We Wish You a Memey Christmas

I found this meme at: MommaBlogsAlot , who found the meme at The Winey Mommy, who pointed the way to the originator Heather, at The Top 10 Christmas Blog. I thought it was very seasonal! 

1. Have you started your Christmas shopping?  Mostly. I have a few things to get for family, but for us, I start early so I can make sure that things that I mail order – which is usually how I shop – have time to arrive. It would be nice to support the local economy, but DVD’s and electronic games tend to have regional encoding. Clothes that are tall enough are hard to find, etc. Shopping is done, but I have a few things to make yet.
2. Tell me about one of your special traditions. We have a Santa hat that we always wear when passing out presents – not sure if that will happen this year as our hat has not arrived yet.
3. When do you put up your Tree? Usually the first weekend after Thanksgiving.
4. Are you a Black Friday shopper? In store? Are you insane?! But I do enjoy all the online deals – goodness without all of the hassle and craziness.
5. Do you Travel at Christmas or Stay home? We’re usually overseas, meaning too far away to visit family. Staying home and enjoying the day as a family is traditional for us.
6. What is your funniest Christmas memory?  Having to tie our last cats’ first Christmas tree down (in multiple locations) to keep it upright! It was a real tree and they loooooved it. Yes, it was a mess, and also somewhat of a pain, but that tree was the biggest piece of catnip ever and it was funny. Our new kittens like their/our tree but have not yet been tempted to climb.
7. What is your favorite Christmas Movie of All time? The Santa Clause is sweet, and so is Elf, but I have to admit that I love The Nightmare Before Christmas. My kids claim it is for Halloween only, but I disagree. To me it says  that Christmas is so much fun that even Halloween wants to share the holiday. 
8. Do you do your own Christmas Baking, what’s your favorite treat? I like dessert breads and bake those. I am not a big fan of cookies, pies, or cakes, but breads are wonderful anyway, and when you put dessert and bread together in the same recipe… Mmm!
9. Fake or Real Tree? I grew up with fake trees, but for awhile, as an adult, had real trees. The thing is, when they dry out and have to be kicked to the curb, it is so sad! Definitely hits home that a tree was killed for decoration. I am very happy with our plastic stand-in. This year we had to buy a second tree as our first is still in transit. I guess next year will be truly lavish as I am sure we will not resist using both!
10. What day (as a Mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done? It varies. This year it was when I realized we weren’t going to have our household goods and were going to have to make do. We made do, so panic over. Moving around is hard on kids sometimes and so keeping things as stable as possible is important. Being in a transitional state, still, is a pain.
11. Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? Usually. It is hard to hide wrapped presents!
12. What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas? I’d have to say that my favorite part is getting up with the kids to see the presents on Christmas morning.
13. What Christmas craft do you like the best? Decorating! We often make an outline of a tree on a wall, and then tape all of the kids’ Christmas crafts (home made or from school) in the outline. I like our paper trees!
14. Christmas music? Only for the first week of the season and Christmas day. Everything else drives me bonkers. One. More.Time…. ack! Make it stop!
15. When do you plan to finish all your shopping? Soon!