oregon. One day I need to get back to Germany for Christmas. The season is spectacular there.

How do celebrate with your family? It's usually just me and mom, one of my sisters and her kids, and maybe FH. We open presents, drink "bole" (sort of like sangria), and just hang out.

Anything special on your list this year? Haven't even thought about a gift list.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Just the whole twinkly, sparkly, glittery experience of it all!

[SerendipityCrafts]

What winter holiday do you celebrate? Is it religious/spiritual for you? Christmas & Yes

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes. For us, it's gotta be real (I may buy a fake one for next year to put down the basement but I will still buy real for the living room)

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Anytime around the middle of December.

Lights on the tree? Of course - multi coloured please.

What goes on top of your tree? It's either an angel that I painted or an antique topper thing that was my grandmother's.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? Nope .... unless you call memories a theme. There are ornaments from my grandparents, from my parents, from my kids and ones that Hugh and I have collected on our travels. Each and ever ornament means something to me.

When do you take the tree down? Some time after the new year or whenever the city is coming to collect the trees to turn into mulch.

When do you start gift shopping? December

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Gift bags are easier but I prefer to wrap.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? Hugh

Who is the easiest person to buy for? Jenny .... my best friend loves shoes so it's pretty easy to find something "shoe related".

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? The string of pearls that Hugh gave me.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A squatting pig toilet brush.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Not that I can remember but I wouldn't rule it out :)

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? We have boxes of them but we never get around to writing in them so they never get sent.

Favorite Holiday Movie? It's a Wonderful Life

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Christmas cookies!

Do you like eggnog? Not really but I will sip it if someone hands me one.

Favorite Holiday songs? Oh Holy Night, What Child is This?, & Oh Come All Ye Faithful.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year we stay!!! Yeah!

How do celebrate with your family? Christmas morning we open gifts ... the first one up, wakes up the rest :) My siblings and I have also been known to phone each other's houses to wake up their families too :rofl:

Anything special on your list this year? A small tv for our painting studio or stuff for the house.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? The Christmas eve service. Nothing more can be bought ... nothing more can be decorated .... it's time to simply relax, reflect and enjoy the rest of the holiday.

[katrina7875]

What winter holiday do you celebrate? Is it religious/spiritual for you? Christmas & Yes

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes. A prelit artificial tree - not too tall as we have a small apartment.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Usually the day after Black Friday but this year is an exception as my bridal shower is that day.

Lights on the tree? Definitely, I prefer clear but FH won that argument and we have multi-colored.

What goes on top of your tree? A beautiful gold bow.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? We have a color scheme - dark red and gold Christmas balls with gold bows and gold beads.

When do you take the tree down? The weekend after New Year's.

When do you start gift shopping? Black Friday & I usually finish Christmas Eve.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Both - if it's awkward to wrap it goes in a gift bag.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My dad

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My mom - she has so many favorite things and stuff she collects.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? A quilt my grandmother made for me.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? underwear when I was little - not sure?

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Yes - as a teacher the kids give you lots of presents and it's usually decorative stuff to sit around the house. I don't regift it to my closest family though.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Oh yes - and I have been making my own Christmas cards for probably 10 years now. But this year I am sending and awesome photo card of FH and me.

Favorite Holiday Movie? A Christmas Story - I love when TBS plays 24 hours of it starting on Christmas Eve. And FH HATES HATES HATES the movie. I don't even think he's seen the whole thing. My sister HATES the movie just as much.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Spritz cookies and the cookies with the Hershey's kisses in the center.

Do you like eggnog? It's OK

Favorite Holiday songs? Oh Holy Night, O Come O Come Immanuel, Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime, Happy Xmas

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Just locally

How do celebrate with your family? Christmas Eve we open presents at my aunt's house. Sometimes we hire a Santa for the kids. Christmas Day we go to my grandmother's house for a big meal.

Anything special on your list this year? A perfect wedding!!!!!

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? The music, the lights, the good feeling you get at Christmas and watching someone open what I think is the perfect gift!

[kgvettegirl]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas/Yes :candycane:

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? We have a small fiber optic tree that we have been using for the last few years. This year we will put up the big tree.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? December 1st

Lights on the tree? Yep; we have the clear ones on our tree.

