christmas nosiness

[emmasmommy]

as i sit here in my nicely decorated house...i was wondering....

white lights or multi colored?

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?

any special traditions you do throughout the season?

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?

[Lindsay]

white lights or multi colored? Outside: Multi w/ white in trees, Inside: Both

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?: Always a Mishmash

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?: Anything that comes on the radio

any special traditions you do throughout the season?: Giving tree, Basics in a Box, scoping different neighborhoods each weekend for lights

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?: Annual matching pj's for the boys are opened Christmas Even

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?: Not to eggnog

[adrianka]

white lights or multi colored?
White.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
Themed. For the past two year it's been red/white/silver. Before it was red/gold.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
I hate Christmas music, so if anything, I put Enya's or Enya's sisters's versions (her sister is Moya Brennan). But sometimes it's just Enya or Moya that is not X-mas themed.

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
Nope.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
If you don't count the food, cakes and TV programmes, then no.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
No eggnog here (I like it, but with age I'm leaning towards less sweet). We drink wine or mulled wine.

There is one more that might be interesting to ask - tree... artificial or not artificial? :-) We have artificial.

[jessica31876]

white lights or multi colored? White lights defenitely!

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? my theme is red & gold with the majority being balls but mixed in are nature type ornaments and a little bit of rustic type stuff. All still fitting in the red/gold though

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? mostly country christmas, some classical songs and a few new pop type songs

any special traditions you do throughout the season? not really I guess

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? christmas pictures on christmas day, unwrap a present on christmas eve, go out on christmas eve night to see decorated houses

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? My husband and son love eggnog. I however do not. The part that grosses me out is the eggs. When I was younger I loved it. I can take a sip or two but do not miss it if we do not have it

and you didnt answer the questions Laura

[LeeAndra]

Our prelit tree has white lights, so white lights it is!

We do have some generic balls that are Christmas-colored, but everything else is sentimental ornaments. We buy the kids a new ornament every year, and I have all my ornaments from my childhood on the tree, too.

The only thing better than music is CHRISTMAS music!

We have so many traditions that it's ridiculous: Christmas Eve jammies, aforementioned ornament every year, Jesse Tree (new this year), Christmas cookie session with one or both of the grandmothers, certain Christmas movies, Christmas Eve service, Jesus birthday cake... it is ridiculous, and I am okay with that!

We go to Christmas Eve service (early), have dinner (am thinking of doing homemade pizza this year), watch 'Elf,' and open Christmas jammies. Christmas morning is stockings first, then Jesus' birthday cake, then presents. It varies depending on whether we have SS or not. SS strongly believes in Santa while DD is still too little to get it (and not sure if I really want to teach her abt Santa or emphasize him as much as SS' mom has with him), so we do cookies, notes, etc. when SS is with us but I won't bother with those this year since we don't get him until the 26th.

Eggnog? Seriously?! Grooooooooooooooooooooss.

[cardinalskate]

White lights. Only.

Colors are themed, but ornaments vary. I have a purple/red/silver theme this year. With a kiddo in preschool for the first time this year, I expect to add many glittery/papery/homemade ornaments and will be glad to do so.

Love Christmas music. Gimme any of it.

We have a lot of traditions that were already mentioned. Elf on the Shelf, Christmas cookie sessions, new ornament every year.

Christmas Eve we have Christmas jammies, too. And putting out the cookies/milk/carrots for Santa and his reindeer, of course.

Mmmm. Eggnog. Let's have some now!

Oh, and we have an artificial tree.

Yeah, Laura. If you're gonna be nosy, you gotta dish, too!

[carriesmom]

tree..real or artificial? We are artificial, but I had a real tree growing up. I hate pine needles and the expense every year, plus with small kids, I didn't want to mess with it. Got it 50% off at Home Depot one Christmas Eve. Totally worth it.

white lights or multi colored? white lights. We haven't decorated the outside ever, but if we did it would be white lights as well.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Mishmash. They are all sentimental ornaments from when I was a kid and the kids get a new one every year too.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Classic songs. New fangled versions make me sad.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We are doing Elf on a Shelf this year. this is actually the year of starting some traditions since the girls are old enough to participate. Here are some I'm hoping to do: Gingerbread houses, Christmas jammies, Looking at Christmas lights. And Charlie Brown Christmas is a must watch along with the Nutcracker.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Not really, we play it by ear.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? not to eggnog, that stuff is nasty!

