Christmas Survey

Gigi at Running On Candy shared this fun survey from another blogger. I just copied and pasted it and removed Gigi's answers!

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? I'll drink eggnog, but I prefer a nice rich cup of hot cocoa.

2. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We have multi-colored lights on the tree and white icicle lights hanging in the street-facing windows of the house.

3. Do you hang mistletoe? We used to have some mistletoe, and then it wound up getting all chewed up at the bottom of the box, so I tossed it. I really don't ever want to get caught under it with my b-i-l or something like that!

4. When do you hang your decorations up? We try for the first weekend in December. I'm not one of those people that need the decorations done for when I pull into the driveway Thanksgiving night.

 5. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Hmmm.... it would have to be my dad's Spanish stuffing that was my grandfather's recipe. He was from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the recipe has to be 80 years old, at least. It's not something that most people would find appetizing, (I posted pictures of it last year), and, in fact, my husband refuses to try it, after being in the family for almost 22 years!

6. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Waking up with my sister at 4 am (after my poor parents probably JUST went to sleep) and opening gifts by the snow on the television!

7. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, with my husband's family.
 
8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? We use multi-colored lights and all of the special ornaments we've collected over the years, like the kids' First Christmas ornaments, several Precious Moments ornaments (I used to collect them), and homemade ornaments that I've cross-stitched and the ones the kids have made in school. 

last year's stash

9. Snow? Love it or dread it? When the snowfall occurs on my husband's day off, and it's not more than 3", I LOVE snow. Other than that, Long Island has seen enough of it to last me a  lifetime!

10. Real tree or fake tree? I've NEVER had a real tree! *GASP*

11. What is your favorite holiday dessert? I think you know dessert is a problem for me. I have been making these no-bake peanut butter bars for years, and everyone loves them. We also make great cookies on our family cookie baking day. The BEST ones are made with devil's food cake mix with chocolate chips and M&M's stirred in!

there's the no bake pb bars in front on the white plate

12. What is your favorite tradition? I guess that would be the family cookie baking/decorating extravaganza. Looking forward to this Sunday!

This was 5 years ago! Chelsea was so little!

13. What tops your tree? When we had an Odd Job in our neighborhood, I found a beautiful porcelain angel dressed in white with wispy feather wings.  Before her it was an ugly multi-colored star with gold tinsel on it. Hideous.

14. Do you prefer giving or receiving? I love giving when I know the recipient is going to love what I found. Lately I've been giving photo gifts and they've been a hit. This year Pinterest has helped me go over the top!

15. What is your favorite Christmas song? All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey, maybe?

 16. Candy canes? I'm not into sugary candy, but I'll eat a Hershey chocolate mint one now and then.

17. Favorite Christmas movie? A Christmas Story

18. Do you have a Christmas morning tradition? We open gifts with the kids and I have to make Big Sunday Breakfast, even though it's not always Sunday. Oh, and A Christmas Story is playing in the background.

19. Do you prefer to shop on-line or at the mall? I haven't been to the mall in years. I think the last time was 7 years ago. It's a 40 minute drive to the nearest mall. I did a lot of shopping on-line this year, mainly to earn points on My Points, but also because several of the things my kids wanted could only be found on-line. I still have a lot of shopping to do for other family members and I plan on going to the outlets, which are conveniently located 20 minutes away!

20. What is on your Christmas wish list? The adults in my family pick names, and I asked my niece for either an iPod arm pocket or Joy Mangano's Huggable Hangers that I have seen and coveted on HSN for years. I actually bought them for my mom this year because my parents are supposedly down-sizing to an apartment eventually. 

Answer some of these questions, or link back to your blog, if you already have!