Brown craft paper, brown string … artfully tied, of course.    

Prefer the real thing, but packed schedules make the artificial one more convenient.   

Whenever there is time and AJ gives me the green light. 

At whatever point I’m ready …. (I don’t really get to ENJOY it until after the holiday is over, so I like to leave it a little longer ….)

Yes, with nutmeg sprinkled on top.  Jack in the Box has a mighty fine egg nog shake right now, too.

Books (yes, I was, am and will always be a NERD).

Yes, we do.

AJ, because there are many things I would like to be able to buy him, but limited funds prevent me from going nuts …. (Yater surfboard, Jeep top, new greenhouse …)

Jami – books, books, and more books … gotta’ love a kid that loves to read …..

I’m a stationery junkie … I love nice paper with beautiful artwork, so when I do send them out, they are most definitely the real deal …..

Worst/funniest … my grandmother, rest her soul, gave me a black sweater with BLACK and GOLD metallic ostrich feathers around the neckline one year.  She was a flashy girl, that Peg.  Fortunately I was able to return it.  Whew!  (But in her defense, she also gave me garnet earrings one year …)
 
12. Favorite Christmas movie?    
It’s a four-way tie between “A Christmas Carol” (the George C. Scott version), “White Christmas,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” … I CANNOT choose between these four.

Sadly, December 1st.  A pox upon you early shoppers!  Bleh!

Not yet, but I may do so this year ….

Diann’s spaghetti with a boiled egg, Goofy Cookies, fudge ….

I like the ones that look like stars/diamonds (that would be the clear ones) ….
 
17. Favorite Christmas song?     
Hmmm … this is TOUGH!  The first one that came to mind was “The First Noel,” but I also love “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Silent Night,” and “Joy to the World” …. 

I would prefer to stay home, but we make the rounds the 23rd, 24th, and 25th … then I sit for the next 10 days and stare at my tree before taking it down … LOL

If I sing the song I can name them, but not unless I do that … I suppose it would be a memory device?  🙂

We used to have an angel, but about 3 or 4 years ago I found a really cool star — it is solid translucent plastic (I know that sounds cheesy, but ….it has lights inside that make it LIGHT UP SO PRETTY!  🙂

Usually Christmas morning, but last year we were so late getting home from the midnight service at Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston that we opened them in the middle of the night.  That was actually kind of cool!  I am starting to delight in the unexpected things we do as our little group of three.  Other obligations may make it difficult to have recurring “traditions,” but these are the memories I hope Jami will take with her: playing in the snow at 2 in the morning (Christmas 2004), opening gifts in the middle of the night (Christmas 2007), watching the Festival of Lights Parade with my sister, niece and nephew (Christmas 2008), visiting with Diann and Leo on random Christmas Eves (as often as we are able to do so), hopefully spending more stress-free holidays with my sister and her kids.

The noise, the noise, the noise … oops, is my Grinch showing?   LOL  Seriously, I agree with AJ on this one … the rudeness, rudeness, rudeness and the gimmee, gimmee, gimmee …. Also, people who rip through their gifts …. I am a firm believer in taking turns and thanking the person who gave the gift before the next person opens one …. I think part of this is because I try to put a lot of thought into the gifts I give, and when the event is utter chaos, I don’t get to see what each person’s reponse is to their gift.  I want to see them SMILE!

We do not have a “theme,” unless it is “Everything But the Kitchen Sink” … our tree is a huge scrapbook of memories … just about every ornament on it is selected because of very specific meaning … AJ’s “crawfish” holding a Merry Christmas banner and his surfing Santa Claus … my Gone With the Wind ornaments … Jami’s ballerinas.  The most special ones are the ones he has carved or turned from wood saved from our real trees.  The year we were expecting Jami, he carved three hearts, with the smallest (Jami) sitting on top of mine.  Another year he carved musical notes representing the three of us, since music is such an important part of our lives (especially his and Jami’s) …. They have all been very carefully designed with much love!

A Charlie Brown Christmas (I just love that little Christmas tree …)

Answering in a completely materialistic way, without regard for peace on earth and all the good stuff that anyone with a heartbeat wishes for, (LOL) What I’d like is ridiculously expensive (a Canon G10), so a good alternative might be an extra battery for my Canon Rebel XT …. maybe a new mirror/medicine cabinet for the front bathroom?  The corner benches of the kitchen ripped out and the wall re-sheetrocked so I can finish painting …. I’m pretty easy to make happy, even without $$$.  🙂