[emmasmommy]

ooh yah adrianka! add that to the list too LOL

and my answers

we do an artificial tree. there's too many allergy issues in this house to risk the whole 'real' thing. i love real trees but don't like what it does to my hubby or youngest dd.

white lights or multi colored?
well, we have white on the tree and white out front of the house. we DO have multi on the deck and up in the girls room.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
always, always a mish mash

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
depends on my mood. i love the michael buble/harry connick jr versions of many songs but sometimes i'm looking for something more classical.

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
we go every weekend (at least once, sometimes twice depending on DH's schedule) to look at the lights around town and in the surrounding towns. we always decorate the tree the friday after thanksgiving (well, this year we didn't but that's bc of my stupidity....). the 23rd of every year we go to my mom's and bake all the goodies for christmas day.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
christmas eve the girls always open a new pair of PJs but other than that, not really.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
eggnog literally makes me gag.

[Darcy Baldwin]

white lights or multi colored?
White lining the roof, but multi in front and inside.

Real or fake tree?
Fake. I am so allergic to real, I can't even visit folks who have real ones

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
Mish mash - our ornaments are our family memories

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
Yes though..no teeny bopper redo-s - we heard a Jonas Bros medley yesterday and I wanted to claw my ears off.

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
Jesse Tree, 25 days of Christmas stories, usually decorate Friday after Thanksgiving (not til next weekend this year), go out light viewing often

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
Christmas Eve is all about Tex-Mex, Christmas lights and Mommy's special sleepy-time hot chocolate and a Christmas movie if we're home for Christmas. Christmas morning is stockings before presents, 1 present opened at a time, and a baby Jesus birthday cake. The rest of the day is in flux depending on what family is where.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
gag

[MamaBee]

white lights or multi colored?
white... grew up with colored and always wished for white lights...

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
themed... some years I do an elegant with purple, sliver, and cream... and others a country theme with folk art ornaments, wood beads, etc.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
I love classical songs redone by today's artists... every year I need to buy one new christmas CD... this year it's She and Him.

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
A "new" christmas related book each day, st. Nick on dec 6, Jesse Tree (new this year), elf on the shelf (new this year), new Lenox ornament for family - halmark ornament for kiddo based on something he did this year)... I'm sure there are others, can't think...

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
Eve - open gifts around noon, Church at 1p.m., dinner with my folks and my step dad's aunt and uncle
Day - hubby's family comes to our house to celebrate

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
I LOVE eggnog - I have to have a quart in my fridge all holiday season... I'm the only one in my family that likes it...

Tree... artificial or not artificial?
Always artificial... I don't want to mess with the water and mess... also money... My $100 tree has lasted me over 10 years!

[mariewilcox]

white lights or multi colored? Mutlicolored

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Mishmash but all are handmade except for the Hallmark ornament my parents by for Cheyanne every year

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? We prefer Christmas songs sung by country artists

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Going to cut down our Christmas tree with my parents and my sister's family - we go to the tree farm usually the first weekend of December and cut the trees, drink cider and have cookies by the fire indoors, then head to our homes to put up our trees. Cheyanne and I also always make a gingerbread house every year. Lots of other little traditions.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Christmas Eve is spent with my son and his family - we always have lobster and open our gifts for one another. Christmas Day is always quiet - just Cheyanne and I for the day, but we go to a movie in the evening on Christmas Day.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Eggnog is disgusting... 'nuf said

[Jennilyn]

white lights or multi colored? Definitely white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Mish mash with a bit of a snowflake collection

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? I don't really listen to a lot of Christmas music, but if I did, it'd be the old music I grew up with...Bing Crosby, Alabama, Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, etc.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Not really

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Watch A Christmas Story on Christmas Eve. I'm thinking we might start going to church on Christmas Eve too. Also, the girls get matching jammies on Christmas Eve.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Eggnog, if it's not from scratch, just in a carton.

[kscwgirl]

white lights or multi colored?
I prefer white but the kids like multi, so that's what we have

tree... artificial or not artificial?
artificial

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
mishmash

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
classical

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
tree goes up on black friday and the kids open pajamas on christmas eve

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
see above

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
gag, no.

[maryinaz]

real or artificial? I love real trees, but like a lot of people we had to go to artificial when Son1 was little because of allergies

white lights or multi colored? White on trees and blue icicle lights on house (Son2 requested them last year and I really didn't care), all others are white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mishmash - we have so many ornaments! - Hallmarks, ones from my childhood, ones from DH's childhood, each of the boys have their own set of ornaments, plus other sentimental ones from throughout the years.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Any and all.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We do the traditional Advent wreath starting today, the first day of Advent, with 3 purple and one pink candle. It's lit every night at dinner starting with one candle and going up to all 4 as the weeks progress. Dec. 6 is St. Nick's Day and he always brings something for the boys. We have several traditional parties we go to, plus a baking day with my friends. December is a busy month for us!

