Holiday Q and A

Hi all!  I am certainly in the holiday spirit at the
moment, and so I wanted to share this holiday-themed Q&A with you, which I borrowed from the lovely Kristina over at Pretty Rambles.
Here goes … 

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? 
Hot Chocolate,
definitely. But I need Soy Hot Chocolate (Starbucks makes a yummy one). Damn
lactose intolerance!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit
them under the tree? 
The present are
all wrapped in our house.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? 
White lights.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? 
Nope. I don’t
need any excuse to kiss 🙂
5. When do you put your decorations up? 
The weekend
right after Thanksgiving.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? 
Oh gosh … there
are too many to count. Garlic bread (yes, I consider this a holiday dish), my
mom’s rice stuffing, garlic-y green beans, stuffed shrimp, mashed potatoes.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? 
Piling in the
car on Christmas Eve with my parents and sister and going to my Great Aunt
Vinnie and late Great Uncle Mario’s house “out on the island” [read: Long
Island] for a traditional Italian Christmas Eve. They did EVERYTHING – the scungilli salad,
the antipasti,
and the struffoli.
And then driving home to Queens, barely being able to stay awake but
desperately looking up at the clear night sky to try and catch a glimpse of
Santa’s sleigh.

I also have very vivid memories of my mom dressing my sister (right) and me (left) up in matching outfits — which she made by hand — and taking pictures in front of the tree. 


(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

8. When and how did you learn the truth
about Santa? 
My parents
bought us a big red Fisher Price Wagon one year (which we had asked Santa Claus
for) and we accidentally spotted it while playing at our next door neighbor’s
house (they were holding onto it for my parents). I think I was about 7.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? 
I try to … but
no one ever lets me!
10. How do you decorate your Christmas
tree? 
In addition to
the white lights, we use some gold garland. And of course we have some
beautiful ornaments. Much like my clothes, I love ornaments that have a really
retro / vintage-y feel to them. Crate and Barrel has some really beautiful ones.
My all-time favorites are the pinecones and the starbursts.
 We also get a special dated ornament
each year, a tradition my family used to follow and one that I now have
continued on with my husband.

Here’s what our tree looks like:


(Image courtesy of NYC Recessionista)

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?  
Before Jan. 1st
– I love it.
After Jan. 2st –
I could do without it.
12. Can you ice skate? 
Nope … I think my grandparents tried
to teach us how to when we were younger, and I fell all over the place. I can’t swim
either.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? 
My favorite gift
was an apple pie candle that my husband tracked down for me after I had fallen
in love with it a month earlier on a weekend getaway upstate.
14. What’s the most important thing about
the Holidays for you? 
Being with my
family … last year a blizzard trapped us at home!
15. What is your favorite Holiday
Dessert? 
My favorite
would have to be the Chinese Almond Cookies I blogged about recently. And I do love a good Tiramisu.
16. What is your favorite holiday
tradition? 
Shopping and
gift-giving of course!  Haha …no but seriously.
17. What tops your tree? 
This really neat
star I found, which is made of tree branches and berries.
18. Which do you prefer giving or
receiving? 
Giving!
19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? 
Not a huge fan.
20. Favorite Christmas show? 
A Charlie Brown
Christmas. The opening scene where they’re ice skating in the snow makes my heart hurt.



21. Saddest Christmas Song? 
That’s a tough
one … lots of Christmas songs make me cry for some reason. Not necessarily out
of sadness of course – but certainly out of sentimentality.

Two of the songs
that make me cry the hardest –

22. What is your favorite Christmas song? 
Please. That’s an easy
one.