What goes on top of your tree? Big Bow

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? The little tree has pink and purple balls with amethyst beaded garland

When do you take the tree down? Some time after New Years; when ever we have the time.

When do you start gift shopping? Usually around or after Thanksgiving

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? I will use either; it depends on the gift.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My Dad and RC they tend to buy whatever they want.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My mom, she loves Chinese porcelain and flavored teas

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? My tahitian pearl necklace or earrings

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Bonnet hair drier when I was 15.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Nope

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Yep; usually about the 2nd week in December.

Favorite Holiday Movie? The Christmas Story with the leg lamp

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Everything :bblol:

Do you like eggnog? No

Favorite Holiday songs?Chipmunks

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Mom and dad's are 6 miles away

How do celebrate with your family? Christmas Eve we have a birthday party for Jesus. Cake, cookies, Christmas punch. We sing Christmas carols and Happy Birthday then go to Christmas Eve service.

Anything special on your list this year? Youngest is bringing his gf from College

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Cooking, spending time with my family.

[KMS]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas; definitely

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes, we do a real organically grown tree

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? sometime the week after Thanksgiving

Lights on the tree? Yes, but only white lights

What goes on top of your tree? an angel

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? No theme or color. Anything goes on our tree!

When do you take the tree down? beginning of January, usually

When do you start gift shopping? October-ish

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? I really like tearing open wrapped gifts, but bags are nice because you can reuse them.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? Both mine and Chad's dads

Who is the easiest person to buy for? Chad

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? My engagement ring the Christmas eve before last

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? bad clothes

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Sure, if I'm not going to use it and know that somebody else will actually like it

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Nope

Favorite Holiday Movie? I love them all!!

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? anything with pumpkin

Do you like eggnog? I used to love the stuff, but Silk Nog just isn't the same.

Favorite Holiday songs? "It's Cold Outside"

Travel at Christmas or stay home? We will travel just about an hour or so to be with family. Honestly I would rather just stay at home though.

How do celebrate with your family? We celebrate with Chad's family on Christmas eve. As far as my family goes, I have always picked just one special gift to open on Christmas even at my house. That has always been so special to me ever since I can remember. That's why Chad proposed on Christmas eve. We go to my aunt's house on Christmas to have Christmas dinner and open gifts.

Anything special on your list this year? I can't even think of anything I want.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? The decorations, music, cooking, people reconnecting...I love it all.

[amisteratwisterandme]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas; Yep. This year, we will be celebrating hanukkah for my nephew who is half jewish, but his mom doesn't really celebrate it, so we are going to learn about it and explain it to him.

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Sometimes, last year we didn't due to having a new puppy in the house, this year I think we will get a baby gate to put around the tree. We will be artificial because I can't stand the thought of cutting sown a perfectly healthy tree with the state just recovering from massive forest fires.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? as late as Christmas Eve

Lights on the tree? Yes, white and red lights

What goes on top of your tree? a large Rudolph

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? Rudolph this year.

When do you take the tree down? Day after Christmas

When do you start gift shopping? depends on when I have the money. This year we started in October.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Paper. I like making the gifts look pretty.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? FH

Who is the easiest person to buy for? Nieces and nephews

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Seeing my brother for Christmas. He passed away on January 5th a few years ago, so it was the last time I seen him.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? My dad bought me a dolly when I was 14.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Yep, a bottle of rose tequila.

Do you send out Holiday cards; I buy the holiday paper and make my own cards.

Favorite Holiday Movie? Rudolph. Love the message

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? fudge

Do you like eggnog? yep

Favorite Holiday songs? Santa Baby

Travel at Christmas or stay home? I prefer home

How do celebrate with your family? Open gifts, go to extended families house, and relax the rest of the day.

Anything special on your list this year? I have everything I need.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Spending time with FH doing the holiday type things: Zoo lights, electric light parade, Checking out Christmas Lights.

[FFC]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas/very

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? We usually do, we have a fake one for the years we can't afford a real one.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Early December

Lights on the tree? Yes.... usually one color theme

What goes on top of your tree? Hmmm... I think it's an angel..?