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Christmas Eve is always watching "It's a Wonderful Life" after Mass. We used to let the boys open one gift on Christmas Eve. But as they've gotten older, the gifts have gotten more expensive and fewer in quantity, so we don't do that anymore. Nothing that traditional on Christmas Day, just the schedule of opening gifts first thing. We usually spend it just the 6 of us ever since DH's parents passed away.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? No eggnog!

[[michele]]

eta: Artificial tree!


white lights or multi colored? mixture - multi seems more Christmasy to me

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mishmash. We do have a ton of Disney ornaments though. Eventually I'd like to have a lot of star-shaped Santas and a red/turquoise color scheme

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? CLASSICAL!!

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Zoo lights, Polar Express train ride, light display at a local marina


any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Eve: Christmas jammies, stockings hung, read several books, cookies out for Santa. Day: Hmm. Not many. The kids wake up to find that Santa has brought them a new Disney blanket with their name on it. Wish we had more. Hoping that last year's wake up time of 6:00am is NOT a new tradition!

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? One cup a year is plenty for me....

[BrattyMeg]

This year is really different for us..we aren't even putting up a tree. I'm a little sad about it but we're not going to be here from the 17th til after Christmas so it wasn't worth the hassle this year for us. My kids do have a small one in their room so I'm happy with that!

I'll answer this though based on our usual

white lights or multi colored? White

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Themed too OCD for mishmash. I DO however put a fun smaller tree up in the den with handmade school ornaments and such but our big real tree is themed

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? newer..Mariah Carey, Buble, Harry Connick Jr....NKOTB

any special traditions you do throughout the season? drive to see lights, and the last 3 years we have BF shopped

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Lasagna dinner on Christmas Eve, Candlelight service @ Church, and the kids open PJs

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? NO..junk is nasty!! I do like the eggnog creamer though for coffee

Tree-Real or Artificial? 1 of each..big real one for the main living room and smaller artificial for the den

[Shawna]

white lights or multi colored?
I love white lights but when we bought our new pre-lit tree 2yrs ago they were out of white so it has colored lights. We have a mixture of both though.

tree... artificial or not artificial?
Artificial at our house, but I grew up having a real tree at my Dad's house every year and my Dad continues that tradition still and always has a ginormous real tree every year which we love!!

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
A bit of both lol: silver garland with blue, red and silver balls and lots of KU ornaments, red ornaments that look like christmas bulbs, silver snowflakes, red/white candy canes plus all of our kids special ornaments and handmade ornaments plus some that were mine growing up.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
Both, my girls and I absolutely love Christmas music and we have a huge collection that includes everything from Bing Crosby to Glee to Justin Bieber to My Chemical Romance lol!

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
We always put up the tree and decorations sometime during the week of Thanksgiving, just depends on our schedule and what we have going on. We also usually drive around looking at Christmas lights a few times too.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
On Christmas Eve we always attend Mass at our church and then the kids open their new pajamas before bed. We usually have hot cocoa and we always sprinkle Reindeer food outside and leave milk & cookies for Santa! And then I almost always stay up late to finish wrapping their presents!

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
I'm the only one in my family that likes it

[taracotta7]

white lights or multi colored? White lights!

real or fake? Fake.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Um, I wish it was themed but we have mishmash. I just can't let go of those sweet memory ornaments.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? I like it all....well, mostly. It depends on my mood.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? operation Christmas child, looking at lights, making cookies together, watching christmas movies......this year I am hoping to start Elf on a Shelf.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Christmas eve we are at my grandma's with all my cousins, aunts and uncles. We have a Cajun shrimp boil and have a blast together. We also all get new Pj's so it is picture perfect on Christmas morning. Christmas Day we are at home enjoying our present time and I always make a breakfast casserole.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? no thank you on the eggnog!

