Christmas Questionnaire

Merry Christmas everyone!!! I'm so excited to link up with Michelle over at Fabulous in First with her Christmas Questionnaire!!! I really made me excited for the next couple weeks! Christmas is such a special time of year, and I'm so glad I get to share it with all of you! :) Here's a little glimpse into my Christmas! 

Hot Chocolate or Eggnog? 
Definitely hot chocolate!!! I can drink hot chocolate daily starting in the fall through early spring! I LOVE it!! I even have a hot chocolate maker even though I use Starbuck's more now! :) Eggnog and I don't mix! 

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them underneath the tree? 
Santa has always wrapped the presents, and I must say they are always perfectly placed in a strategic pattern in front of the tree! Sometimes, I think the elves and Santa may have gotten sleepy and dozed off as they were wrapping when they forget to write who the present is for! :)

Colored lights or white?
I love both!! My upstairs tree and decorations are all in white lights since the upstairs has more of a modern look. My basement has the colored lights since it's more traditional and cozy down there! :)

When do you decorate? 
Since I'm usually out of town for Thanksgiving, I have been trying to decorate the weekend before Thanksgiving so I can return from Thanksgiving with everything already decorated and ready to enjoy! It has worked out great! :)

Real or Fake Tree? 
We always had a humongous fake tree growing up, and I still look forward to going home to my parents to lay on the couch next to the tree watching Christmas movies with my family!!! My parents make Christmas even more magical! I've had my own house now for over 3 years, and I found the most perfect tree a couple years back! It has a little of the fake snow and berries on it! I absolutely love it! :)

                                 
What Tops Your Tree?
My tree has a big, silver, sparkly bow on the top! I never was a bow fan growing up, but I absolutely adore it on my tree! My basement tree (my old apartment tree) has a country looking star that says BELIEVE! I love that word! My parents' tree has a beautiful angel!

Favorite Christmas Memories or Traditions?
This is such a hard question because there are truly sooooo many memories and traditions surrounding the greatest time of year! I am just in my glory around Christmas time as was my grandparents as I was growing up. Being half Croatian, we always had customs and traditions my mom and grandparents showed us. My mom would always have a white candle burning on the kitchen table because in Croatia they would have it as well as hay (I know, fire hazard, right?!?) under their tables to welcome baby Jesus. Then my grandpa would get so excited for us to come over on Christmas Eve. We would pick them up for Christmas Eve mass to return to their house for dinner and gift opening. We would have ham and Croatian potato salad, and my grandpa made sure that we all had enough food before he would even eat! Then he would put on his Santa hat as we opened gifts. We knew it was time to go home when we saw Santa on the radar on the news! We would venture home half asleep just in time to receive our first gift from our parents...a new pair of pajamas to wear to bed!!! My mom STILL gives us all pajama pants on Christmas Eve!! It makes me feel like a kid again! :) 

Then in the middle of the night, my brother, sister and I would always tiptoe out to the tree to check out the gifts! Santa even left a picture once of my brother and me asleep on the couch. I was in my lovely Pound Puppy nightgown! I loved Pound Puppies! As we looked at the gifts, we would be the 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story on to watch a bit. To this day and until my sister and I get married, we still get up (a little later than the younger years ;) to go look at the beautiful tree! With 2 nephews around, I love seeing the toys and gifts for them bringing back all of those memories each year. We'll still watch a few minutes of A Christmas Story as well! This year we even checked out the Christmas Story exhibit in Hammond, IN around where I'm from and parents still live. It's so cute! 

On Christmas Day, my dad acts as Santa to pass out the gifts, but we always start with our gifts to each other first. Stockings are always last. Once we finish opening gifts, my dad makes breakfast for everyone while my mom checks on the sarma (stuffed cabbage) and sausage and sauerkraut in the oven! I can smell those smells as I type these words! Such wonderful traditions and memories that my parents have helped make in my life! It makes me a little choked up thinking about it! I wish my grandparents were still around to enjoy it with us, but the memories have filled me up with so much joy to last a lifetime!

Do you remember your favorite gift as a child?
Gosh, there are so many! However, I must say that the teddy bear that my grandpa (my mom was my grandparents' personal shopper :) gave me in 1991 that I STILL sleep with every night has to be my all time favorite. The happiness in his face as he gave it to me will always be in my heart and next to me when I sleep!! :) I hope my future husband understands! hah 

Do prefer giving or receiving? 
Definitely giving!!! I absolutely love finding the perfect gift!! I'm that person that sits in the card aisle at Kroger or Hallmark FOREVER because the card has to fit the person and our relationship!!! I can't just get any card or gift for that matter! It has to be right! :)

What is your favorite Christmas song? 
This is REALLY tough!!! I LOVE Christmas music!!! In church, I absolutely love Sweet Child Jesus and Carol of the Bells when the choir plays it with the dulcimer. It is so beautiful and pure. I also love Oh Holy Night and What Child is This! In the car, I love All I want for Christmas of course to belt it out as loud as I can so I can get some looks from the cars around me! hah 

Candy Canes. Yuck or Yum?
They are fine. I'm not really crazy about them, but I don't mind one every now and then. However, I probably only eat 1 whole one over the course of the holidays. 

Favorite Christmas Movie? 
Ahhh another tricky one! :) I LOVE CHRISTMAS MOVIES!!!!!!! Hallmark Movie Channel, Falalala Lifetime, ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas are pretty much on my TV every day or any time I watch TV from Thanksgiving on! For instance, I'm watching a Hallmark movie right now that I've probably seen 3 or 4 times since Thanksgiving! I'm addicted to all movies Christmas. I still have a special place for the classics like White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, I Love Lucy Christmas episodes, Jack Frost, Home Alone, The Holiday, A Christmas Story... I could keep going, but I think you get the picture! 

Do you shop online or at stores?
I'm a store shopper with the occasional online purchase. I love the hustle and bustle at the malls and carrying around my hot chocolate. I just love it! I love carrying all the bags and going through them at home to wrap them. Now, I won't say that every trip to the mall at this time is the most pleasant hah; however, there is always 1 day that is Christmas shopping bliss! 

Photo Cards, Letter or Store Bought Card?
I'm a store bought card person; however, I can see myself becoming the photo card person when I have a husband and children of my own. I mean, I could send out a photo card with my Gracie girl and me, but I think we'll wait till our family expands some day! :)

Don't forget to click on the linky button to get to know about other bloggers at Christmas time as well!!! Thanks so much for visiting and sharing in my Christmas!