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? I love silver and blue, but I'd like to try something different next year

When do you take the tree down? Hehe... I think I took it down last time in February

When do you start gift shopping? August - that way it doesn't hurt so bad in December

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Whichever is handy

Who is the hardest person to buy for? Probably my dads

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My mother in law

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Probably my stereo when I was 13 - I still use it.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? beats me

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Yep.. I recycled a recycled gift :rofl: I believe it was an iced tea maker....

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Usually I do, this year I'm going to have to pass. Usually don't get around to sending them out till after New Year's, so by then, they're either New Years cards, or belated Christmas cards

Favorite Holiday Movie? Oh gosh.. that one is tuff! I think "To Grandmother's House We go" was one of my favorites growing up.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Food... I love food... Unfortunately :irked:

Do you like eggnog? Never tried it. I hear there is raw eggs in it??? Doesn't sit well in my head.

Favorite Holiday songs? I like a lot of them... not crazy bout Santa songs though unless they're by Wierd Al :winktongue:

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel - only about 80 miles max though to visit family.

How do celebrate with your family? My family: Christmas Eve at Grandpa's (this is the last year for it :( ) Matt's Family: Christmas morning with his mom and brother, and Sierra every other year, and Christmas "dinner" usually around 2pm with his family.

Anything special on your list this year? Yeah...... I'm not asking for much this year. I finally got the iPoditis - I want an iPod.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Having an excuse to cook all day, Rain, Family time, hussle and bussle of the holiday season.

[mitch]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas for the Kids. Not religious.

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? We've got a Six Foot artificial tree.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Last year i put it up on Christmas Eve :bbeek: It depends on when i feel like poncing around with the deccys.

Lights on the tree? All white. They can pulse, flicker or stay on.

What goes on top of your tree? A spike bauble.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? We have Red Gold and Green baubles and icicles. We also have a Silver Star in Memory of My Dad. One in Memory of DH's Mum. And another in Memory of DH's Brother. Four Angels for the Girls and a little Blue stocking for Grandson.

When do you take the tree down? Normally when DH is taking the Girls back on Jan 2nd.

When do you start gift shopping? September. But the Wedding kinda put it all back.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Paper. I love wrapping gifts.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? The Girls as they are getting older.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? Grandson. Thomas The Tank Engine all the way.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Tickets to see Iron Maiden from DH.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? None spring to mind.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Never.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Two Weeks before Christmas.

Favorite Holiday Movie? Muppets Christmas Carol gets Me laughing everytime.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? The UK have these sugar Jelly (Jello) Orange and lemon segments. We always battle to get the Middle Orange one. :)

Do you like eggnog? Yuk. It's like drinking paint!!

Favorite Holiday songs? Fairytale of New York.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home.

How do celebrate with your family? Christmas Day is just DH and Myself at home. Boxing Day is "Open House" friends pop in all day. We drive up North to get the Kids the day after Boxing Day. They stay till Jan 2nd.

Anything special on your list this year? Same ol same ol LOL.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Time with DH. His company shuts for Two Weeks so He's home. But this year He's on call for Three Weeks so He could be in and out all day, everyday. :whyme:

But hey, the Pays Double. He gets paid even if He never goes out on a job. So whoopiedo for that hehehe.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. :)

[candars]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas, yes and no-I'm religious, DH isn't

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? We have a fake one that was his grandmother's.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Lol, we actually left it up for like three years and took it down last year after Christmas...it's gonna be a lot of work to get it back up!

Lights on the tree? We go for the clear lights and normally get the ones that have different setting/speeds.

What goes on top of your tree? A star that lights up.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? I don't have a favorite ornament or theme. Normally I just pick a color or two I like each year and decorate the tree in those colors. I always end up buying new ornaments.

When do you take the tree down? Every three years :rofl: But seriously, we would probably take it down sometime in January.

When do you start gift shopping? I normally start shopping around October. But, if I see something that I know someone would like, I will go ahead and get it for them. Only problem with that is I hate waiting and usually end up giving them the gift before Christmas! Then I have to find them something else.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Paper. I like to buy the really pretty wrapping paper and have one style for my family and one style for DH's family.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? DH, anything he wants he buys, so I never know what to get him. And my sister-she always wants something crazy expensive! One year she wanted a 50-gallon saltwater aquarium...she has also asked for 1 carat diamond earrings. If you don't give her what she wants, you better give her some money to go towards what she wants!

