It's Christmas...It's Christmas Time. Yeah.

Knitty Blogstalk Christmas Questionnaire - all the cool kids are doin' it

NAME: Suzanne
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate, especially if it's Nestle's Rich Chocolate from the foil packet.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He wraps them, oddly enough using the same paper my mom uses.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? It's a combination. Accountant Boy calls the house lights "Charlie Brown" lights, because they're the big ones, just like we had in my youth.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No.

5. When do you put your decorations up? We're in the middle of it this week. Some years it's early December, some years we don't do anything.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Brown-and-serve wheat rolls, the kind you get by the dozen at the supermarket. You can get them year-round, but I don't eat them before Thanksgiving or after Christmas.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: The Engineer and I snuck into my dad's closet and found our presents, and my parents caught us because we weren't sly. They said they were taking the gifts back, but 'Santa' ended up giving them to us anyway. It's a funny story. I'll tell it later, if I remember.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think I always knew, and remember trying to pretend that I believed so my parents would still give me the gifts. I 'fessed up to knowing the truth when I was about five. That's what made the incident from item 7 even funnier. 'Santa' gave the gifts to us? Who did they think they were fooling?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We used to be a Christmas morning family, but we're changing it up this year. We're opening gifts this Christmas Eve.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Cheesily, like a Vegas show.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Hate snow. The only thing worse than being cold is being cold and wet. Skiers, please don't tell me it's neither if you're dressed properly, because I know snow is frozen water, and your snow pants aren't going to change the laws of physics.

12. Can you ice skate? I've never tried.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? It's hard to pick a favorite, so no.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family being together.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Persimmon cookies. My grandma used to make them, and now my mom does.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I dunno...we're pushing the magic Reset button on holiday traditions this year, because most of our old traditions involved weeping, drinking and stony silence. We're trying for something different this year, so we don't have any favorites at the moment.

17. What tops your tree? A velvet bow.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving, definitely.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? You asked for it. Go there and click on 'Christmas Song'. It's probably work-appropriate, but I wouldn't risk it. If I can only pick one, this is my favorite. 'Gabriel's Message' by Sting comes in a close second because it sounds so beautiful, but Gunther still edges him out. "Ding dong! It's a Christmas Song!"

20. Candy Canes... Yuck or Yum? Yum, but only during the season. I never think, "Hey, you know what'd be good? A candy cane!" in July.