[adrianka]

Out of curiousity - what's disgusting and "gag" about eggnogg? Is it the raw egg? It's just that most people hereabouts seem to find it blah and most people I know in RL love it. :-)

[NeverendingJen]

white lights or multi colored? White, white, and white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Everything is red, white, silver, and gold with a little bit of blues and greens as accents. We are slowly replacing all the plain ball ornaments with themed ornaments from all our trips and adventures. We get a new ornament for every milestone, plus at least one for every trip, and one to represent the year.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? both, but usually classics or at least new ones in the classic style

any special traditions you do throughout the season? advent calendars, 12 days of christmas movies, looking at our ornament album, etc

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? we always take a walk on christmas eve through the neighborhood to see everyone's lights, then go home and watch white christmas and wish for real snow rather than rain, then go to bed in our new jammies. Christmas morning we always make custom cinnamon rolls(everyone gets to put their own mixings and toppings on one pan) and then open presents and just sit around and relax all day.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? no nog. cocoa like crazy though!

[kendallt]

white lights or multi colored? We do a mix of both on our tree.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? In the living room, it's mostly themed with a few sentimental ornaments thrown in. DD has her own small tree with all her special ornaments on it, and I have my "baby tree" that I've had since I was a little girl with all my ornaments.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? I'm not a huge fan of Christmas music, but when I do listen to it, I prefer the classics.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? DD gets a new ornament every year, and I get my Hallmark Barbie ornament from the series I've been collecting for almost 20 years! DD also gets a new pair of PJs every year. Our town gardens have a huge Christmas lights event every year, so we try to go to that. We also go to the Christmas pageant/Santa visit at my mom's church. This year, we're doing Elf on the Shelf for the first time. We also make cookies and a gingerbread house and usually do reindeer food too.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? My entire life, we've gone to my maternal grandmother's house on Christmas Eve to celebrate with the family. Since my grandmother passed away last year, we're trying to figure out a new Christmas Eve tradition. For now, it looks like we'll be having DH's family over that evening. DD and I have fun tracking Santa on the computer, and we ALWAYS read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas as a family right before she goes to bed.

For Christmas day, we wake up and do presents, then have breakfast (I always make a breakfast casserole), then we head to my mom's that afternoon for Christmas with my side of the family.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? DH loves eggnog, so we usually buy some, but he's the only one who drinks it.

We have an artificial tree. I'd love, just for once, to have a real one, but with my luck, it would die before Christmas! :P

[ryliesmom]

white lights or multi colored?
Multi. I don't really care either way but the kids love the colored ones.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
I like the traditional red and green colors and usually have many of those but most are a mishmash. We ones from when DH and I were kids and the ones the kids have made or have been given.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
I love most all christmas music, but my favorites are the old classics. I just love some Bing, Dean and Nat King Cole.

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
I take the kids and let them pick out something for DH and he does the same for me. I also take the kids separately and let them pick out gifts for each other. Lots of baking, gingerbread houses, etc.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
DH and I agreed once the kids came along that Christmas eve/Christmas morning were ours for just our family. We have a nice dinner Christmas Eve, watch It's a Wonderful Life, put out cookies and reindeer food, sing Christmas carols around the piano and the kids open one small gift each. We also do the Christmas pjs to wear that night, but the get them earlier on in the season. Christmas morning is stockings then presents. We do one gift at a time too. Then have breakfast. I used to do breakfast casserole but DS is allergic to eggs so I can't do that any longer.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
I love eggnog and so does DD. I only allow it once per year though because that stuff is so fattening!

Tree - artificial; We just changed about 2 years ago and although I loved the smell and picking it out together, I love the non-mess of the artificial kind. Ours is one of the thinner ones so it can be stored in DH's shop all year round and doesn't have to be taken apart and put back together each year.
__________________

[ColleenSwerb]

white lights or multi colored? White! This will like change when Swerbaby gets here and gets bigger though. For now I like white for an "adult" tree.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Currently red and gold bulbs and baubles, plus a set of Lennox carousel ornaments that my mom passed on to me, and a handful of ones either from our childhood or that have special meaning to us.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Mostly classical.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Not really. Our season always seems crazy and hectic and we're running around all the time. Hopefully with Swerbaby coming we'll start some new traditions.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? If Christmas is in NY then I like to do Christmas Eve mass, and we do a huge get together at my parents best friends house with a traditional Italian 7 fish dinner. It's one of my favorite parts of coming home for Christmas. But we've already decided that this year is the last year for traveling on Christmas. Once Swerbaby comes, we'll be starting out own traditions.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Not.

Tree - real or fake? In our house it's always real. It's one of the only things Jordan demands, lol. He always had real growing up, and it's really important to him that we get a real one. Last year we found a lot by the Lions Club and the trees actually come from the area that Jordan grew, so that makes him extra happy.

As you can see, I'm really excited to start our own traditions next year, LOL! This year we'll be with Jordan's family for Christmas (in NY right now), which means we'll likely end up driving all over PA in the span of a few days to see the extended family. I hate doing that, but I know we have to, lol.

