The Great Christmas Survey!

[Head Mutant]

The Great Christmas Survey — Now, Prettier In Pink!

What is your favorite...

1. Christmas movie?
2. Christmas cookie?
3. Christmas tradition?
4. TV Christmas special?
5. Present you got as a kid?
6. Christmas drink?
7. Type of decoration?
8. Appearance of Santa?
9. Christmas quote?
10. Present you ever gave?

(And if "Christmas" offends the soul, substitute "holiday" or "tip top Tet". "Santa" may be replaced by "Dick Clark". )

[PoolMan]

1. Christmas movie? A Christmas Story, hands down. Makes me wish I'd been born in the 40's. Of course, now I'd be in my 60's. Like a certain staffer I won't mention.
2. Christmas cookie? Shortbread. Gingerbread's nice and all, but there's something fulfilling about a nearly white cookie made almost entirely out of flour and sugar.
3. Christmas tradition? Hmmm... as an adult, watching A Christmas Story every year. I love that. As a kid, suffering from sleep deprivation because I could NEVER, EVER sleep Christmas Eve. Literally. It was... special.
4. TV Christmas special? Charlie Brown, I think. There's just something so fun boogying along with the kids during the 12,000 musical interludes.
5. Present you got as a kid? I remember life shifting and changing the day my brothers and I got our NES. Nothing was the same after that.
6. Christmas drink?Rum and eggnog. When else can you enjoy this so guilt free?
7. Type of decoration? My wife and I have these reindeer dolls with long, bendy legs and really goofy expressions. I love putting them up so they can drunkenly stare at us all through the holidays!
8. Appearance of Santa? When I just missed him that year I was about 7, and my dad excitedly telling me about the beer they'd had together and how impressed Santa had been with me. I believed every word.
9. Christmas quote? "Rotsin'-flotsin' BUMPASSES!"
10. Present you ever gave? I gave my brother a genuine Green Bay Packers Cheesehead hat one year. A co-worker of mine was going to Wisconsin for business and I had him pick it up for me because I knew Chris would love it. And he did. I was also particularly pleased last year when PoolGirl spent the entire month of December singing "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas", and I found a little pink stuffed hippo and put it in her stocking. One of the most embarassing purchases I've ever made, but it made her day.

[Spiderdancer]

1. Bernard and the Genie. Now it's very hard to find on dvd or vhs, and it doesn't have much of a budget, but it's funnier and more clever than the huge majority of "funny" holiday movies I've seen.

2. My Mom has this recipe for sugar cookies, and we'd cut them out with cookie cutters and frost them with real frosting (not that nasty stuff that hardens into concrete when it dries). Deeeelicious. And then there was the leftover chilled dough. Mmmm.

3. We open presents on Christmas Eve, but we always save our stockings for Christmas morning.

4. Hate all of them, sorry.

5. I was in probably third grade and we were at my grandparents' for Christmas. Mom and Dad didn't have much money for toys back then, so I was wildly excited to get a Doctor Barbie from my comparatively rich aunt and uncle. I still own the now-much-played-with doll and her white first aid kit, although she's so skinny and pale (even compared to my other barbies) that she spent more time as a patient than a doctor.

6. Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cider. I think of it as a Christmas drink because it's what we have every year at our house.

7. Strands of lights. I used to love to play with my toys under the tree and pretend they were in fairyland or on an alien world.

8. Eh, we were never very into Santa. The whole chimney physics thing killed it for me when I was little, and by the time I was old enough to deliberately suspend disbelief I was too old to be interested.

9. It's in my sig. Bwa ha ha.

Or possibly:

"Say the words 'I wish' with the caution you would normally reserve for 'please castrate me.'"
-Bernard and the Genie

10. Oooh, that's a hard one.

I'm giving Sib1 ninja tabi boots this year, though. She's wanted some for years and I never had a job that could pay for them before. I'm very excited to see her face when she opens them. (And I post this with impunity because she's stuck at home with the dialup right now. Ha ha.)

[TheOogieBoogieMan]

MOVIE - A Christmas Story. One of the few christmas films that I thoroughly enjoy. The first Santa Clause comes in a close second, and Home Alone comes third.

COOKIE - Shortbread. Delicious, even though they make me thirsty as heck.

TRADITION - Playing a game with the family on Xmas Eve night. Usually we play Balderdash, with hilarious results.

TV SPECIAL - Nothing's really coming to mind. I do like how most sitcoms play their holiday episodes in December, though.

PRESENT - There's an old home movie of me when i was only a few years old running around with a Peter Pan toy, showing it to every member of the family. I'll say that.

DRINK - Milk. Can't (legally) drink booze yet.