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My mom. She's always happy with what I get her! This year I am surprising her with a pair of diamond earrings and a diamond cross necklace. She's never had a diamond, so she's going to love them!

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? This is stupid, but I get a new bathrobe every year and I LOVE them!

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I got a cheap charm bracelet (one that looked like a 12-year-old would wear it) from DH's aunt and uncle. I also get horrific shirts from them. Every year, whatever their gift to me is, that's my worst gift.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? I have once, I won a present at work (very pretty clear angel candle-holders with gold glitter). I never even opened the box, just wrapped it and gave it to his aunt, who by the way LOVES them and they look great in her house!

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? I always want to and plan on it, but never have.

Favorite Holiday Movie? I don't have a favorite holiday movie, I did watch Elf last night, though, it's pretty cute!

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Ham and rolls/breads.

Do you like eggnog? Not sure, I have never had it, but I don't think I would like it.

Favorite Holiday songs? Don't really have any.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.

How do celebrate with your family? We spend Christmas Eve with his family and Christmas morning with my family. It's tradition, though-my sisters and I all have to beg to open at least one present Christmas Eve.

Anything special on your list this year? Nope! I barely even have a list!

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? That's a tough one...I enjoy the food and the time I get to spend with my family. I also love giving people presents and watching them open them!

[gwenshack]

What winter holiday do you celebrate? Is it religious/spiritual for you? Christmas - it is for my mom

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? No. We're never here for the holidays, so we leave that to our respective parents.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? I think MOM has already done it! :)

Lights on the tree? The tackier the better.

What goes on top of your tree? A paper mache hand puppet I made in the 3rd grade that was supposed to be Job from the Bible. But over the years my mom has forgotten it was Job and insisted it's original purpose was that of an angel.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? No. I am still slightly amazed the the ornament I made my mom in the 2nd grade is still intact - it's a plastic frame with a picture of me in it strung up by some string.

When do you take the tree down? Not sure.

When do you start gift shopping? December

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? I like gift bags. I'm lazy.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? my step grandmother. She's very particular and none of us, my grandfather/her husband included, like her very much.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? FH. He tells me what he wants and I buy it.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Last year I got a single basketball ticket to go see the Celtics play the Clippers - I'm not a Clipper fan or a Celtic fan specifically, more just a general NBA fan (and Laker fan - hey I live in LA), but my mom knew I was fascinated by the Celtic team last year so she bought me a ticket so I could check it out in person. She hates the Celtics, so the fact that she bought a ticket to support them says a lot.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A sweater with the characters from Noah's Ark knitted into it.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Absolutely. No need to waste something if somebody else could use it.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Some years. Probably won't this year.

Favorite Holiday Movie? White Christmas...and Home Alone!

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Stuffing.

Do you like eggnog? Negative.

Favorite Holiday songs? Silver Bells!

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to where I grew up

How do celebrate with your family? Church and dinner Christmas eve. Presents Christmas morning. NBA games all day long until grandparents come over and we have dinner with them.

Anything special on your list this year? 4th season of Lost was pretty much all I could think of asking for. I love that show.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Hanging out with my brother.

