Damn. Got tagged again

This time from Lucy-furr. Humph. Fine. But y'all bitches all into x-mess might not like it...

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Mint julep. Pay attention, people.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Impossible to answer as "Santa" is a state of mind that lives within us all and I can't comment on the habits of a couple billion peeps. Dur.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
Whatever I can find in LEDs that doesn't offend my delicate aesthetic sensibilities at that particular time. Right now, white lights (sadly, non-LED) on the lawn tree outside, colored LEDs inside.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Nope. Kiss this.

5. When do you put your decorations up?
IF the spirit moves me, the weekend after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Filé gumbo.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Going to Louisiana and celebrating with our extended family, e.g. lunch at one set of grandparents, dinner at the others, pie at my favorite aunts house, etc.. I was the only grandchild/niece until age 10 so I was pretty spoiled. ;)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
No clue. Probably walked in on him banging the Tooth Fairy.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Well, I don't do the holiday at all anymore but even when I did, no. It was all on Xmas morning.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
We don't any more, not because I don't celebrate the holiday but because we have 2 cats and a bunny in the house and it would just get mauled! Instead, we put a white wire lawn tree on our side patio right outside our sliding glass door and put it on a dusk to dawn timer. That way we get the sparkly lights but it doesn't take up any space in our house and the pets can't get to it. We've also strung multicolored LED lights all over the living room. Add all the holiday cards we get from friends and a fire in the fireplace, and it's pretty darned festive.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
I miss it but then the last time I lived in a place where it happened regularly, I was 13. So I've never had to drive in it or shovel it. Julia's never seen it though so we're gonna need to rectify that soon.

12. Can you ice skate?
Used to be able to. That was pre-puberty though. All kinds of gravitational changes since then. ;)

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Xmas 1994, when I got my college degree on December 18 and knew I was about to pack up my life and move back to California with Chris...a scant 2 months before our wedding in February 1995. That was a pretty happy Christmas. Scary, but happy. :)

14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Being with people I care about and who care about me. Oh, and warmies, sleeping a lot, and chocolate.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
A good pecan pie. Always and forever.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
None. One of the reasons I chose to quit celebrating Xmas (aside from being offended by mandated gifting and Santa/Jesus worship) is because I was being forced to abide by the traditions of my husbands family. Since my family didn't really have any established holiday traditions (having moved around so much and with extended family dying off) and I didn't care to go along with Chris's family's traditions any longer (15 years is a good college try...gimme a break), I decided to take what I wanted and leave the rest. Seeing as my mother-in-law is a competitive sanctimonious bitch and I can't stand to be around her, I'm choosing from now on to spend xmas eve with my parents and xmas day with my friends. And to call it something other than Christmas. I'm leaning towards Sigfried. Or maybe Aloysius. I've heard it answers to Festivus too but historically, Yule's got it beat. I'll go with that for the sake of being agreeable. :)

So ask me the same question in a couple of years. I may finally have some NEW Yule traditions then. ;)

17. What tops your tree?
Probably a leaf. It's outside on the patio, remember? Before I gave up indoor holiday trees, our tree topper was Tinkerbell. She now lives in a box under our stairs.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. Mainly because most people don't put any thought into giving any more, preferring to ask me for my "list" instead. I don't HAVE a list, but even if I did, I wouldn't give it out because it makes it too easy. Grow an imagination, already! If all the thought they're going to put into a gift is buying something off my so-called list, they might as well just hand me cash for me to go get it myself. Do they KNOW me? Have they spent any time with me at all? Then think...what would I LIKE?

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Blue Christmas (Elvis Presley). None other.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum?
Nom nom. I use them to stir my mochas with. ;)

21. What do you want for Christmas?
- All the shit in my Amazon Wishlist (subtle, no?).
- Peace on earth.
Not necessarily in that order.

Hmm. Lucy stole several of my possible taggables soooo... imhelendt, crone, Tami, Mrs. O, and ratfancy. And since TODD and RAECHELLE and KONRAD didn't bother to heed the tagging from Lucy, I'm calling them out here too. Booya.