Christmas Par-tay!

Hi, friends!

Y'all, the first blogger I EVER followed ever is having a super cute Christmas party and I'm super excited to join up.
                             

Hot chocolate or egg nog?
I'm with Michelle on this one--definitely hot chocolate!  I especially love to make it with milk, and put marshmallows and whipped cream on top.  LOTS of whipped cream!  Yummm! (And if we're being totally honest, sometimes I tip a little Bailey's into the hot chocolate.  Double yum!)

Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
I have to be totally honest with y'all here--I actually had NO idea that sometimes Santa didn't wrap presents until THIS YEAR when people were talking about it in their blogs.  Santa always wrapped our presents growing up, and we always wrap our presents now.  Although, to be fair, the only kids I'm giving presents to are nieces and nephews so that's not necessarily a "Santa" present.  

Colored lights or white?
Honestly, I have really mixed feels about this one.  Growing up, we always had colored lights, and my dad always scoffed at white lights.  When I first graduated from college, my roomie and I always decorated with white lights (much to my dad's dismay).  Now, the hubs and I decorate with colored lights at home, and I take the clear lights to school with me.

When do you decorate?
Growing up, we always decorated early mid-December...probably about 2 weeks before Christmas, and would leave our tree up until New Years.  Now that I live out of town and travel home for the holidays, the hubs and I always get our tree the day after Thanksgiving and decorate it right away so that it's worthwhile, since we have to undecorate before we head home.

Real or fake tree?
REAL.  100% real, baby!  When we were kids, we used to go out to a Christmas tree farm and it was a day long production.  We went with several family friends and would spend a few hours looking for our tree, chopping it down, and tying it to the car.  We would pay touch football, and then head back home and stop at my grandma's house for chili on the way home.  Growing up there was only one year that we didn't cut down our own tree:  it was the year I had chicken pox.  Now, the hubs and I buy a tree from a local gardening store, but if we had a more appropriate vehicle for tree chopping I would totally head to West VA or Maryland to chop a tree every year.  It makes the house...well, apartment, really...smell so delicious!  =)

What tops your tree?
Honestly, nothing this year.  :(  We don't have a tree topper, yet.

Favorite Christmas memories or traditions?
When I was young, my dad used to take me to see The Nutcracker every year.  We used to do a lot of holiday things as a family; I mean, we still do.  But hands down that was always my favorite.  I loved being able to dress up and go out just me and my dad to see the ballet.  Two years ago, when we were engaged, the hubs took me to see The Nutcracker at Christmastime.  *Swoon* That is a man after my heart.

Do you remember your favorite gift as a child?
I really don't.  I remember when I got a fishing pole and taking it outside right that night in the freezing cold to practice casting, but I wouldn't necessarily name that as my favorite childhood gift.

Do you prefer giving or receiving?
I love the hunt of the perfect Christmas gift for everyone on the list, and I love wrapping it up for them, and then seeing how excited (hopefully!) they are when they get it, and I like to RACK.

What's your favorite Christmas song?
This is a tricky one for me; there really are so many Christmas songs that I just love, love, love!  Which is why I also love to listen to Christmas music from Thanksgiving until a day or 2 after Christmas.  I think if I had to pick it would be a dead heat between God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen and O Come, O Come Emmanuel.  But I also really love What Child is This?  And O, Holy Night.  Ugh.  See the problem here?!

Candy canes--yuck or yum?
Big time YUM-O!  However, I'm a candy cane traditionalist and I only like the peppermint ones.

Favorite Christmas movie?
I think a Charlie Brown Christmas.  Although more recently, I do love both Elf and Love Actually.  And in the interest I've never seen all of It's a Wonderful Life.

Do you shop online or at stores?
I used to exclusively shop in stores for Christmas gifts.  (See previously mentioned thrill of the hunt.)  However, now that I live in DC and there's not really an actual mall in the District I do much more shopping online.  It does make my life so much easier.

Photo cards, letter, or store bought cards?
I generally send a combination of store bought cards with a personal note on the inside.  Personally, I feel like photo cards aren't acceptable until you have children.

Thanks for sticking with me for so long!  You can party down, too by clicking here.
xo