[Tadswife]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas and Yes:candycane:
Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? We have a fake prelit tree, We really need a new one!
If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? right after thanksgiving dinner,im dragging everything up as the dishwasher is going with dishes from thanksgiving:bbeek:
Lights on the tree? of course
What goes on top of your tree? a little red bow. I have been wanting to buy somthing for the top of the tree, I just have been to lazy to do it
Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? we dont have a theme or color scheme! It's all memories. Every ornament means somthing to us. Eather ones that the inlaws gave to us or ones we exchange at christmas. We always hunt each other down an ornament and exchange it at christmas eve. I bought him a cookie monstor one this year.
When do you take the tree down? Christmas day...after we open presents im taking stuff down stairs right after...
When do you start gift shopping? July or Auguest. This way I don't kill my self with debt after christmas
When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? whatever is handy. But I have been using alot of gift bags in recent years
Who is the hardest person to buy for? Dh and inlaws. What do you get for people who have everything???They don't ask for anything, but we did buy them a 42 inch plasma this year.Dh keeps begging for a new puppy. We don't have room for a new puppy....but he continues to ask everyday I keep telling him no... haha
Who is the easiest person to buy for? my sister Stacy and my nieces. They appriciate everything they get. So it makes it easy. I just spoil them to pieces, because Iknow they will like what ever I get them
What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? My sister put together a scrapbook for me right before my wedding. It was scrapbook for my wedding. All I had to do was put things in, it was good to go and I didn't even have to design it
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? me and dh got a gift cert to a place we absolutly hate to eat at!!! We just sucked it up and used it.. and it was horriable
Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Nope, but we do have a gift care to Famous Daves from last christmas that we really dont want to use, and I am in the process of trying to convince dh to regift iterrr
Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Sure do..
Favorite Holiday Movie? A christmas story.. it never gets boring to me
Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? cookies, I love christmas cookies
Do you like eggnog? LOVE IT!!!!
Favorite Holiday songs? Walking in a winter wonderland and this song by the trans siberian orchestra.. I just can't think of it. But it is number one on my list
Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home.

How do celebrate with your family? We exchange stockings on christmas eve. Then eat breakfast at the inlaws and exchange presents and have dinner at our house.
Anything special on your list this year? A columbia jacket. My dh is having a really hard time finding my size
What do you enjoy most about the holidays? spending time with the family and giving presents. It gets me all giddy to watch someone open their presents and see their reactions. I just love it

[Jenna5366]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas; not religious

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes! We have a decent looking fake tree. First time we’ve gone fake in a few years

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Dec. 1st

Lights on the tree? Yep; multicolores

What goes on top of your tree? Angel

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? No, I like the mish-mash of gaudiness that is Christmas. :D This year I did mostly blue ornaments

When do you take the tree down? After New Year’s

When do you start gift shopping? Early November

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? I prefer paper

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My mom

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My stepson

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? My Canon PowerShot S3IS

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? An old, smelly wool sweater that had obviously been hanging on a hanger for a long time

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? I don’t think so

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Nope; I’ve given up pretending that I’ll ever do it

Favorite Holiday Movie? Prancer

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Anything offered to me!

Do you like eggnog? Yummy…

Favorite Holiday songs? Sleigh Ride by Hilary Duff :)

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home and visit family

How do celebrate with your family? We open our presents at home, go to James’ family for breakfast, then to my family for early dinner and presents, and then back to James’ family for later dinner and presents.

Anything special on your list this year? Nothing. I want to enjoy my last Christmas as an unmarried woman… living in sin. ;)

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I love the feeling of happiness that the simple thought of Christmas gives me. I love how people are more generous and giving at Christmas. And I love getting the time off to spend with my family.

[Micah's bride]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Hannakah/yes

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes, for my son and FH. It's a white artificial.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Sometime towards the end of November

Lights on the tree? Yeah, we have blue ones

What goes on top of your tree? a silver bow

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? Our ornaments are all plum and shades of blue to match the plum and navy walls in the living room.

When do you take the tree down? before new year's eve so it isn't up on my son's b-day.

When do you start gift shopping? October or November

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Paper with homemade bows!

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My dad

Who is the easiest person to buy for? my son and mom

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Last year FH found me a set of 6 goose island brewery glasses that I wanted and never thought I would have unless I snuck them out of a local bar one at a time.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A black sweatsuit with satin ribbons and drama masks from my dad when I was 12

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Sadly, I do it alot.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Yes, December 1st

Favorite Holiday Movie? The Santa Clause or Elf

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? peanut butter fudge

Do you like eggnog? no, I finally tried it with FH's gramma last year

Favorite Holiday songs? Blue Christmas, I like the cheesy non-religious stuff

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Close to home

How do celebrate with your family? Christmas eve dinner and presents with my parents, then christmas morning with both families at our house, and Christmas night with FH's parents

Anything special on your list this year? I really want a Wii.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Watching my son enjoy it all

[Moon.Dust.]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)?
Christmas/Yule & Yes and No.

Do you put up a tree; if so is it real or artificial?
Yes. It’s fake because we have pets and I don’t enjoy vacuuming needles every day.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it?
When we get around to it.