TYPE OF DECORATION - There are some polar bear ornaments on our tree. They hang from springs, and it looks like they're bungee jumping. They're cool.

APPEARANCE OF SANTA - On the way to my aunt and uncle's house long ago, I saw a guy in a Santa suit pull out of a gas station in a red sports car. It was amusing.

QUOTE - "I LOVE YOU, TONY STONEY! NO, I LOVE YOU MORE!" - Strong Mad, to his pet rock

PRESENT YOU EVER GAVE - I'm quite proud of the M.C. Escher poster I got for my sis this year. It's not the "Ascending/Descending" or "House of Stairs", which makes it doubly cool.

[TheLuckyOne]

spiderdancer said:

8. Eh, we were never very into Santa. The whole chimney physics thing killed it for me when I was little,

........

...Shalen, you were a neeeeerd as a kid. Just sayin'.


-D

[sarahbot]

1. Christmas movie?
My family was always more into the TV specials, so I have to go with the tried & true It's a Wonderful Life. "For my brother George Bailey, the richest man in town!" (sob)

2. Christmas cookie?
Mmmmm, sugar cookies. I should mention that my Grandma makes a really, really, really good fruitcake. I never understood fruitcake jokes growing up, because hers is so good. My mom and aunts had her make it for their wedding cakes, it's that good.

3. Christmas tradition?
Lying on my back staring up through the Christmas tree lights. Either that or coaxing the cat(s) out of the tree. Nope, gotta be the first one.

4. TV Christmas special?
3-way tie between Grinch, Charlie Brown and Rudolph. If you absolutely forced me to choose, I'd probably have to pick Rudolph because the stop-motion fascinates me. (I also try to watch my absolute favourite West Wing episode, "Noel", around Christmas time. Nothing says Christmas like PTSD!)

5. Present you got as a kid?
I don't remember. Whatever it was, it was probably given to me by my brother. He was always so excited because he'd found me the best present ever! (awwwwwww)

6. Christmas drink?
Starbucks gingerbread latte.

7. Type of decoration?
One of my favourite Christmas memories is lying back in bed when I was 6 or 7. My bedroom in that house was on the front of the house, so I could see the outdoors lights shining outside my window. I loved the light, and the way the layers of blankets felt pressing down on me.

8. Appearance of Santa?
My parents never took us to see Santa at the mall or anything like that. Possibly the only time I ever saw Santa like that was at a Legion Christmas party. I must have been around 7.

9. Christmas quote?
"He puzzled and puzzled till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!"

10. Present you ever gave?
I gave my mom felted slippers I knit and dyed and felted myself last year, and she just about lost it over them. Handmade gifts are important, and she got how much work went into them. She wore the soles out in about 3 months.

[StarOpal]

1. Christmas movie?
A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, or National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (if you knew my family, you'd get why we find this so hilarious). For me it's not Christmas without all three.

2. Christmas cookie?
My aunt always made and sent these mint chocolate, chocolate chip, and walnut cookies to us when we were younger. Her own top secret recipe. Since she doesn't have any kids of her own and she really did keep them secret, it was a great honor when she sent me her recipes including the cookie one. Now I make them.

3. Christmas tradition?
Wrapping presents with whatever family is around. My brothers, mother, and I started this when we kids. Even though we're all grown up now we still do it. Great bonding time.

4. TV Christmas special?
Grinch or Charlie Brown.

5. Present you got as a kid?
The first year Brother 2 got a job, all he'd tell me was "you're going to love your gift." He hunted and saved for the perfect gift for me. At the time I was probably 8 and I loved teddy bears. So Christmas Eve (when we opened our presents) his was the last gift I opened, and it was almost as big as me. It was a giant teddy bear. "I didn't have enough for the really big one. Sorry." he tells me.

6. Christmas drink?
Apple Cider with a candy cane swizzle stick.

7. Type of decoration?
The classic: Christmas lights.

8. Appearance of Santa?
We didn't do Santa... I'm not so sure I believe in Dick Clark either.

9. Christmas quote?
"It's a box!" Long story.

10. Present you ever gave?
The perfect (not just pretty, but sturdy and the right weight) tea cup I found stuffed in the corner of an antiques shop for my mother. I was just poking around having never been in the place before, and there it was. My mother loves - and uses- nice tea cups. She cried, because she likes when people put a lot of thought into the gifts she gets.

[devilndisguise]

What is your favorite...

1. Christmas movie?
The origional "we're no angels" with Humpry Bogart and Patrick someone or other...great movie. Funny, lots of dry humor, just a wonderful christmas movie.

2. Christmas cookie?
my mommy's suger cookies.

3. Christmas tradition?
Every year my dad and I sit down and watch "WHite Christmas" together. And every year at the 'cheorgraphy' number he says " they could have just left this part out" EVERY YEAR!

