I love reading about different individual’s holiday traditions, so I thought I would share this survey that has been floating around!
1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. I don’t like egg nog at all, but I’m not a big hot chocolate drinker either.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Presents are always wrapped! I take on the role of Santa in my family, so I do most of the gift-wrapping and stocking-filling.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White lights only.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope, never have.
5. When do you hang your decorations up?
We have an extensive assortment of decorations so decorating the house is an ongoing process throughout the month of December. We usually begin putting them up the weekend after Thanksgiving, though.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Our menu for dinner changes every year; while my siblings and I attend Christmas Eve mass with our mom, my dad prepares a meal for us. Last year, he made crabcakes wrapped in tilapia alongside roasted asparagus. I’m allergic to fish, so he made me a separate crabcake—it was delicious!
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
When I think back to my Christmases as a child, three memories stick out in my mind. My four siblings and I would all sleep in the same room on Christmas Eve (we would rotate rooms each year) so that we could go to bed excited and wake up together. When I was old enough and knew that Santa wasn’t real, my older sister and I would tiptoe out of the room once everyone was asleep and help my mom wrap presents late at night. I think this sparked my deft ability of gift wrapping!
However, my favorite memory of all is snooping with Jen in the middle of the night (we only did it once!). We had a live-in nanny and housekeeper at the time, and we had repeatedly tried to guess our presents from them. Jen and I were determined to find out, so we unwrapped our presents then re-wrapped them. We clearly didn’t do a great job—our secret was out the next morning!
8. What is on your Christmas wish list?
I’m in the process of building a walk-in closet and remodeling my bedroom, so I kept my list short since a lot of those expenses are part of my Christmas gifts. I am the absolute worst person to shop for because I am very specific and never have much of a Christmas list. I also always accidentally buy myself the things on my list.
9. Do you open a gifts on Christmas Eve?
No, my family and I only open our gifts on Christmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We wrap a gold ribbon around the tree and adorn it with white lights and elegant ornaments. “Silly” ornaments usually go on a smaller tree that we put in another room in our house.
11. Snow? Love it or dread it?
I love the way that snow looks when it first falls, but I don’t like the aftermath of it. My house sits on top of a huge hill with an extremely long driveway, so it can be a nightmare when it snows. When there is an exorbitant amount of snow, we have to park our cars at the bottom of our hill and trek back and forth. It’s not so fun then!
12. Real tree or fake tree?
Growing up, we always bought a real tree, but we have had a fake tree for the past few years. After having the tree topple over on numerous occasions and breaking dozens of ornaments, we bought a 12-foot artificial tree that sits in our foyer.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I absolutely loved my Furby that I had picked out at FAO Schwarz with my aunt, but I was beyond happy when I got a guinea pig. Technically, I begged my dad to take me to PetSmart the day after Christmas, seeing as I had received an empty cage as a present. My parents thought that an imaginary pet would satisfy me, but I was relentless.
14. What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Appreciating the fact that I have a wonderful family to spend the holiday with each year.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Peppermint bark and Hershey Kiss buttons remind me of the holidays, though I like anything sweet!
16. What is your favorite tradition?
Our traditions have evolved over the years—in fact, my favorite “tradition” is celebrating the holiday a different way each year.
17. What tops your tree?
A beautiful ceramic angel that we have had for several years now.
18. Do you prefer giving or receiving?
I definitely prefer to give gifts to others. I tend to go overboard, but shopping for friends and family and finding the perfect gift makes me so happy.
19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
I love the cheesy Christmas songs—especially Crabs for Christmas. I’m a complete Baltimoron.
20. Candy canes, yuck or yum?
I like candy canes, but I like the candy cane Tootsie Pops better!
21. Favorite Christmas movie?
I will watch any and every Christmas movie—I swear I have seen all of the Lifetime and ABC Family holiday movies at least three times each. However, Jack Frost, Jingle All the Way, and I’ll Be Home for Christmas have always been favorites of mine. (Elf is obviously also included, but that has been said far too many times!)
22. What do you leave for Santa?
We don’t set out anything anymore, but we always left out Oreos and milk. I used to be the one to eat the Oreos and drink the milk after wrapping presents!
23. Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?
My entire family wakes up around the same time on Christmas morning (about 8am) and we all head downstairs together—no one is allowed to peek! We play Christmas music while my dad videotapes everyone opening their gifts. After the presents are opened, we make a big breakfast and watch a movie.
24. Do you prefer to shop online or at the mall?
I usually know exactly what I want to buy, so it’s generally easier to shop for items online since I don’t need to browse.
25. Christmas letter or Christmas card?
Christmas cards! I’ve always found the “brag letters” to be a bit tacky and narcissistic, though they are fun to read. I prefer pictures to see how friends and family have matured over the years!
Do we have anything in common?
What holiday traditions does your family have?
What was your favorite gift as a child? Did you ever own a Furby?
Jimmy Choos on the Treadmill 
Awww your christmas card is so cute! I like white lights too, and although I’ve never hung up mistletoe, I WANT to! haha My favorite holiday dessert is pretzels with a melted hersheys hug on top, flattened with an m&m! 🙂
Thanks! Best dessert ever!! Love the sweet and salty combination!
Here’s the low-down!!!
1.) I love both in soy versions. I was known as the cocoa queen when I was very little (I would keep my mouth glued to the cup, and not breathe through my mouth because if I did, I would have to stop drinking, so I breathed through my nose).
2.) Ah, St. Nicholas does not wrap presents. My parents do that. St. Nocholas BAGS his gifts and wraps in TISSUE PAPER…. but on St. Nicholas’ feast day (the 6th. of this month) he leaves us tiny trinkets, candies, and coins in our shoes (Catholic tradition).
