Molly from I'm a Sleeper Baker tagged me for a Christmas meme. I'm supposed to answer some holiday themed questions then tag 5 of my favorite reads. (I have tried to include only the blogs that did not get tagged for this...) I have never done one of these before so I'm more than a little excited. Now on to the questions...
Have you started your Christmas shopping?
I slowly eased into Christmas shopping in mid October.
Tell me about one of your special traditions.
We have two special traditions. The first is cutting down a Christmas tree that the kids get to decorate, and the other, wrapping all the gifts Christmas Eve, which actually started out as a form of procrastination. We now grab a glass of wine, divvy up the gifts, and wrap away as we watch The Christmas Story over and over again...
Are you a Black Friday Shopper?
Yes, but not a "faithful" Black Friday shopper. This year I headed down to the Toys 'R' Us' midnight sale only to get back in my car and drive home. I was able to find most of the things I was after online at about the same prices (some less), so I was "shopping" from my computer that night until around 1 am.
When do you put up your Tree?
We put our fake tree up right after Thanksgiving-this is the tree that displays my not-so-kid-friendly ornaments and keepsakes, and it's in our living room. We get our real tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and put it up in our family room.
Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
Now that the kids are older and in school, traveling around the holidays becomes a little bit trickier, especially when it comes to the anticipated arrival of the big man in red, so we celebrate Christmas at home, then stay at my in-laws and ferry back and forth between my family and other relatives. It's not too bad-my husband's parents live about 1 1/2 hours away from my folks.
What is your funniest Christmas memory?
Well, it's funny now but it wasn't at the time... When I was 6 months pregnant with my daughter we were heading to my parent's house (they had room for us back then) on Christmas Eve. We got a flat tire on the turnpike, and luckily were able to buy a tire from a service station still open. I waited in the frozen car while my husband and some kind local kids took my husband back and forth and helped him change it. I think we arrived "home" around 10-11 pm that night-a four hour trip ended up being 8 hours!
What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?
Well, it's still The Christmas Story, mainly because it brings back some old childhood memories.
We put our fake tree up right after Thanksgiving-this is the tree that displays my not-so-kid-friendly ornaments and keepsakes, and it's in our living room. We get our real tree the weekend after Thanksgiving and put it up in our family room.
Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home?
Now that the kids are older and in school, traveling around the holidays becomes a little bit trickier, especially when it comes to the anticipated arrival of the big man in red, so we celebrate Christmas at home, then stay at my in-laws and ferry back and forth between my family and other relatives. It's not too bad-my husband's parents live about 1 1/2 hours away from my folks.
What is your funniest Christmas memory?
Well, it's funny now but it wasn't at the time... When I was 6 months pregnant with my daughter we were heading to my parent's house (they had room for us back then) on Christmas Eve. We got a flat tire on the turnpike, and luckily were able to buy a tire from a service station still open. I waited in the frozen car while my husband and some kind local kids took my husband back and forth and helped him change it. I think we arrived "home" around 10-11 pm that night-a four hour trip ended up being 8 hours!
What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time?
Well, it's still The Christmas Story, mainly because it brings back some old childhood memories.
Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat?
Sometimes I manage to squeeze some baking in, and during these times I try to make extra for my kids classes and my work friends. Our favorite cookies are probably the ginger bread men because the kids really get into decorating these.
Fake or Real Tree?
Both-it just worked out that way.
What day (as a mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done?
Well there are two times when I panic. The first is when it gets too close to Christmas and I still have something to buy. I literally won't enjoy the days leading up to Christmas if I let things go to the last minute, so I try to have most of my things purchased by Thanksgiving. The second time I panic is when I look at the mountain of stuff that needs wrapped Christmas Eve!
Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?Yep-our biggest wrapping day.
What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas?
I like to watch all the old time Christmas classics with my kids as we count down the days-it gets them all pumped up!
What Christmas craft do you like the best?
Craft? What craft?
Christmas music. Yes or No, and if yes What is your favorite song?
I love Christmas music and my favorite song is "Do you hear what I hear?"
When do you plan to finish all your shopping?
I say I'm done now, but my husband likes to survey the "piles" to make sure they look about even...
Now that you know how my family celebrates, what traditions do you follow? I am tagging the following:
Nancy at If Evolution Really Works
Janie B. from Life Not Wasted or Lost
The girl from The Girl Next Door Grows Up
Becky from Welcome to my Life
Kelly from My Voice, My View
I promise to do this!! I promise!!
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me, I really should be spending the day wrapping the things that I have so that I don't end up doing it on Christmas Eve. But you know that I will end up right there with you.
ReplyDelete"Do You Hear What I Hear" is my favorite too. I have to listen to that one today. Love reading about your Christmas traditions. I can't imagine wrapping everything on Christmas Eve. I would be wiped out! Thanks for tagging me Susan! I needed a post idea for this week :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Love to see what other people do. I'm also a classic movie buff and enjoy watching the oldies but goodies with the kids.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment on my post too. I can already feel the Grinch in me slowly melting away.
What a fun meme! We used to cut down our Christmas tree when we were kids, too. Now, they are all fake. And I love the movie A Christmas Story. My mom hates it, but I try to sneak in a few moments of it on Christmas Eve at her house!! Thanks for commenting on my blog. Sorry I am so behind at following you, too! But, I'm here now!
ReplyDeleteI love how you added a video!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tag, Susan. I'll try to get to the meme soon. I'm very behind on my blogging lately.
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh about your hubby surveying the piles to be sure they're even! We do a fake tree also because it can be up longer and I don't like worrying about watering it!
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog but I always have like 7 blogs open at a time so now I can't remember where.??
Thank you so much for the tag, I look forward to doing it! Although, it may happen later rather than sooner!
ReplyDeleteI will tell you that one Christmas when I was little our refrigerator broke and we had to eat at McDonalds on Christmas Day. My mom was humiliated!!
Hi Susan, I put up my Christmas meme today. Hope you had a good day :)
ReplyDeleteI try to start my Christmas shopping in October too. It's a big help. That must have been frustrating when you got a flat tire at 6 months pregnant. I would have bugged. I'm glad you finally made it to your destination okay though.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you do all your wrapping on Christmas Eve!!!!! But between the wine and movie, it sounds pretty good!
ReplyDeleteI love The Christmas Story too. It's a classic. Did you know it was shot here in Cleveland? They even have a Christmas Story House Museum that you can tour and see the actual leg lamp. Funny.
ReplyDelete