[pewtertm]

white lights or multi colored? I prefer white, but DH and Rachel both like colored, so they win out LOL

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mostly Hallmark ornaments (I've collected them since 1989), and now getting a collection of Rachel's handmade ornaments

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? ummm...both Although I do NOT like new arrangements for traditional songs.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? looking at Christmas lights...the park across from Rachel's school has a huge drive-thru display that we do several times each season. Rachel and mom bake Christmas cookies. Rachel and DH generally put together a gingerbread house.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? candlelight service on Christmas Eve at church. Rachel gets to open one gift (pajamas) on Christmas Eve so that she'll be ready for pics on Christmas morning. At the church service (we go to 11pm), the kids all seem to be either in pj's or dressed up. Not much in-between

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? yuck. NOT.

[breakingbrie]

fake or real tree? Fake

white lights or multi colored? Our fake tree came with lights already on it and they are all white.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? We did a theme for a couple years, til the girls had gotten/made enough ornaments to turn it into mish mash, which is the way I prefer it

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? I love most christmas music... TSO is a fave, and the Glee Christmas albums are a new fave.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Not anything particular

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Nothing specific

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Eggnog is awesome, and one of the things I look forward to every year!!! (and for those who do like eggnog, Mc Donalds eggnog milkshake is the bomb! lol)

[heathergw]

tree... artificial or not artificial? artificial

white lights or multi colored? white lights

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? themed for the family room and mishmash for the one in the window

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? both

any special traditions you do throughout the season? every night starting December 1st open up a new door in the Advent book

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Christmas eve service at church and Christmas day with family

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? if I could have dairy, I'd have eggnog... but the soy eggnog is pretty gross LOL

[Jenn Barrette]

white lights or multi colored? white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?Hallmark, silver balls, and any the kids have made

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?I have mostly new'ish pop Christmas songs, and then some cartoon ones like The Chipmunks, and The Muppets

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Decorating cookies together, driving to look a Christmas lights, opening a gift on Christmas eve

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?I hate egg nog and my hubby LOVES it.

[Julie Billingsley]

white lights or multi colored?
white and red- solid, not flashing

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
not really "themed" but they are gold and red glass balls

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
a nice mix that is on my local radio station

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
included below

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
Jesus' White Stocking opened and done on Christmas Eve (explanation here)
church service on Christmas Eve
The kids open PJs on Christmas Eve
Birthday cake for Jesus on Christmas morning
Dinner with inlaws and downing a few advil because of the headache

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
No eggnog for me, but my family loves it

[mummytothree]

white lights or multi colored? We have a mix!! We have Mulit on the main tree and the boys's tree. The girls have red lights on their tree and my tree for the office has all white lights!

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mishmash!!! All most all of them made by my kido's hands and with lots of love!!!

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? I love anything from country to jazz to Celtic to classical to "hip hop"!!

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Lots! We always go cut our tree down the Sat after Thanksgiving. We then always decorate that weekend too! We do a count down to Christmas with an activity a day. We always go see the state parks lights 2 days before Christmas and then go ice skating on Christmas Eve. We also always let the kids draw names and exchange those gifts on Christmas Eve and we always buyt the kids jammies and let them open them on Christmas Eve (I use to sew them myself and they all matched but that was 2 kids ago...so then I just started buying matching jammies, but this year I think I'm going to make them again...but just matching pants) and we recently added a new tradition of new slippers with their jammies!!

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? see above for Christmas Eve Nothing special on Christmas Eve except I let the kids eat chocolate from their stocking for breakfast!!

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Normally no...but I did buy some egg nog creamer I'm going to try for my tea!!!

Edited to add: Our tree is ALWAYS real...in 38 year of my life I have only had one fake tree and it was the year (2005) we moved from Ohio to Pennsylvania on December 16th. We also go out and cut our tree down!!!

And I know not everyone likes real trees or need to avoid them because of allergies but I saw this sign posted at our Christmas Tree Farm on Saturday and I thought it was so cool and interesting!!

One acre of Christmas trees produces the daily oxygen requirement for 18 people. With approximately one million acres producing Christmas trees in the United States, that translates into oxygen for 18 million people every day

[sprauncey1]

Originally Posted by adrianka

Out of curiousity - what's disgusting and "gag" about eggnogg? Is it the raw egg? It's just that most people hereabouts seem to find it blah and most people I know in RL love it. :-)

I think that it partly is the egg thing and the other is the stuff I've tried is super sweet...sickening so. But then people here love southern sweet tea (gag me!) and other super sweet drinks. Because of the alcohol, I never drank it growing up so it doesn't have the warm fuzzies of tradition either like apple cider for me.

