Saturday, December 16, 2006

A Christmas Meme



The Newborn by Georges de La Tour, 1645

The Ironic Catholic has posted a Christmas Meme and tagged whoever wants to play along. She was also kind enough to choose me for a photo caption winner this week. Here’s for trying my hand at the meme…

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? What, would Hot Mulled Cider be considered out of season by Christmas? Hot Chocolate over the course of the season I suppose, but Eggnog on Christmas Eve itself is the best.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Mrs Claus wraps them up, and he does a lot of the “some assembly required” on Christmas Eve with much cursing and gnashing of teeth, because unlike his trusty elves, he has two left thumbs and no mechanical aptitude.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored lights all the way, baby. I get special pleasure out of that, because it’s such a pretentious white-light Yankee New England town.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Ah… alas no, not in a long time. When I was younger I was afraid of being considered a perv for trying to steal a cheap kiss. Now I’m afraid of being considered a dirty old perv trying to steal a cheap kiss...

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually the first weekend in December. We keep the outside lights going almost until the end of January, at Anne’s insistence.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Baked lasagna. Actually, that works for me all year too.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: After watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, leaving milk and cookies for the reindeer, going to bed, turning on the candle window lights in my room, and being certain that I could hear hooves on the roof… Sneaking down at five in the morning with my siblings while my parents were still asleep.

I also remember the year when “Santa” relented and finally got me a G.I. Joe. My older brother got the new Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, which turned out to be way cooler.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What do you mean by that? What are you trying to say?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes. Anne and I usually exchange one gift.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Colored lights and ornaments. No tinsel or garland anymore. As many old heirloom ornaments as can be found that aren’t broken yet, the better.

11. Snow? Love it or Dread it? Love it when it’s falling. Not much use for it after that. Love it on Christmas. I don’t mind a lot of snow during winter. I hate winters that are neither fish nor fowl... Freeze and melt, freeze and melt…

12. Can you ice skate? Not well. My ankles turn inwards. It put an early end to my childhood dream to play in the NHL and be the next Derek Sanderson.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? A plastic football player set with a field that was about 2 and 1/2 feet by 6 feet.

14. What's the most exciting thing about the Holidays for you? Watching the excitement and joy in my kid’s faces.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Anne’s hot apple pie, with vanilla ice cream

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Christmas Eve Dinner with my in-laws and cousins and exchanging gifts with them... Singing carols with my kids at bedtime all during advent.

17. What tops your tree? Cloth, hand-sewn angel.

18. Which do you prefer - giving or receiving? Well now, like the Ironic Catholic says, that all depends on what’s being given and received… ;-)

Giving, I suppose.

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Come All Ye Faithful, especially the Latin part (Adeste Fidelis)

20. Candy Canes? Yeah, we even have them on the tree sometimes. There’s nothing like trying to peel them off the couch.

If I can be so bold as to be allowed to tag five, I tag Cowboyangel, Crystal, Liam, Steve, and Drew.

8 comments:

crystal said...

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? What do you mean by that? What are you trying to say?

Hee hee :-)

cowboyangel said...

Thanks a lot, Jeff, for tagging me on this. It's such a quiet time of year, and I get so bored with nothing to do during the holidays, that it's nice to have something else to occupy my time. :-) (He says sarcastically on a Monday morning.)

Baked lasagna! Man, I want to have dinner with you guys.

Hey, was that plastic football player set one of the old electric football games? Where the players went flying all over the place when you turned it on?

Yeah, in the grand sceme of things, I would say that Sgt. Pepper was cooler than G.I. Joe. But I did really like those superhero action figures. I had spidey and Batman, and maybe Captain America.

As far as the mistletoe thing, you might want to talk with someone about that. Repression never works in the end. It'll come out eventually.

Jeff said...

Crystal,

What's so funny? :-)

William,

Terrific new post on your blog. I'll respond at length when I get a chance.

You're welcome to dinner any time. The lasagna is great. Anne is not one bit Italian, but her lasagna is as good as my mom's was, and that is saying something.

The football set? No, the quarterback had a lever-controlled passing arm and kicking leg, the running backs were on motorized carts, and the linebackers were on wheels. I still have a few pieces of it left, but my boys have done a good job of busting most of it up. We had some of those electric ones, though.. They were pretty random, weren't they? Waltzing linemen, and skill position players with alzheimer's.

Yeah, I had one of those flexible Captain Americas as a stocking stuffer. Captain America and Spidey... Are you old enough to remember the cartoons?

You're probably right about repression. Maybe I need to come to terms with my inner perv... At any rate, I can tell you that when I went to Christmas parties back in the day, the young ladies weren't exactly lining me up for a shot under the mistletoe. :-)

crystal said...

Jeff, could you email me at watson@who.net?

cowboyangel said...

Jeff,

I'd also like your email. Mine is cowboyangel68@yahoo.com.

>They were pretty random, weren't they? Waltzing linemen, and skill position players with alzheimer's

Sounds like the Jets last year when Vinny was back at QB.

BTW, if you know how to get in touch with Belichick or Brady, can you please ask that the team play a little extra harder this week? If you guys can beat the Jags, the Jets might have a chance to get in the playoffs. Depending, of course, on which Jets team shows up the next two weeks against the Fins and Raiders. If it's the one that beat the Pats and the Packers, we're set. If it's the one that got trounced by the Jags and Buffalo, well, next year is looking good.

Jeff said...

Crystal,

Thanks for the Christmas Card! That was very kind of you. :-)

William,

Sounds like the Jets last year when Vinny was back at QB.

Hey, Vinny’s with us now, he’s a good guy! How can you blame him when you had Herm Edwards on the sidelines?

BTW, if you know how to get in touch with Belichick or Brady, can you please ask that the team play a little extra harder this week?

Don't worry 'bout a thing, I’m all over it... You should be good to go if you guys do your part. You never know what team the fish are going to show up with. As for the Raiders, I think my son’s team could beat them.

Liam said...

I finally memed the meme, Jeff, and I hope I did it justice.

De La Tour is a great painter, nice choice.

My brother had an electronic football set like the one William is describing. A wonderful, arbitrary toy. I can't imagine even entering into your Jets/Patriots conversation, but I will say this: I finally went to Madison Square Garden and saw the Knicks beat the Jazz. It was all very strange.

cowboyangel said...

Jeff,

>Hey, Vinny’s with us now, he’s a good guy!

Actually, I love Vinny. A class act. I just didn't like him as the starting QB.

>You should be good to go if you guys do your part.

Ah . . . therein lies the rub.

Liam,

I'm terribly disappointed in your Jazz. How they could lose to the Knicks when 4 Knicks were suspended?!?! That doesn't bode well for the future, if you ask me. I wanted the Jazz to win by 30 points! I still can't believe the NBA didn't suspend Thomas as well. The thug.

Sorry, too much sports on a Christmas Meme. Mea culpa.