Lights on the tree?
Yes

What goes on top of your tree?
An old ornament of Santa in a space costume

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color?
Nope. I prefer an eclectic collection

When do you take the tree down?
Sometime after Christmas

When do you start gift shopping?
When it occurs to me

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags?
I prefer wrapping paper. I love seeing people ripping into the gift.

Who is the hardest person to buy for?
The FH

Who is the easiest person to buy for?
My sister.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far?
Guitar Hero III. Just because it was something I really wanted that year and the presentation was so awesome.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
I don’t. If they thought about me I appreciate it.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present?
Nope

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when?
I try.

Favorite Holiday Movie?
White Christmas

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays?
It’s a fruit punch my aunts make from scratch that it just so AWESOME! Oh and something called Buñuelos that are like super thin sweet tortilla looking things that are fried and served with cinnamon tea.

Do you like eggnog?
I drink one a year and I’m good

Favorite Holiday songs?
White Christmas –yes because of the movie, Bells will be ringing, Little Drummer Boy –In Spanish.

Travel at Christmas or stay home?
It changes every year

How do celebrate with your family?
When I was little we’d stay up on the 24th until midnight and open gifts then.

Anything special on your list this year?
Nope. But I’ll never turn down a zultanite.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays?
All of it.

[caligal85]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)?
Christmas; Yes

Do you put up a tree; if so is it real or artificial?
Yes, it's generally fake because of someone's allergies.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it?
The day after Thanksgiving. Although, since my parents are going to Alaska this year, we might not have a tree.

Lights on the tree?
Of course! My family finally bought a pre-lit tree and I love it!

What goes on top of your tree?
Good question. We've tried several things and have yet to find something we like.

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color?
I love that my mom has kept the ornaments I made at school through the years. Other than that, I love all ornaments.

When do you take the tree down?
I don't. My mother has to. Papi and I would leave it up all year if we could.

When do you start gift shopping?
Usually right before I see the person.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags?
I use both. Depends on the person. For children, paper; adults, gift bags.

Who is the hardest person to buy for?
Everyone

Who is the easiest person to buy for?
Mom.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far?
My Christmas stocking. FH got it for me when we were dating in high school. We never did stockings in our family and I was so happy he included me in his.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
My father's mom once bought me a hideous sweater.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present?
Yes.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when?
This will be my first year.

Favorite Holiday Movie?
Muppets Christmas Carol

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays?
Turkey!!!!!!

Do you like eggnog?
Yes, especially eggnog lattes.

Favorite Holiday songs?
I don't think I actually have one.

Travel at Christmas or stay home?
I really like to travel at Christmas but it doesn't happen often.

How do celebrate with your family?
You know, I don't think we've ever done it the same way two years in a row.

Anything special on your list this year?
A crock pot. I really want a crock pot. Oh and a new electric toothbrush.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays?
Being with my family.

[NurseLau84]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas/Negative

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes, and it most certainly is real!

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Thanksgiving weekend

Lights on the tree? Yes, only clear

What goes on top of your tree? Silver star

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? red

When do you take the tree down? a day or two after xmas

When do you start gift shopping? not soon enough! one to two weeks prior

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? I use both

Who is the hardest person to buy for? my husband!

Who is the easiest person to buy for? any woman in my family

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? We got engaged in November of 2006, so I suppose my ring was my favorite gift:)

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? a rain bonnet (lol- gag gift), and these horrible looking Ugg shoe/clog things

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? nope

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? We never have, maybe this year
Favorite Holiday Movie? It's a Wonderful Life, Elf, Frosty

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? my stepmom's Babka (sp?)....it's SO GOOD

Do you like eggnog? NO! Makes me nauseous just thinking about it

Favorite Holiday songs? Jingle bell rock!!

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Close to home...within 30 minutes or so

How do celebrate with your family? My family xmas eve, DH's family on xmas

Anything special on your list this year? PDA with nursing student clinical software on it

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? Snow,decorations, drinking hot chocolate and cider, getting together with family

[Ninedays9]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas... somewhat spiritual, more about spending time with family

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? I'm gonna answer these as if it were next year and we were back in our own apartment.... the one we have (in storage now) is artificial

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? day after Thanksgiving or shortly after that day

Lights on the tree? yup, it's pre-lit

What goes on top of your tree? nothing

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? no theme, really but I'd like to collect a lot of Peanuts ornaments

When do you take the tree down? last year it was around New Years

When do you start gift shopping? very close to when we actually open presents... I'm a procrastinator

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? usually paper

Who is the hardest person to buy for? my brother

Who is the easiest person to buy for? my mom or my sister though they can sometimes be difficult to find things for, too

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? not sure..

