Okay. I am more than a tad bit hesitant to share this photo (even though I must have only been about eight or nine years old), as I like to stay as anonymous as possible here. But in keeping with the Christmas spirit and because I thought eveyone might need a good laugh, it seemed appropriate to go along with this Christmas meme that I found at Bookie. Anyway, I can always chuck the photo later after I have lost my nerve. I am the one with bangs in case you were wondering (those are long gone now). Don't you like my stylish knit cap and pimp-like coat? Please keep in mind that this photo must have been taken somewhere in the mid to late 70s. Who else had a mother who liked to dress their kids alike? And, yes, I think we were way too old to be visiting Santa, but remember the 70s was another world entirely.
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate. I never could get into egg nog.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Santa disgruntedly wraps them. It wouldn't be the same otherwise.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Lots of colored lights with a few of the invisible ones thrown in.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? No--never did get into that tradition.
5. When do you put your decorations up? I put it off as long as I can. Unfortunately my niece is just the age where she knows when the decorations come out and she wants to do it as soon as she can!
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My mom makes the best stuffing--it's my very favorite.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Christmas is pretty predictable with my family, but it was always amusing when my older sisters would unwrap their presents (well, not completely) to see what they got ahead of time. I, of course, would never stoop so low.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I honestly don't remember, but with two unruly older sisters I bet I was pretty small.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Sometimes we do, but it isn't really a tradition. Sometimes I will open a package that I have received from a stitching friend (since I open those separately from the family free for all).
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I wish I could say it looks like something Martha Stewart would decorate, but with a niece who drags out every ugly ornament (I really need to go through and weed out those boxes of decorations), it usually looks pretty hodgepodge. Homey we'll call it!
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Generally I dread it (as someone who walks a lot and lives somewhere where people are less than conscientious about cleaning their sidewalks), but I do like it when we have a white Christmas (though that has not happened in a long time). It would be perfect if it only snowed the two weeks around Christmas and that was it. Silly me.
12. Can you ice skate? Yes. I love to ice skate, but it has been a long, long time since I have skated. When I was little we used to go all the time.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I always loved those paint by number sets. I was one happy kid on Christmas if I got one of those--I would spend all day painting. They must have looked really horrible, but I loved them. Curiously my parents didn't seem to save them...
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Hanging out with my family.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Just one thing? Christmas cookies, pumpkin pie and pecan pie.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas turkey dinner! We're a pretty laid back family, so we really don't have many annual traditions.
17. What tops your tree? It's hard to describe--it is this pointy thing that has a Christmas bulb type middle that slides over the top of the tree. It's really much prettier than I make it sound.
18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? I know I should be good and just say giving, but the receiving part isn't too shabby either.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Currently--Ella Fitzgerald's version of "Jingle Bells" or the Peanuts soundtrack from from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yum, but I really don't eat many of them (one pretty much suffices for the year).
Is anyone else going to play? More importantly is anyone else going to share their favorite Santa photo?!
You look so cute! I also was waaay too old to be sitting on Santa's lap in the 70's :-) Must dig that photo up (and see if it's postworthy). I bought my daughter a paint-by-numbers set for Christmas, and my mum also used to dress my sister and me in matching outfits. Just once in my life I'd love to experience a white Christmas, but it's more likely to be 40 C and we'll be in the pool after lunch!
Posted by: Lazy Cow | December 11, 2006 at 05:25 PM
Lazy Cow--I'm not sure about cute--very dorky that's for sure. I should mention that I had long hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. It looks like I don't have hair--just bangs! I was thinking about getting my niece a paint-by-number set to keep up the tradition as well! I like white Christmases, but it will likely just be cold. On this side of the globe I will be under my electric blanket and on your side you'll be fanning yourself! I always wondered what it would be like to have Christmas in the southern hemisphere!
Posted by: Danielle | December 11, 2006 at 05:37 PM
What an adorable pic! I already did this meme so I don't have to post a pic anymore - ha,ha. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: iliana | December 11, 2006 at 05:52 PM
Nice picture! I may do the meme, but I'm not sure I have a picture -- I think I'll wiggle my way out of that one :)
Posted by: Dorothy W. | December 11, 2006 at 07:46 PM
Love the photo, and thanks for including my link in your post!
Posted by: Sheri | December 11, 2006 at 08:23 PM
Iliana--It's never too late to share! Actually you had a very lovely photo on Ella's blog if I remember correctly!
Dorothy--Sharing a photo is very unlike me...not sure what has possessed me. I like the photo of you reading on your blog!
Sheri--When I saw the meme on your blog I figured it would be perfect for one of my Christmas posts a la Carl's GIFT Challenge!
Posted by: Danielle | December 11, 2006 at 09:15 PM
I'll have my list up in the morning! Don't count on a Santa pic, though!
Posted by: Susan | December 11, 2006 at 09:51 PM
Hey Dani - That's a great photo! Does Vicki know you posted it? I'm sure she'd be thrilled :) (I'm Dani's sister).
Just wanted to stop by and say 'hi' to Dani, and also mention to folks that January 1 is coming up. If you're thinking about making New Year Resolutions stop by my blog, iresolveto.typepad.com. I'm looking for like-minded folks who want to achieve their '07 resolutions, and would like to blog about it along the way.
See you next week Dani - Happy Holidays!
Posted by: Kim | December 12, 2006 at 01:03 AM
I did this meme here if you want to see it: http://dilettantedabbling.blogspot.com/2006/12/christmas-meme-ories.html. That picture is so cute! Nothing beats those saddle shoes! I'll have to find one of my sister and I at my parents' house to scan. Oh yeah, and my mom did dress my sister and I alike for pictures like this, too.
Posted by: Camille | December 12, 2006 at 08:00 AM
That's a great Santa photo!!!
The Peanuts soundtrack is excellent, love it! Haven't heard Ella sing Jingle Bells, to my knowledge, and so will have to check that out because she is amazing.
Posted by: Carl V. | December 12, 2006 at 09:24 AM
Great picture!! I had a mother who liked to dress me and my sister in the same clothes. As the elder sister by four years I hated it!!
Posted by: kimbofo | December 12, 2006 at 01:23 PM
I absolutely love the picture...thanks for posting! My mother's got all of ours in storage in St. Louis, so I have a perfect excuse not to reciprocate. But I will take part in the meme later this week.
Bring on the pumpkin pie!
Posted by: LK | December 12, 2006 at 03:22 PM
What great answers! I especially loved the fact that an Ella Fitzgerald is your favourite xmas song!
Posted by: Max | December 12, 2006 at 03:57 PM
We wore saddle shoes back in the 50's, too. Egads! That was a long time ago and I was very, very young!
I so agree with you about the snow AND the cold. Two weeks would be perfect. When we lived in Southern Cal I decided I would rather put up with winter so I could have spring and fall, then to live where it was always pleasant. Two weeks of snow, I could live with.
Posted by: booklogged | December 13, 2006 at 07:25 PM
The photo's adorable! Please don't chuck it. If I had a Santa photo from my childhood I'd post it, but my parents never took a single photo of me with Santa. I can only remember them taking me to see the big guy once, when I was in either kindergarten or first grade. Santa came to a local store parking lot, and brought along this weird, futuristic looking camper/van sort of thing. We rode around the parking lot with Santa, a few kids at a time. Such a surreal, Kafkaesque Santa experience. How typical it's the sort of thing my parents would choose to do!
Posted by: Bluestalking Reader | December 14, 2006 at 04:44 PM