Christmas Tag... I always mean to do these blog tags, but never seem to get around to it. I started this long before Christmas and it has taken me forever. I wrote so much more than anyone wants to read (not that anyone looks at my blog anyway, but it was a lot of fun for me and I just ramble so no one feel obligated, but I loved doing it.
Eggnog or hot chocolate? Both, I always drank it with Fizzy (Sprite, or I should say the generic of sprite) when I was younger and when I got married Bill likes it just plain. I could never drink it because it was way too creamy, but I have adapted a taste for it. I never drank hot chocolate when I was young and one of my first Young Women’s activities was sleigh riding at Mutual Dell (in American Fork Canyon) and they were going to have hot chocolate. I thought the world had ended and I was given “hot” drinks by my mutual leaders and took a cup, but didn’t drink it. My friends all laughed and I pretending to take a sip and threw it behind me as soon as I could. It was actually a little traumatic. I came running home to my mom and told her what had happened and she said that wasn’t what the word of wisdom was talking about and that we were going to have some for Christmas. I still didn’t drink it then or hot apple cider at Halloween, but I have since eased on my strictness. Maybe that’s not a good thing or something that I should admit.
Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Yes, but I am with Judy on this, the big nicest present comes from mom and dad. Santa’s is something fun and not from the dollar store, but mom and dad need a little “brownie points” since I am always “the meanest mom in the whole world”.
Colored lights on tree or white? Colored lights, I really like the color ones, but I have to admit I love a really nicely decorated tree
When do you put your decorations up? I was never one to do it the day after Thanksgiving... but this year we did (or started it) and I love it, we are going to do it every year. I have a hard time not taking the tree down on Christmas day, but I think having more room will make it so I am not so anxious on Christmas, we will see. And we are doing lights on the house next year; we haven’t had time this year. And we even have a fancy plug up on the roof with a light switch inside.
What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love just having a lot of snack food around. Cheese ball and crackers. I love augratin cauliflower and rolls. We do different things for Christmas, but mostly ham, summer sausage and snacks and relish trays, just snacking all day and not really having to fix a big dinner (especially now that I am the mom and it would be me making it). We always have an orange and apple and a banana in our sock and have that for breakfast. My family all remember the big dinner on Christmas eve, but I don’t remember the big dinner on Christmas Eve and so haven’t really carried on that tradition. Plus that is when Bill’s family has their big get-together every year and Bill’s dad does a ham, rolls and green bean casserole, which is really good.
I only remember the Christmas party over at the church and our bag of candy with an orange (funny thing is I am sure that is how I figured out there wasn’t a Santa because my orange from the church looked exactly like the orange in my sock).
Favorite holiday memory as a child: My mom LOVED Christmas, I think it was her favorite time of year. She would get so excited. I think that is why I love it so much. She used to say it was magical and would get so excited on the Sunday before Christmas when the choir would sing almost all of sacrament meeting. She was usually running around trying to get us there on time, but I think she started an hour early just to make sure we didn’t miss a minute of them singing. I used to just love to watch her as they sang, she was so intensely enjoying every note. She used to say that her talent in music was appreciating it, which she did very well.
Christmas is one of the hardest times not to have her and I have gotten to the point where I want to be what she was for me in regards to Christmas so I have some of her here with me.
There are so many wonderful holiday memories. I wasn’t a part of Judy’s steal of a deal on Christmas trees, but one of my best memories is similar. It was a day or two before Christmas and we didn’t have a tree yet, I think the expense usually kept it late in the season, but it was normal to me. That year we didn’t have a tree and I must have been 17 or 18 because I had my little yellow Datsun car, Jerusha and I heard on the radio of a tree place that was giving away trees. We got there as fast as we could, but they were closed and a sign said “free trees, just pick one” so we had to jump the fence and as long as we were there we grabbed at least 3 or 4 for anyone else that didn’t have one. We tied them to the top of the car (I wish I would have had my camera) and came home bragging of our conquest (which dad didn’t appreciate us saying that we stole them) and put it up. Then we headed up to Grandma Andersons and put one up for her and called a bunch of people in the ward to take a tree to them. We spent most of the night decorating trees for everyone. I think we were laughing so hard I almost wet my pants trying to get those trees over the fence.
When I was little I was so excited I just couldn’t sleep. I would sneak into Joey and Jordan’s room and we would talk about how great the next day was going to be. Sometimes we would get silly, I remember playing “Make me laugh”, a really old-old-old game show and me and Jordan pretended to (sorry this is gross and I don’t know if I should write it in case my kids read this) but we were trying to make Joey laugh and if you made them laugh within a certain time you won. We started pretending (I am going to blame Jordan on this, because it couldn’t have been my idea) but we pretended to pull a giant rope of snot out of our nose and just kept pulling and pulling and Joey laughed, but then he started to gag and then so did Jordan and me. Gross, I know. Maybe that is why I am the mom of boys. Then Joey and I (and Jordan once he got a little older) would sneak into the front room and just gaze in wonderment of all the presents and the tree glowing. We could go through our sock and everything around it, but couldn’t touch any presents under the tree until everyone was up. We would read the tags on as many presents as we could without moving them.
