Christmas Meme

I was tagged in a blog from a friend and fellow blogger to answer the questions on the Christmas Meme. I normally get a few of these each year in my email (and have this year too), and always intend to fill them out, but put it off long enough and then never end up doing it. They're fun, so I'll post mine here too :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly red and silver wrapping paper (all the same, changed yearly) which matches our tree decor - although I do use bags for grab-bag gifts or irregularly shaped things sometimes.
2. Real tree or artificial? Fake for sure. I love the smell of real ones, but I can get that in a candle, and then I don't have to deal with dead needles, bugs/mice (potentially), the tree holder leaking, getting rid of the tree at the end, etc.
3. When do you put up your tree? Since we do fake trees, anytime AFTER Thanksgiving - even the next day would be ok with me. But this year we've been slow, so maybe tonight.
4. When do you take the tree down? Um, any time after Christmas is fine - although hopefully by New Year.
5. Do you like eggnog? Yeah, although not as much as Narasimha does. I won't buy it for him until after Thanksgiving though. I also like to use it as coffee creamer, or sometimes I put it in French toast mix instead of milk.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? One that sticks out is my microscope set that I got in like 5th grade - I was a science dork.
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? Yes - and that is one "Christmas" decoration that I have considered leaving out all year around, although I would move it to a more central location in December.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Definitely my dad, although the older my little brother gets, the harder I am finding it is to buy for him too.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Narasimha - he likes everything!
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The ones I probably hated receiving the most, not that they were necessarily bad, were clothes as a kid - never seems like very much fun (some kids probably like it - I was a tomboy).
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Snail mail, although if my list keeps getting longer and the price of stamps keeps going up, I might reconsider (though I don't think I'd ever change my practice).
12. Favorite Christmas movie? There are a few cute ones, but I don't know that I have a favorite. Narasimha and I started a tradition of getting a new Christmas movie each year to watch on Christmas Eve after we get done with everything else.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? In a perfect world, I would be done, or at least know what I'm getting everyone, by Thanksgiving. I don't like to put that off, because I do not like shopping with an agenda. This year, I am still far from finished.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so.
15. Favorite things to eat at Christmas? Anything with salt (not much of a sweet-tooth).
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear on the fancy one, colored on the fun one. Right now we only have a fancy one, but someday we'll have both.
17. Favorite Christmas song? I like almost all Christmas music - except some of the secular music, or nice Christ-centered songs redone "trash-ily" by secular artists. I am also not a big fan of taking something very traditional and really changing the melody. But back to the question - I really really love "O Holy Night" ever since I started really listening to Christmas music, and in the last few years I like "O Come Emmanuel" a lot too.
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? The last few years we have done our Christmas on Christmas Eve at home, Christmas day with my family at their house, and then my grandparents' on separate weekends sometime around Christmas. This schedule working on any given year in the future will be contingent upon N's call schedule.
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes, but only if I sing "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" in my head.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? For each other - Christmas Eve. With my family - Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The secular-ization - taking "Christ" out of "CHRIST-mas." Also, the strong focus on gift buying and how material we as a society make the celebration of Jesus' birth.
23. What is the "corniest" family tradition you do, or miss doing? I can't really think of anything "corny" - my dad is always a goof when we're opening presents - does that count?
24. Ugliest Christmas Decoration ever invented? Anything over-done. Actually, the thing I hate the most is those huge bubble things people put in their yards, with the lights and fake blowing snow and stuff - I think those are really tacky.
25. Which looks the best, theme trees or homey trees? There's a time and place for both, although my definition of "theme" would be any certain color-combo.
26. What does Christmas mean to you? Jesus willingly coming here - we are celebrating our God in the flesh. Without His coming, we wouldn't be able to celebrate Easter, or go be with Him in heaven when our time here is done. What a special and amazing thing - if I sit and think about Jesus here, walking on our earth, and everything that means, and all the prophecy fulfilled, it's almost more than I can wrap my head around.