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? an enormous pair of white pants bought at a garage sale... my dad's family used to buy all from garage sales

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? yup

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? nope but I might consider it in the following years

Favorite Holiday Movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation... or Muppet's Christmas Carol

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? cookies

Do you like eggnog? haven't tried it and don't have the desire to

Favorite Holiday songs? Silent Night and O Holy Night

Travel at Christmas or stay home? travel a little bit.. hour and a half or so

How do celebrate with your family? different sides of each family on different days

Anything special on your list this year? it's all special or I wouldn't ask for it :)

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? spending time with family and the Christmas-y feel of decorating and the first heavy snow-fall

[vicky_vicky]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas, yes it is religious, and New Years Eve as we welcome the new year, no religious. The Next day, on new years day its my name day, and this is kind of religious.

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes, I usually put up a fake green tree
If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? its a tradition to put up the tree at 12 of December
Lights on the tree? Of course, multicolored and white twinkling

What goes on top of your tree? Big shiny golden star

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? I love really sparkling ones

When do you take the tree down? at Jan 6
When do you start gift shopping? It depends

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? gift bags, easier
Who is the hardest person to buy for? my brother
Who is the easiest person to buy for? myself hehe
What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? a thing that glows that represents the stable where baby Jesus was born
Worst Christmas gift you ever received? reciepe book, bad bad one
Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? yep
Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? usually when december starts
Favorite Holiday Movie? polar express
Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Do you like eggnog? sweets no eggnog
Favorite Holiday songs? many
Travel at Christmas or stay home? go to my village
How do celebrate with your family? cosy and family stuff
Anything special on your list this year? well many things
What do you enjoy most about the holidays? my days off work (total of 16)

[WBandMe]

I'm sure next year's answers will be totally different after the wedding, but for now...

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas and yes

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yep, fake tree. I'm allergic to real.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Sometime during the week of Thanksgiving, whenever there is time

Lights on the tree? Yeah, mostly white with some blue thrown in

What goes on top of your tree? Angel

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? Mom's tree is done in blue, silver and white

When do you take the tree down? After New Years day

When do you start gift shopping? October

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Bags are certainly easier, but I like using paper

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My dad, he's just impossible.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? FH and my mom

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? Hmm... the hand-stitched and embroidered Tinkerbell stocking FH made for me.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? When I was younger I got a stack of used books not even wrapped from my stepmom's collection in the basement.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Nope. I gave something back to an ex boyfriend's parents once because it wasn't very "me" and I felt guilty keeping it.. and I'm still totally mortified that I did that. What was I thinking?

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Yeah, but just a couple anymore.

Favorite Holiday Movie? I LOVE A Christmas Story

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Nothing in particular is jumping out...

Do you like eggnog? No. Ick ick ick ick ick. Custard nog is okay though.

Favorite Holiday songs? O Holy Night

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home.

How do celebrate with your family? My mom's birthday is the 23rd so we usually have dinner at my aunt's house then, then we do dinner and gifts at home Christmas Eve, then sometime between Christmas day and my dad's birthday on the 28th we celebrate at his house.

Anything special on your list this year? nothing super special, no

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I don't know, the atmosphere..lights and snow and trees, Christmas music. I just like the way it all feels.

[Docsgirl]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas. I'm not religious.

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? It's artificial.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? It'll be sometime soon.

Lights on the tree? Purple ones to fit the theme.

What goes on top of your tree? Jack Skellington dressed as Santa!

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? The Nightmare Before Christmas tree!

When do you take the tree down? Probably after New Years.

When do you start gift shopping? We're bad.....we wait until the last few days before Christmas.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Paper.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My mom. I never know what to get her.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My bestie.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? I really like the belt that my MOH gave me as my early Christmas gift this year. It's imported from Bali and is just SO cool. I have a belt collection and it's definitely my new favorite.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The sweaters from my Grandma. Thankfully she has resorted to gift cards after not seeing anyone wearing the clothes she picked out for them.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Nope. I've returned some pretty bad ones though.....