3.) Colored lights!!! I like the old-fashioned colored lights, with the occasional new lights (I consider the “new” ones “new” because recently a purple-bluey light bulb has been added to light strings… kinda pretty on certain houses, but a little dark at the same time). I like white on certain houses and trees, but colored lights leave a sense of warmth and a ginger-bread house feel.
4.) Nope. No mistletoe.
5.) We decorate anytime the mood strikes after Thanksgiving.
6.) Haha, the yams I always rave about are the fave dish!
7.) Just one??? Probably my first Christmas here in our recent house (I was seven), and then the Christmas of 2005 when I scored with all three Lord of the Rings C.Ds!
8.) My Christmas wish list has a Target Gift card on the top! (I can get whatever I want there!)
9.) We open gifts on Christmas Day.
10.) We decorate our tree with all of our home made ornaments, traditional memory-stricken ornaments, and regular ornaments, and with colored lights and an angel topper.
11.) I used to love snow. I have a love-hate relationship now, thanks to my past ED (er, power outtage part, my ED and the snow? Not happy memories). I do like to play in it, though…. I get bummed that I can’t bike or run, though.
12.) Real tree! Love the smell!
13.) Too many gifts to call a favorite!
14.) I love to celibrate with my family.
15.) Christmas cookies!!! (and Christmaasstollen, soy ice cream, and soy cocoa, and soy nog!)
16.) Er, Too many traditions to list…. but one is driving around neighborhoods and judging how houses decorated with Christmas lights while listening to Christmas music in our big green van. So fun!
17.) An angel tops our tree.
18.) I love to give gifts, but getting gifts are great!
19.) Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is my fave! But I love all traditional Christmas music, being the sentimental music writer/composer/player/phsycic I am.
20.) YUM YUM oh YUM YUM YUM!!!! Bob’s is the best (both the old fashioned sticks and the hard traditional cane shaped ones! Check ‘em out online)
21.) Prep & Landing (all three of them!), Rudolph, Arthur’s Perfect Christmas, It’s Christmas Again Charlie Brown!, Pacific Northwest Ballete’s Nutcracker (my mom worked with the ballerinas), the Grinch original animated film, and Garfield’s Christmas. Oh, and A Year Without a Santa Clause!
22.) We leave St. Nicholas some homemade cookies, a bit of dark chocolate to keep him awake, a small cup of soymilk or nog, and a couple of carrots (for his horse in good weather, or reindeer in bad weather)
23.) Wake up early, open our stockings first, and then We go to morning mass, come home, get back in our PJ’s after taking pictures, eat some Christmaasstollen and soy nog or soy cocoa with cutie oranges, and open our presents!!!
24.) We send Cards with pictures of us children, but I like getting letters from other people more than cards, because we know lots of people from our old neighborhood/past who only keep in touch with us once a year through Christmas pictures
I loved reading all of your answers! A Target gift card sounds like the perfect present–so many good things to buy from there! I love that you leave dark chocolate out!
You sound exactly like me when it comes to gifts- I like to pick out my own, and the days I get off of school (before christmas), I usually go shopping. It drives my mom crazy when I try to buy things that she already bought for me haha!
I always feel bad asking for certain things, so I have the mentality that I should just buy it myself so that I can cross it off my Christmas list!
It is so neat how families do Christmas their own way— I love the snow too but the aftermath can be tricky, your driveway sounds tough! YIKES!
Again with those peppermint tootsie pops! Ahhhh, I think I should go grab one from the cabinet NOW!
I know, it’s so interesting to me! My bags of Tootsie pops are still sealed, but not for long!!
Love this list! And your Christmas card is awesome! I love reading about other people’s traditions. Our Christmas morning tradition is very similar to yours: present, big breakfast and movies for the rest of the day. Holiday bliss! 🙂
Thank you! Sounds like a nice routine on Christmas day!
Cute card! I wish I could do all my shopping online—I really tried this year, but there’s something about beng able to browse and pick things up!
Thanks! I’m not much of a “browser,” but I love shopping in stores that don’t have all of their inventory online.
I love seeing this survey around too! I need to do it! I have the same problem with being so specific about what I would want on my Christmas list. I’m too picky. But I love to find the perfect gift for others – so hopefully that balances out my fault!! 🙂
My thoughts exactly! I just love buying the perfect present–especially when it is unexpected by the receiver!
I am glad you did this lady! I left out Oreos and Milk for Santa too… just the perfect combo if you ask me 🙂
Oreos and milk can’t be beat. What happened to those commercials??
Love this survey; so fun! I’m with you on the “brag” letters. I’d never do one, but I love reading them for some reason!
I actually don’t think my family has received a single one this year!
I like this survey too. I am also a white lights and hot cocoa girl. 🙂
I like your style! 🙂
Which blizzard was that picture from??
Last year I believe!
Not only do I love this, I love that Christmas Card! (And I have Chanel Chance and it’s beautiful!)
Thanks!! My bottle of Chanel Chance is running low, so I need another! It is my favorite!
Hahahahaha I love the attempt at an “imaginary pet”.
Yeah, didn’t work out so well!
lululemon pants seems like a fun gift to get 🙂
I need another pair because mine are always in the wash!
I love Chanel Chance. I can’t imagine having to trek up and down a giant driveway in the snow. I live in CO, and that just sounds plain awful.
Isn’t it the best? The scent isn’t overpowering, which I love! Ugh, the trek is awful!
I like the Christmas pictures card..it’s fun to see how people grow and mature!
Agreed! We receive them from people that we haven’t seen in years and it’s crazy how much they have grown up!