Christmas Meme...

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? ~hands down...HOT CHOCOLATE!

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

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? ~white on my tree, none on my house, but will have some next year

4. Do you hang mistletoe? ~no, it's a poisonous fungus that grows on trees....I get enough kisses without it.

5. When do you put your decorations up? ~The Saturday after Thanksgiving and we always watch White Christmas!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? ~All the starchy, gooey, cheesy casseroles...yum!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: ~I can remember actually putting out cookies for Santa and when they were gone the next morning I REALLY thought he had eaten them. I just remember always being so excited waiting for Christmas morning to open the presents. At my church I remember every year at Christmas we would have some kind of musical and afterwards the older men of the church would pass out these little clear baggies with an apple, an orange and a snack size Three Musketeers candy bar. It was tied with one of the little wire and paper twisty-ties that was red and white striped. Simple, but I always loved those.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? ~Around 2nd grade. I don't remember "how", but just that I started putting 2 and 2 together.

9. Do you open gifts on Christmas Eve? ~Usually, only because that is how my husband grew up and it has worked out that way. I am fine with it now, but it was an adjustment. This year, though, we are opening on Christmas morning. With a four year old it just seems more fun and exciting that way.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?~White lights, red, gold and clear ornaments with several meaningful ornaments that we have collected over the past 14 years. There are some plaid bows all over it as well, with a rusty-like star on top. I like mixing the look of the shiny with the old rusty barn look. Now we are being able to add things that are made by or represent PandaGirl. This year we are even putting one on for PandaBabyGirl.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? ~Living in our part of Texas we don't really get much snow. On the possible two days in a season that snow flurries fall it is really fun and exciting, but I would not want to live in it for several months! YUCK! I very much enjoy going skiing and visiting snow, but not to live in it.

12. Can you ice skate? ~The last time I tried I was a Senior in High School. That was several years ago and too many pounds on the body to even try now.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? ~As a child I remember one year that my mom got me this little Hershey's chocolate purse with lots of flavored lip balms that for some reason really stuck with me. I loved that silly thing. I also adored the big Barbie bust/head thing that you could really brush her hair and put make-up on her. As an adult it would have to be all the jewelry that PandaPop has bought me. I love it all! The BEST one though, has to be the month before we went to get PandaGirl in China he bought me a gold panda coin FROM China and had it put in an awesome bezel and made into a ring for me. I was able to wear it when we got her and I wear it everyday. Love it!

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? ~I really am very aware of how John 1:14 is a reality for us. "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father full of grace and truth." That is the heart of our home. We love all the Christmas festivities and decorations and exictement, but we are teaching PandaGirl that all that stuff doesn't matter one bit without understanding that the entire reason we celebrate Christmas is for Jesus' birth who came to us as our Savior. All the other stuff is just fun.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? ~my mother-in-law's chocolate crinkle cookies. She only makes them at Christmas and I can eat them straight out of the freezer or by the plateful!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? ~PandaPop and PandaGirl and I started our very own tradition last year. We make our own Chinese stir-fry meal with rice, veggies, chicken and egg rolls. We set the table with our Chinese placemats and dishes, eat with chopsticks and drink out of goblets (PG has her very own glass goblet!) and then we top it off with good ol' homemade banana pudding! We are soooo looking forward to continuing our newly made tradition this year!

17. What tops your tree? ~A 10-12 inch rustic Star

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? ~Both! I love doing things for other people. I have so much fun shopping and putting together goody baskets for others, but come on, who doesn't like a little something with their OWN name written on the little tag?!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Toooooooo many to name, but I have to say that "Mary Did You Know" sung by Michael English and "One Small Child" sung by Davied Meece have to be my top favs. I LOVE hearing PandaGirl sing "The First Noel" since Noel is her middle name and she also loves singing "Away in a Manger". So precious.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?? ~Yum, but only once. I'm not really into peppermint.

Cut and paste and fill this out, too! It's fun!