4. TV Christmas special?
The grinch who stole christmas, It was on last night! Yay! somethng about Boris Karloff's voice is just awesome.

5. Present you got as a kid?
Hmm..honestly I don't remember any one great gift.

6. Christmas drink?
Chai tea with eggnog ala starbucks

7. Type of decoration?
lots and lots of tinsil!

8. Appearance of Santa?
I got nothing.

9. Christmas quote?
Joseph: I'm going to buy them their Christmas turkey.
Albert: "Buy"? Do you really mean "buy"?
Joseph: Yes, buy! In the Spirit of Christmas. The hard part's going to be stealing the money to pay for it.
(from We're no angels)

10. Present you ever gave?
This year I am getting my man a stand up bass...he's going to pee his pants. I can't wait

[Spiderdancer]

theluckyone said:

...Shalen, you were a neeeeerd as a kid. Just sayin'.
-D

LOL

I'm picturing the faint sneer embodied by all the dots.

Yes, I'm not one of your posers who call themselves geeks just because they play computer games. I've been the world's biggest dweeb my entire freakin' life. Represent!

[pfrsue]

1. Christmas movie?
It's gotta be A Christmas Story Mmmm... soap.

2. Christmas cookie?

I guess they're sugar cookies, but Mom always referred to them as "Christmas Tree Cookies", made with a cookie press, often with green food coloring, and sprinkles on them. My gosh they're addicting.

3. Christmas tradition?

Then or now? Back in the day, it had a lot to do with Dad and Mom making us wait, and wait, and wait to go downstairs while they slooooowly put on their robes and slippers, brushed teeth, made the bed, whatever... and then Dad would go down the stairs first and announce, "Nope, nothing under the tree this year. It was maddening. Maddening, I tell you!

In the modern era, I think the only family traditions are that SoM2 and I always drink Highlander Grogg coffee (SoM1 doesn't like coffee) while the presents are being sorted, and we take turns opening the gifts one at a time. On Christmas Eve, I usually don't have the kids until fairly late, so it's sort of my own personal tradition to turn all the lights out but the ones on the tree and plink out Christmas carols on my guitar until they arrive.

4. TV Christmas special?

Oh geez, I think it was called "T'was The Night Before Christmas", and it featured mice, a clock, references to Copernicus and a rather miffed Santa who still comes through in the end. Animated. I loved that show.

5. Present you got as a kid?

Possibly the Atari. Another favorite was a real wooden stable with three box stalls for my Breyer(tm) horses to live in. Of course with three stalls and seventy-some horses, it was a little crowded but...

6. Christmas drink?

Eggnog - non-alcoholic. A billion calories a glass. Mmmmm.

7. Type of decoration?

These days, fairly basic and as greyhound-proof as possible. Lots of Christmas lights strewn around the living room though.

8. Appearance of Santa?

Always at the shopping mall, never in the house, but he was awfully good at finishing off the milk and cookies.


9. Christmas quote?

"He hadn't stopped Christmas from coming, it came. Somehow or other, it came just the same." - How The Grinch Stole Christmas


10. Present you ever gave?

Back in the late 80's, a friend and I snuck out to the stable where we boarded our horses at the crack of dawn and did all the morning chores so that the folks who ran the place could have an uninterrupted Christmas morning with their newborn son and six year old daughter. I've always felt good about doing that.

[TheLuckyOne]

spiderdancer said:

LOL

I'm picturing the faint sneer embodied by all the dots.

Not so much a sneer, I'm just amused (as a practicing Christian, mind) by the idea of a little kid having no problem with Jesus walking on water, resurrecting from the dead, and moving a giant stone away from His tomb, yet questioning the physics of a bearded dude squeezing his fat ass down a chimney a few billion times. Jesus is Superman, Santa is the Flash; makes sense to me.

-D

[TheLuckyOne]

What is your favorite...

1. Christmas movie? It's A Wonderful Life. Followed closely by National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, then A Christmas Story.
2. Christmas cookie? Creme de Menthe bars... barely. Pecan cups and peanut butter balls are pretty high up in the ranking.
3. Christmas tradition? Leaving cookies and milk out for Santa. We've got a great home movie of 3-year-old Drew carrying a glass of wine (yeah, I don't know) out for Santa, spilling it, then trying to pick the wine back up with my fingers and put it in the glass. I was a stupid kid.
4. TV Christmas special? Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown! Linus taught us ALL the true meaning of Christmas.
5. Present you got as a kid? Nintendo. God, how many other toys completely altered the face of a generation like that?
6. Christmas drink? Last night I had a Rogue beer called Santa's Reserve that was mighty tasty. But traditionally, hot chocolate.
7. Type of decoration? Christmas stockings.
8. Appearance of Santa? On the back of a fire engine, rolling through the neighborhood and whipping candy canes at kids.
9. Christmas quote? "Always remember -- no man is a failure who has friends."
10. Present you ever gave? I gave my mother the first season of 24 when it first came out... holy crap, did we get sucked into that. Ended up watching like 6 episodes just on Christmas Day.

