Some Holiday Fun

Hello all,

Aria here. Taking a break from the insanity of prepping for Christmas eve and Christmas day.

My thumb is screaming for mercy from all the crocheting projects I've completed in the last 2 months and I'm covered in glitter from wrapping presents. Let's see, I've spent about 6 ish hours today and about 2-3 hours yesterday wrapping gifts. Thankfully, I love to wrap gifts. I love making them look pretty and I love the look on the receiver's face when they unwrap it and see the mysteries within.

While I was wrapping, I recalled the fun of taking holiday questionaire. Sooo.... I have located one and decided to nab it and fill it out. You know. For the fun of it, your enjoyment, and my possible humiliation. Only time will tell.

Here we go!

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate?

Both! I love them both. Just not at the same time... of course. There is this one hot chocolate from Williams Sonoma that is seriously amazing. It is a sea-salt caramel hot chocolate. *Drools.* Check it out for yourself.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

Santa's elves make the toys and wrap the gifts. What did you learn in school? :P

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

I prefer colored, but white is pretty too. I can just sit and stare at a decorated Christmas tree for hours.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Not usually. I there there was maybe one or two years that we hung some up, but it is not a requirement.

5. When do you hang your decorations up?

The first week following Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?

Ham is the first thing that comes to mind that is not a dessert.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?

I lived with my aunt, uncle, and cousins for several years of my childhood. On Christmas eve almost every year, my uncle used to grab bells, climb up on the roof, and walk around shaking the bells. My cousin and I always thought that it was Santa. We thought we would be in big trouble because we weren't asleep yet. So we would "shush" each other and try to fall asleep as quickly as possible. Of course... you know how well that worked out.

8. What is on your Christmas wish list?

Several very personal things that I would rather not share. The things I can share include:

- Seeing all of my family

- Everyone liking what I created for them

- Safe travels for everyone out and about

- A bigger makeup box. Mine is literally overflowing

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve?

We used to never open gifts on Christmas Eve. However, now that I am married, we have two gift exchanges. The one on Christmas Eve is with my in-laws and the one on Christmas Day is with my side of the family.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

*Smirks* I was going to give a type of smart ass answer, but I figured.. nah.

Colored lights and ornaments that we have collected over the years together. We usually get one Disney ornament every year. We weren't able to do it this year. But it's okay. We had a lot going on.

11. Snow? Love it or dread it?

Snow? What is snow? I live in Southern California! We rarely even get rain in this area!

One question.. Okay another question since I asked what the white fluffy stuff is. Do I have to drive in it? If I do, then I'm noping out of there before the snow comes. If I can go out and enjoy playing in it then come in to drink hot chocolate and relax, I absolutely love it. It's so beautiful.

12. Real tree or fake tree?

Real! I love the smell of a real tree. We got a nice full one this year. It's so pretty.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

Mmm... no. I'm very sorry to say that I don't.

14. What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?

Celebrating the birth of Jesus and enjoying family and friends. Remembering that even if things are hard, things could be a lot harder and I am very blessed.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?

My aunt's sugar cookies. She doesn't make them anymore. She used to make them every year and the last several years she has been too busy.

16. What is your favorite tradition?

Picking out our new ornament to celebrate another year together. Also, I love driving around town with my husband and looking at the pretty Christmas lights. Something we also didn't get to do this year.

17. What tops your tree?

We have a pretty star on top with two doves just below it. Picture below.

18. Do you prefer giving or receiving?

Giving. I always spend too much on my family. This year it was more about creating something for each of them. I am sooooo excited to see their faces when they opened the item I made specially for them.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?

Name one? I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the heavens!

I love the Amy Grant songs especially Emanuel and Breath of Heaven, You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch, Faliz Navidad, Last Christmas, Little Drummer Boy, Angels We Have Heard on High, pretty much anything played by Trans Siberian Orchestra or Lindsay Stirling, and the list could seriously go on and on and on.

I also love the silly ones too! Songs such as the 12 Pains of Christmas, I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, Redneck 12 Days of Christmas and Wreck the Malls.

20. Candy canes, yuck or yum?

Eh. I have to be in the mood for them.

21. Favorite Christmas movie?

Once again... you are asking the impossible. I love so many of them! All of the classics (Frosty the Snow Man and Santa Clause is Coming to Town), Prancer, Night Before Christmas, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Santa Clause, Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and Polar Express.. to name just a handful. There are so many more that I love.

22. What do you leave for Santa?

We leave milk and cookies.

23. Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?

Grabbing coffee and sitting around the tree with my family and unwrapping gifts. It's a very simple and intimate morning that we share.

24. Do you prefer to shop on-line or at the mall?

In the mall... 2 months early :P I seriously start my Christmas shopping in September or October.

25. Christmas letter or Christmas card?

Christmas cards. My place of employment has a day where everyone exchanges Christmas cards and Secret Santa gifts for those who participate in the Secret Santa drawing. This year was so much fun. We did a potluck, Secret Santa, 1/2 of the lights were dimmed so we could enjoy the gentle glow of the Christmas lights strung up around the room, several people had Christmas music playing at their desks, some karaoke occurred, and they closed the building 3 hours early.

So it looks like that was all of the questions. I hope you enjoyed reading my responses. Thankfully, there wasn't anything embarrassing, If you have any other questions to add to this questionnaire that you would like me to answer, feel free to contact me.

One of my New Years Resolutions is to update my blog more often in addition to getting "From the Black" published and *crosses fingers* possibly have the sequel published. I know that's a stretch though.

Wishing you all a very happy and safe Christmas.

Yours,

Aria

#Christmas #qustionnaire #AboutMe