Another favorite memory was once I got to be about 11 or 12 I was mom’s helper. While mom was shopping for Christmas food would buy all the fixin’s for a nice steak dinner including white grape juice for 2. My mom would put the kids to bed and my dad would go start a movie or have TV on to Johnny Carson waiting to help wrap. He would always fall asleep. I would wait until I thought he was asleep and sneak down and help my mom wrap all night and she and I would share her steak and have a nice meal together and have such a great time talking and laughing. One night we watched “The Gods must be Crazy” and laughed until we nearly wet our pants (I know a theme). Then put everything in piles for everyone and see how even they were and make adjustments if someone seemed to have a little or a lot. Then dad would wake up and say “oh you’re done” and then he would have his steak while we all talked and then I would go to bed. I felt bad for Bill on our first Christmas Eve married because after we set up everything for our first Christmas I bawled and bawled because mom was being Santa without me, but Bill and I had a steak dinner with white grape juice.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? The Christmas PJ’s is one. I used to think that was only our tradition and still think people really copied my mom. I remember coming home from school and her sewing them. She was always pretty good at only working on the other kids when each of us was there and having them be as close to a surprise as she could. When I got older I would know which ones were mine sometimes, because I was her helper, but she still tried to keep them a secret.
We have kept this tradition up since it belongs to us (ha-ha). I used to be really good at making them, but haven’t for years. One year I thought I had such a great idea and got the kids sweats for their Christmas PJ’s (the first year I didn’t make them) and thought that was such a great idea. The kids were so upset. They looked like they had just been punched right in the face clear into adult hood. I felt so terrible that we bought them the next year (and not just cheap ones, super hero ones).
How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It is a big mesh of ornaments that don’t match, but ones that we have made throughout the years. We get a new ornament every year and I used to be able to tell you which one for which year, but I’m getting too old. Now that we have our addition and the tree in our family room I have really been sad about no tree in the front room when people come over to visit so next year I am doing both. I will have to wait until tax return time, and hopefully they wont be too much, but I am going to do a fancy tree in the front room and the family tree with all the history and homemade mismatched ornaments where we spend the most time.
Snow! Love it or dread it? Yes, the first snowstorm I absolutely love and hate it when we don’t have a white Christmas and love sleigh riding. But hate the cold and when it gets black and icky I don’t like that. Plus I married someone that would love to live in Arizona where it never snows and he hates it so I think that is growing on me a bit.
Can you ice skate? I love to ice skate. I’m not sure I could any more. I could only push off with my right foot though, I’m not ambidextrous even though I always wanted to be and used to practice, but it never came through on the feet so my left leg would be so sore by the end of the night from holding all of my weight all night long. I did get so I could do a turn or two and go really fast, even one footed. For a couple of years the old school house where Kencraft is now was a skating rink and you could skate for a quarter (dating me I know). Someone gave us a pair of ice skates when I was about 7 or 8 and I wore them everywhere and got to be really good at balancing and running up and down the stairs. I thought it would be great to be in the Olympics, but try as I might if I tried to push off with the wrong foot down I would go.
Do you remember your favorite gift? A few, 3 in particular; First, one year we had a big Christmas we had 2 trees one upstairs and one downstairs in the family room (before our addition). We opened what we thought was our whole Christmas up stairs. Joey and I really wanted bikes so after we opened our gifts upstairs mom and dad told us to go downstairs and there were bikes for Joey and I and Janet and Jordan got big wheels. (This is the famous bike that, while I was pumping Joey on my bike his foot got caught in the spokes and ripped all the skin off of his leg. That part isn’t a good memory).
Second, I really wanted a watch one year and got a white Timex that I had for years and even lost it in the big ditch at the top of the orchard and the next water turn it came down in our yard. And there were others.
The third was a homemade doll and buggy. My mom made dolls for each of us girls (I think there were 3 or 4 girls at the time) and she recovered a big baby carriage that she had when she was young. She had really wanted one for Christmas and didn’t think there was any way she would get it and was surprised when she got it. It was big enough that I would put my brothers and sisters in it.
What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Trying to make Christmas as wonderful for my kids as it was for me, and spending time with my family. Enjoying my kids and the magic of Christmas. Also is my gratitude for my Savoir and the knowledge that I have of His love and the Atonement and being able to share that with my kids.
What is your favorite holiday dessert? I love fudge, divinity and homemade caramels. I also love breakfast pull-a-parts, but most treats are wonderful.
What is the your favorite tradition? The PJ’s and the build up to Christmas, we have 4 FHE (family home evenings) building up to it: 1. Seeing the lights 2. Making cookies, 3. The Christmas story and lesson, and 4. Taking around neighbor gifts and doing something of service.
Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Both, again. I love getting things for the kids and don’t always care about what I get, but love a surprise and who doesn’t love getting something, especially something scrapbooking.
What is your favorite Christmas Song? I love the Church Christmas music and a lot of it, but there is a lot I can do without. I HATE the Christmas song about the shoes, “sir, I wanna buy these shoes” it makes me want to gag! I love Picture a Christmas and Christmas bells are ringing by the primary. And like my mom I love the Christmas program on the Sunday before Church.
Candy canes! Yuck or yum? Used to be yuck, but now little bits and I love them in hot chocolate. I used to love the cherry one, but not anymore.
Ever recycled a Christmas present? Of course.
Sorry this is so long, like I said it was really good for me and nice before Christmas. Especially remembering my mom and my childhood memories. Plus I’m not sure anyone, but I will read it. And I don’t have 7 people that read my blog, thank goodness Judy comments. I’m always so excited when I see a comment.
