A Christmas Meme

 
Okay, so it's after Christmas, but this is a Christmas blog so I can get away with that, right?  Susan, over at By Grace, featured this Christmas meme, written by Barbara   at  Stray Thoughts.  I thought it sounded like fun but had no time to do it then, so saved it for later.  If anyone is still interested, here are my answers!

What is your favorite Christmas song?  My favorite Christmas hymn is probably O Holy Night; I also enjoy Who Is He in Yonder Stall? , There's a Song in the Air! and many more.  For secular songs, I love White Christmas (the Bing Crosby version) and, for no particular reason, Christmas in Dixie.

Favorite Christmas special/movie? Would you believe my hubby and I just saw It's a Wonderful Life for the first time last Christmas?  I've seen a few others, but guess that would be my favorite.


What kind of special goodies do you make in December? I bake lots of different kinds of cookies; Christmas cut-out cookies;  Whipped Shortbread Cookies;  Chocolate Spritz; and many more Fun and Festive Cookies .

For candy, some of our favorites are Four-Chip Fudge;   Heavenly Delight;  Peanut Butter Balls;  Chocolate Peanut Morsels;  Chocolate-Covered Almond Brittle and many more festive recipes.  Check the label cloud on my Christmas blog for more.

Favorite Christmas beverage?  Eggnog, but I almost never drink it because it's so rich.  At our ladies' Christmas fellowship we always have a punch bowl full of it topped with real whipped cream.  Mr.T. just bought a quart of the Hood Pumpkin Eggnog and it is delicious -- but again, so rich.  Hot cider is always nice.  I also make a mulled cranberry orange drink that we enjoy.

How many Christmas parties do you usually attend?  Usually three -- a ladies' Christmas fellowship, a church gift exchange, and a Christmas party which my hubby's boss gives for those who work for him.

Do you go Christmas caroling? Does anyone come Christmas caroling to your house? Some years our church goes caroling, but we haven't gone for a few years.  This year we had planned to do a little bit of caroling, just to a few houses, but the weather wasn't conducive.  And I don't think anyone has ever come caroling to our house.

What’s on your front door at Christmas?  I have a grapevine wreath on my front door that I change the trims on with the seasons.  Right now it's wrapped with a red ribbon, has some fake mistletoe and holly tucked in and a poofy sheer ribbon bow -- cream colored with gold print.  There's a small chalkboard in the middle that says "Joy to the World."

When do you put the tree up and take it down? We put the tree up pretty early.   In years past it wasn't quite as early since we used a real tree and liked to leave it up for awhile.  Now we put it up early (this year it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving) and take it down mid-January.

Do you decorate with traditional red and green or with other colors? We use a lot of red and green because our kitchen/dining room are decorated with a strawberry theme and those colors go perfectly.  In the living room, where things are a bit more rustic and woodsy, I tend to go with more dark red and forest green, but our tree ornaments are in ALL colors.

How many Christmas trees do you put up (large and small?) Two in the house, usually; a large tree in the living room and a narrower tree in our bedroom.  Some years I put up a mini tree in other areas as well.  We have a small fir tree out by our garage with colored lights on it, too.

Are your Christmas tree decorations themed or hodgepodge? Hodgepodge; everything from vintage ornaments to elegant glass ones to items made by the kids and grandkids.

Ham, turkey, both, or something else for Christmas dinner? It used to always be roast pork, with a turkey breast sometimes as well.  The past couple years I have cooked a ham and I think that's our favorite.

Favorite ham leftovers?  Just sliced, warmed and served with other leftovers.  I will usually make a ham and bean soup with the ham bone.  For turkey leftovers, the same, and a turkey soup from the carcass.  And of course, turkey sandwiches and ham sandwiches are both yummy.

Do you have any Christmas traditions that are unusual, out of the ordinary? Not that I can think of.  When my daughter was younger and still at home (she's married now with 5 kids and lives far away) we always had a separate "birthday tree" for her to put her gifts under -- her birthday is Dec. 27 -- so that made 2 trees in the living room.  She put her own ornaments on her tree.

Do you display Christmas cards in particular way? Some years -- most years, actually -- I tape them up around a doorway between the hall and living room and also on the hallway walls (which are covered in wood shingles, so the tape isn't an issue). 
 
I also display my collection of vintage Christmas cards on a ribbon board in this hallway. 
 
The past couple years I haven't found time to tape up the new cards that come in, so they've just been in a stack on the living room table.

What do you do with the Christmas cards you received after the holidays are over? I keep them in a wooden basket until next Christmas, when they get turned into gift cards or other projects.  This "kissing ball" is one of the projects I've made.  Check the label "paper crafts" for more.

My thought is always that we will pick a card from the basket daily or weekly and pray for the sender.  But we've rarely remembered to do that.  Maybe this year!

Christmas newsletters: Love ‘em or hate ‘em? Both!  There are some that I love reading, but others are, as my mother always termed it, "brag letters".  I wouldn't say I hate such letters, but I don't like them very much.

There you have it!