1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper…more hassle than the gift bags, but so much more fun to open Christmas morning.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Real – the colors are so much brighter and I LOVE the smell that fills the home.
3. When do you put up your Christmas Tree? As a kid, we would beg my mom to put them up the day after Thanksgiving….that was the rule, wait until after T-Day. Although I still love to decorate the tree, I don’t have the same sense of urgency – we put it up when we put it up…we don’t even have ours yet this year.
4. When do you take the tree down? When I am tired of vacuuming up the needles.
5. Do you like eggnog? Not the store-bought kind, but I love my mom’s eggnog; really, it’s more like sweet, frothy milk than eggnog, but it’s fabulous none the less.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I don’t know if I appreciated it so much as a child, but every year I received an orange in the bottom of my stocking…fresh picked from our tree outside. What I wouldn’t give for one of those oranges this year.
7. Hardest person to buy for? Doug – he doesn’t give me a whole lot of ideas to go from
8. Easiest person to buy for? The girls – so far, they seem happy to get whatever they’re given, so I’m not worried too much about disappointing them.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yup – we have a few that were given to us as wedding presents…that’s what happens when you get married a week after Christmas.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? My intention is always to get them sent out in the mail, but it doesn’t always turn out as planned….sorry folks.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can’t recall any.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The old animated ones – Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman…you know which ones I’m talking about, right? Doug’s favorite is the Christmas Story. The girls would vote for anything starring Mickey Mouse.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? This year I started on the dreaded Black Friday….total chaos, but lots of fun.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t believe so, but it is possible.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Thing…as in singular? Come on…you all know me better than that when it comes to food. Let’s see….freshly baked orange rolls w/icing or homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, hot cocoa with marshmallows, candy canes, all the munching food (seven-layer dip, veggie platter, celery sticks w/cheese spread), those white mints w/the red and green waxy centers from Brach’s, Toblerone, honey glazed ham w/cheesy potatoes or turkey w/mashed potatoes, homemade rolls that melt in your mouth, dutch apple pie, spiced apple cider or some of my mom’s friendship tea, gingerbread cookies….I could go on and on.
16. Lights on the tree? Yes...Definitely
17. Favorite Christmas song? The music is one of the best things about Christmas…I love pretty much all of it, but my favorite CD’s are from Mannheim Steamroller, Carpenter’s Christmas, and Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Some of my favorite jingles are Joy to the World, O Holy Night, Hallelujah Choir, and Angels We Have Heard on High
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph.
19. How do you countdown the days until Christmas? Doug's mom always buys the grandkids chocolate advent calendars...Doug and Roo eat up most of the chocolate before the month is halfway over. I got a few cute ideas for handmade advent calendars, but those will have to wait for next year I suppose.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Always had an angel on the tree as a kid; I bought a star after we got married but it broke a few years ago and we haven’t bought a new one…maybe I’ll take care of that this year.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? We carry on the Hoopes Family tradition of opening Christmas jammies on the 24th, then everything else on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? How greedy and inpatient people get. Just try to remember the reason for the season, folks…and simply enjoy it!!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? An eclectic mix of everything…red, green, silver, teal, brown, homemade, hand-me-downs, store bought…it all works.
24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? See reply to question#15
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? For the girls to be potty trained…which would take a Christmas miracle!!
26. Christmas or X-mas? Christmas
27. Have you ever been smooched under the mistletoe? Nope, can't say that I have
28. Icicles or ribbon on the tree? Ribbon, garland, candy canes, and ornaments - anything but the stringy icicles...they are way too messy
29. Favorite holiday memories/traditions? Going to see the Sapphire Lights in Alta Loma, visiting nursing homes and singing Christmas carols when I was a kid, singing in the Upland 3rd Ward Choir Christmas program, playing Mary in the ward Christmas pageant, watching the Upland Christmas parade as a kid, Christmas lights at the Temple, annual Ward ice skating party (complete with donuts and hot cocoa out in the parking lot), sneaking out to peek in our stockings then having to wait for hours until we could wake our parents up and open presents.
30. Real or Fake snow? Real...although I'm not a fan of living in the snow, there is just something magical about it during the holidays. Wish we had some here in AZ.
As usual, I'm not going to officially tag anyone, but if you have the time and the desire, feel free to post this on your blog with your responses!!
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