Christmas tag...

I am grateful to Anju for tagging me for two reasons. One - it has forced me to write SOMETHING on this otherwise dead blog of mine. Two - I haven't been feeling very Christmasey this year. I tried my best to feel all the right feelings but it just didn't work! It just felt like more work in the midst of all the chaos. So this blog is my final effort to capture the evasive Christmas spirit.

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
I am not a big Egg Nog fan simply because I dislike milk. So I will have to go with Hot Chocolate. Rich and chocolatey (so I can't taste the milk) with mini-marshmallows on top! Yummy!

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
If he doesn't wrap your gifts, fire him! I like mine shiny, wrapped and with tons of curly ribbons and bows.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
White - always! IMHO, colored lights look a little tacky - festive, yes... but lacking style and elegance.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Thankfully that is not a tradition in our country. Can you imagine all the creeps in our country running loose under the mistletoe??! ARRGGGH!

5. When do you put your decorations up?
This year I put the decorations up around the 10th of December. I squeezed out every ounce of energy on the one free evening I had that week and decorated the whole house myself in an attempt to surprise my husband. I am glad he appreciated it - but after all that hard work, I didn't feel very festive. Last year I didn't decorate at all. No time. In retrospect, I think I felt better last year even without the decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
As children, we would have a special family breakfast thing. Nothing fancy but it was tradition. We had eggs, toast, baked beans, sausages, ham, bacon & orange juice. I looked forward to it every year! We haven't been able to have Christmas breakfast together as a family since I got married. But when I have children of my own, I hope to bring back the tradition. Speaking of food, one of my favorite things about Christmas is the wonderful aromas. Baking cookies, rum soaked fruit, cinnamon, nutmeg.... mmmmmm.... :)

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child.
I don't have any specific memory to speak of. Christmas eve was the best time ever for me. I used to go to bed at 7 because I knew that the sooner I fell asleep, the sooner Christmas morning would come. Actually, now that I think about it, there is one memory that is pretty funny! My parents usually woke up really early on Christmas morning and put the gifts under the tree and in the stockings for us. One Christmas, they overslept. You can imagine my face and my brother's face as we discovered that Santa had forgotten us that year! My parents were very apologetic and made up some story about Santa. I don't remember what the story was but I think that was the year I sorta started having my suspicions about the fat, jolly man.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I guess I grew out of it. I don't remember any specific moment. But see question 7.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas eve?
No. The thrill of waiting for Christmas morning was too fun. I didn't get any gifts to open this year (how tragic is that?)! I got some cash. Oh well! :-)

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
I am quite proud of our tree. 8 feet tall with real pine cones. Very pretty. The last five years, I have been very strict about red and gold decoration only. This is the last year for that. I decided that we will have a five-year plan for decorating the house. The next five years will see a different theme. I am looking forward to the change!

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
I have never seen snow. But considering the die-hard romantic that I am, I probably won't complain about the cold as long as I have a Christmas-card perfect White Christmas.

12. Can you ice skate?
All things considered - probably not! I have never tried it though.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I guess I have had a few good gifts. I remember this life-sized stuffed dog I got one year. It was my parent's way of getting me to shut up about getting a dog I guess. I like the bag my husband got me a couple of years ago. The funniest gift-related story ever was the year that our chief minister (MGR) died on Christmas eve morning. My parents (as usual) had kept all their shopping for the last day. Unfortunately for them, all the shops shut down because of his death and they had two very greedy children and no gifts! Oh the horror! So they rummaged through the cupboards and drawers and came up with some stocking stuffers and gifts. I got a bar of chocolate, a few erasers and pencils, a fancy bar of soap and a very sad looking candle. My brother got the same things but he got a toy-boat shaped candle. At least his candle looked like something interesting! We grumbled and groaned through the day. When the shops re-opened the next day, they took us out and bought us some real gifts! :)

14. What is the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being in church and remembering what Christmas really means - something I never had as a child. Also - family, christmas music and good food!

15. What is your favorite Holiday dessert?
I like home-made pumpkin pie, sugar cookies and rose cookies (which I have not had for a few Christmases). I am not a big fruitcake fan but I make some every year for family and friends.

16. What is your favorite Holiday tradition?
My favorites would have to be waking up to Christmas music (which has not happened in a few years!), reading Little Women and eating roast chicken (does food count?).

17. What tops your tree?
This year, I could not find the star that goes on the top of the tree :( . So we got a new star. Back in my parent's place, we have a pretty glass angel. I hope to steal it some day. :)

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Both I guess. But I am glad that I give more than I receive. And I usually put a lot of effort into the gifts I give. I enjoy giving people things.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
I like most of the traditional Christmas Carols. I guess if I had to pick one, it would have to be 'O come, O come Emmanuel' because it speaks of the hope that Christ has brought to our lives.

20. Candy canes: Yuck or Yum?
Yumm..... especially if they are cinnamon flavored! :)

21. What do you want for Christmas?
I really wish I could get a new laptop (coz mine is broken) :-)

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas Party?
Not really. Went for a Christmas barbeque party this year and a pizza party at a friend's.

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs?
I dress up for church. Go directly to the family lunch thing. Once we get back to our place, I get into my PJs and settle down in front of the TV for some quality Christmas programming.

24. Do you own a Santa hat?
No. I don't like any of the sad looking ones we get here. The next time I go abroad, I intend to get myself a nice healthy looking Santa hat.

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with?
We spend the morning with friends and my husband's family at church over Christmas breakfast (Idlis and Chicken curry - another Christmas tradition). Lunch with my parents, brother and grandmother. We used to do dinner with friends but we don't do that anymore. These days we just spend the evening at home.

Because this post brought life back into my blog, I tag another dying blog - Amanda. And I tag Gitu who is blogging again! Yay!

Merry Christmas all!