-D

[Lissa]

Sue, I remember that special! I loved that one too!

1. Christmas movie? Hmm. Okay, this is dorky, but... I actually really like The Santa Clause. I know, I know. But is kind of cute.

2. Christmas cookie? I might mock my mom's cooking, but one thing she always kicked butt at was desserts. Her shortbread cookies with buttercream frosting were awesome (especially straight out of the freezer), and I've never been able to get them exactly right.

3. Christmas tradition? As a Roan, there are a couple. The hanging of the stockings was always great- we have these HUGE knit stockings that stretch really well. Christmas Eve service always meant a lot to me. And when I was a kid and my grandparents visited, I used to love spending the night in my sister's room on Christmas Eve. As Mrs. Duckie, I'm not sure we have too many yet, but going to get the tree (we go cut our own usually) is a biggie.

One that I'm going to perpetuate is my mom's special tradition: Good and Bad charts. Every December she'd draw calanders to put on our doors. Each day we got stars, depending on how good we were- or a black frown if we weren't good. According to her, Santa would check the charts before he decided to leave our gifts or not. Worked like a charm

4. TV Christmas special? The Grinch. Hands down.

5. Present you got as a kid? You know, I'm really not sure.

6. Christmas drink? Hot chocolate, all the way. Or my stepfather's special screwdrivers. Heh- funny story. A few years ago, when my sister was maybe 25, she and my stepbrother were both drinking screwdrivers. My stepbrother kept complaining they were weak, and my stepfather kept pouring in more and more vodka. An hour or so later, my sister slips into the kitchen where my mom and I are talking. "I know why the screwdrivers are so weak," she says sheepishly. When she was 20, she'd had a big party and they drank all the vodka and replaced it with water. It wouldn't be so funny if it hadn't been FIVE YEARS LATER when it was discovered!

7. Type of decoration? Multicolored lights outside. And angels.

8. Appearance of Santa? It's a non-appearance, but when I was a kid, we didn't have a chimney, so my parents told us they'd leave the front door unlocked for Santa to get in. Well, one Christmas Eve (I must have been 5 or so) my mom was trying to get me to go to bed. My dad had slipped outside without me seeing to take care of the dog or something, and didn't get the door closed tight behind him. The door blew open, and me- completely believing it was Santa- SPRINTED to bed.

9. Christmas quote? Luke 2: 10-14

10. Present you ever gave? It's going to be this year- I'm doing scrapbooks of the Ducklet's first year for our mothers

[sarahbot]

lissa said:

9. Christmas quote? Luke 2: 10-14

"10 And the angel said to them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign to you; you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

That's what Linus says at the end of Charlie Brown Christmas, right? I love that part.

[varana]

When you read this, please remember that i grew up in Norway. My traditions are WAY different from a lot of yours, pluss christmas specials on telly didn't exsist in Norway when I was a child. Imagine a place were there is ONE channel on TV, and it's motto is: "We are here to educate, not to entertain, and we don't cater to children as children should learn to make up their own fun" OK, over to the answers:

1. Christmas movie? A nightmare before christmas. I really, really love that movie

2. Christmas cookie? wreath cake (first Norwegian specialty), it's a sort of sweet alomond paste that is roasted to become crunchy on the outside and sticky on the inside. You form the paste into "wreaths" and stack them up like a tower before serving.

3. Christmas tradition? The christmas eve meal. Several things I only eat once a year, pluss it's the only time we use grandma's special cutlery. Same jokes every year...

4. TV Christmas special? None, for reasons explained above. But there is one movie they show on telly every christmas eve. It's got nothing to do with christmas, but it's great fun. check it out here: www.caprino.no/en-UK/movies/flaaklypa.html

5. Present you got as a kid? Not sure, I was a supernerd who generally wanted (and got) books.

6. Christmas drink? Gløgg. It's similar to mulled wine. Red wine mixed with various spices is brought to almost boiling point. Then you add chopped up almonds and raisins. It can be made from black currant cordial as well, for the kids in the family.

7. Type of decoration? Candles. I love candles, they are soothing.

8. Appearance of Santa? Not really got an answer here.

9. Christmas quote? Why don't i just tell you what "merry christmas" is in Norwegian: "God jul"

10. Present you ever gave? I crothetted a lacy bedspread for my parent's doublebed. it took many, many months to make, and made my mum cry.