7 Days of Christmas Day 4 – Christmas Tag

• Use one noise to describe how excited you are for Christmas. A very high-pitched squeal with jumping up and down with excitement would describe me I’m sure. I’m a bit of a Christmas junkie.

ME for sure!

• Do you open any presents on Christmas Eve? Growing up as a kid we always did Christmas with my Dad’s parents on Christmas Eve so we always got to open their presents then. Once we stopped doing Christmas with them (they would spent the winter in Arizona) we went to just opening one random gift (usually picked by my mom) to open Christmas Eve. I have kept that tradition going with my kids. I make them up a Christmas Eve box. It usually contains a new pair of Christmas pjs that they wear that night and a small toy.
• What holiday tradition are you looking forward to most this year? I am usually excited for all of them. But this year I have to say making and decorating cut-out Christmas cookies. We didn’t make them last year. So I am excited for them this year. We will be making them on December 21st. The kids will be on their holiday break from school.
• Is your Christmas tree real or fake? Growing up we lived in government housing. They were like townhouse/apartments. So we were not allowed to have real trees. So we always had fake. I still keep up with that tradition. We use a fake tree. I have never had the desire for a real tree. I would rather plant some Christmas trees in my front yard and decorate them outside instead.

My Christmas tree this year. I do have a tree skirt but I have a new 6 month old kitten, Tyrian Lannister, who likes to run and slide on it getting it all twisted around the tree. So I took it off.

• What is your favorite Christmas film? Well I love them all but my absolute favorite, number one, watch it all year-long is……National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I am Clark Griswold.

• Where do you usually spend your holiday? We stay home. currently home is in Tecumseh, Oklahoma. But I am hoping there will only be a few more Christmases here and then its back north where there is actual snow! We usually have our Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve at noon. My mother in law and her husband come over. Then in the evening the kids get in their new Christmas pjs they got that morning and we just snack on leftovers and other Christmas goodies we have and watch some Christmas movies. Then Christmas morning they open presents. My mother in law will come down and have cinnamon rolls with us for breakfast. Then we just relax the rest of the day, watch football and snack on leftovers all day.
• What is your favorite Christmas song? It’s hard to just pick one. I love almost all Christmas songs. I do enjoy Here We Come a Caroling. I have been hooked on Lindsey Stirling, Michael Bublé, and Sia’s Christmas albums this year.
• What is your all time favorite holiday food/sweet treat? I am going to answer both of those. For food I will go with turkey and cranberry sauce. YUM YUM YUM! I will munch on leftover turkey for like a week. For sweet treat I will go with my families chocolate covered peanut butter balls. I was always sneaking those during the holidays.
• Be honest: do you like giving gifts or receiving gifts better? While I do enjoy getting gifts, I do enjoy giving gifts more. To see the look of excitement and happiness on their faces as they unwrap them is the most amazing things ever. Whats even better is giving gifts to the less fortunate. Even the simplest gifts of socks or a coat is like receiving gold to them. Makes my heart so happy.
• What is your favorite thing about Christmas? Everything! The Christmas tree, decorations, lights, food, families coming together, the look on my kids face when they wake up on Christmas morning. It’s all just so magical.
• When do you start getting excited for Christmas? Does the day after Christmas count??? I am always excited about Christmas. But usually around July I am getting the big Christmas itch! I usually watch Christmas movies and have a mini Christmas in July celebration to help me get through until Christmas. I usually start pulling out all my Christmas decor out around Thanksgiving and start decorating.
• What is the best Christmas present you’ve ever received? Man this is a hard one. But the first thing to pop in my head is from Christmas of 2006. I had just moved back to Michigan from Florida with my 3 1/2 month old daughter, Savannah. My mom found the entire set of Friday the 13th movies on DVD and gave them to me for Christmas. It is my favorite horror movie series from the 1980s. I was so excited.
• As a kid, did a sibling ever receive a present that you wished was for you? Gosh I am sure I did. I am sure all siblings experienced this at some point. But I honestly can’t think of any off the top of my head. So it was never anything major or that lasted.
• What would be your dream place to visit for the holiday season? I have a couple of places I would love to visit. My first would Scotland. Oh man I’ve always wanted to be there for Christmas. I would go and never come back. It is my goal to live and die in Scotland. I also will add Montreal (Canada) because that is where my Parabatai lives, Perth (Australia) because that is where my sister from another misses lives. Of course I have to add London (heck just anywhere in the UK I am good with him) and of course New York City! I want to be there for the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center!
• Most memorable holiday moment? I have two for this one. Christmas of 1989. We had opened all our presents and our stockings. My mom made me and my two sisters sit in front of the tree and she handed up each a gift. We opened them at the same time and we each got a Gameboy. The first ever Gameboy to be released by Nintendo. The big boxy grey ones! We were so excited!! For my second one it is kind of sad but a memorable moment for sure. My last Christmas with my dad. My father was diagnosed with a late stage cancer around Thanksgiving of 1995. He died January 11, 1996. So Christmas of 1995 was our last one with him. On Christmas Eve he was released from the hospital after a round of chemo treatments. Despite being sick he still rocked it Christmas morning. He was still his goofy self, playing tricks on us like he always did. Even though it was my last Christmas with him, it was also my favorite Christmas ever.
• Do you make New Year resolutions? Do you stick to them? Hahaha of course I make them. If someone says they don’t they are totally lying! And I can honestly say I have NEVER stuck to any of them. Sad I know. But I will make them again this year and I will try my hardest to complete at least ONE of them! I will be posting a Happy New Year blog Jan 1, 2018 and there is where I will list my goals for that year. So be on the lookout for that.
• What makes the holidays special for you? It’s the simple things. Just being with my family. Specially my kids. The snuggles, watching Christmas movies with them. Seeing their faces on Christmas morning. That is enough for me.
• You have been granted one Christmas wish….what will it be? To go back in the past to when my dad and grandpa were still alive and have one of our family celebrations out at grandma and grandpa’s house. My grandpa dressed up as Santa Claus passing out the Christmas presents to the grandkids. The food, the card playing. My Uncle Greg chasing my sister around the house with the can of whip cream. Those were some of the best moments in my life. I would wish for one more of those Christmases. It hasn’t been the same since my dad and grandpa died. They died within 18 months of each other.

This was such a fun questionnaire to do! What are your answers to these questions?? If you do this tag please tag me so I can read them!!!!! Happy Holidays everyone!!