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Not yet. We're waiting until we get a puppy and then we're going to do the little photo cards.

Favorite Holiday Movie? Haha. The Nightmare Before Christmas, of course.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Pieeeeee!

Do you like eggnog? Not really.

Favorite Holiday songs? "Oh Holy Night" when sung by Cartman and Carol of the Bells.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? We're driving the 1,100 miles back home this year. Gas is cheaper than flying. For once!

How do celebrate with your family? We have our Christmas with my mom on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we drive to Illinois to have the big family Christmas. But this year we have 2 more Christmases to add into the mix, and I really don't know how we're going to squeeze 4 into 2 days!

Anything special on your list this year? Nope. I'm just excited to be going home and seeing my family. I haven't seen them since September!

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I just like the "family" time. Everyone is happy and there are usually a few holiday pranks, like wrapping a whole box in duct tape only to unwrap it to find the first piece of paper for a scanvenger hunt. :D

[latanyak85]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas.

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? It's artificial all white.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? About week after Thanksgiving.

Lights on the tree? White

What goes on top of your tree? Star

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? My theme for the past 3 yrs have been silver and blue. I might switch up next yr.

When do you take the tree down? Probably after New Years.

When do you start gift shopping? i waited to long this year! I started just a few weeks ago! Normally Early November.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Gift bags

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My brother. He lives in Atlanta and is used to the expensive things.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My sister. She loves to decorate, so anything for her house is fine.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? I caint think of one!

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A baby blue wool sweater that my step grandmother gave me. It was like 2 sizes to big!

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? Yes

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? Yes, but not this year.

Favorite Holiday Movie? Dont have one.

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Potatoe salad

Do you like eggnog? Yes

Favorite Holiday songs? I love all Christmas songs.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay at home, parents stay 15 minutes away.

How do celebrate with your family? We go over my parents house. What ever my mother didnt finish cooking me and my sister help. We open up the gift and then we eat! Fh normally comes over later and then we spend that night together just me and him.

Anything special on your list this year? Computer Desk.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I love spending time with the family. As strange as it sounds I like the noises. My nephews and son playing, the grown ups laughing and having fun.

[neebelung]

What winter holiday do you celebrate; is it religious/spiritual for you (no need to go into detail)? Christmas/Yes

Do you put up a tree; if so is is real or artificial? Yes; real – ALWAYS real.

If you do put up a tree, when do you do it? Usually the weekend after Thanksgiving

Lights on the tree? We have a mix of clear and colored (Sylvania has these great lights that are colored, colored, white, colored, colored white).

What goes on top of your tree? A gold filigree star with red crystals

Do you have a favorite ornament theme or color? Yes; BRIGHT red and apple green. Lots of sparkle.

When do you take the tree down? Some time right after new year’s.

When do you start gift shopping? Usually in September or October.

When wrapping gifts do you prefer paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper/boxes, but some things work better in a gift bag.

Who is the hardest person to buy for? My parents.

Who is the easiest person to buy for? My hubby.

What is your favorite holiday gift ever received thus far? A gift certificate to learn to ride motorcycles.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can’t really think of anything bad I’ve ever received.

Have you ever recycled/re-gifted a present? I’m sure I have, but I can’t think of anything specific.

Do you send out Holiday cards; if so when? I usually do, but not this year. I send them as soon as I can get them all done!

Favorite Holiday Movie? White Christmas, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually (not really a Christmas movie, but it’s set at Christmas).

Favorite thing to eat at the holidays? Everything

Do you like eggnog? YES!

Favorite Holiday songs? Anything by Josh Groban or Nat King Cole.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? Usually stay home, but we visit family nearby, and then celebrate with friends, too.

How do celebrate with your family? With his family we always do dinner on Christmas eve. Then we have brunch and do gift exchanges on Christmas day.

Anything special on your list this year? We’re not “doing” gifts this year.

What do you enjoy most about the holidays? I love it all; I love the decorations, the lights, the music. ALL of it. It’s just a warm and wonderful time of year.