Plus now we have the Gingerbread Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Salted Carmel Hot Chocolates to compete for our drinking attention here. Hmmmmm....Starbucks!

Hope that helps a little. Its like the candy corn issue. Some LOVE some HATE very few are in the middle.

[Lyd]

white lights or multi colored? We don't have any lights anywhere except on the tree. White please.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Mish mash.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? All Christmas music is good. I LOVE the old classics, and some of the new stuff really irritates me. But, I like a lot of the more contemporary stuff too - just depends on my mood.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We are starting Elf on the Shelf this year. We do jammies on Christmas Eve. Thanks kind of it.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Just the jammies.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Not. I'll take wassail over egg nog any day.
__________________

[marlathrall]

tree... artificial or not artificial? artificial... hubby and I are both allergic.

white lights or multi colored? all white.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Theme. We have the blue and white them going on for our big tree. Last year, I put a smaller one up with man ornaments (John Deere) and more of a mix match of decorations. I don't know if I will be doing that this year.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Both. I love Christmas music.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We decorate the tree on the Friday after Thanksgiving...

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? We always read "Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas eve. Other than that, we are still developing our own traditions.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? I'm not big into eggnog.

[adrianka]

Originally Posted by sprauncey1

I think that it partly is the egg thing and the other is the stuff I've tried is super sweet...sickening so. But then people here love southern sweet tea (gag me!) and other super sweet drinks. Because of the alcohol, I never drank it growing up so it doesn't have the warm fuzzies of tradition either like apple cider for me.

Plus now we have the Gingerbread Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Salted Carmel Hot Chocolates to compete for our drinking attention here. Hmmmmm....Starbucks!

Hope that helps a little. Its like the candy corn issue. Some LOVE some HATE very few are in the middle.

Thanks for saturating my curiousity!

Well, I haven't had egg nog in ages, but when I was younger I liked the taste (the egg doesn't bother me, even though I prefer my portion of raw eggs in tiramisu form :-). I wonder if I'd still like the taste today, since the older I am, the less I like the sweet taste - like Bailey's, I used to love it and these days I won't touch it.

But it's also possible that it's not done that sweet here (and possibly it's not 100% the same thing, we call it egg cognac). From what I've noticed, most US desserts/drinks have more sugar than we normally use, so it's a valid theory. :-)

I like my coffee black, so Starbucks is no temptation for me. Which is a good thing, because we don't have it here (they are present in Europe, but not in our forgotten Grand Duchy). :-)

Oh, I'm with you on sweet tea. I've read the recipes and yep. Never.

I think I should try some egg nog / egg cognac to see if I still like it!

[amandabarugh]

white lights or multi colored? White lights, but I just switched to that this year.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Mishmash, but I do have a color theme, sort of. I love all the pink, blue, and green ornaments out there. So, I try to stick to those colors, with a touch of silver thrown in.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Depends on my mood.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Not really, but I wish we did have one.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Many times, we'll go to the movies after Christmas dinner.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? LOVE eggnog. One of my favorite things about Christmas.

[nesser1981]

white lights or multi colored? White

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Solid Red & Gold balls, mishmash of other ornaments, mainly hallmark

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? a little of everything, mostly country Christmas

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We do countdown to Christmas activities, started last year. Bake cookies for Santa, neighbors, go see Santa. Check out Christmas lights. Elf on the shelf this year.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? new pj's, leave a note for Santa, with Cookies & milk. Carrots for the reindeer, they also open the gifts they buy for each other. Watch how the grinch stole christmas on Christmas eve. On Christmas Day we have a Christmas movie marathon while the kids enjoy their new presents. Breakfast is Gingerbread Waffles with fruit toppings and we do our Christmas dinner on Christmas eve, go to the inlaws around 5 or 6 on Christmas day to open gifts there.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Sean likes it, I think its ok

[nanienamou]

Originally Posted by adrianka

Thanks for saturating my curiousity!

Well, I haven't had egg nog in ages, but when I was younger I liked the taste (the egg doesn't bother me, even though I prefer my portion of raw eggs in tiramisu form :-). I wonder if I'd still like the taste today, since the older I am, the less I like the sweet taste - like Bailey's, I used to love it and these days I won't touch it.

But it's also possible that it's not done that sweet here (and possibly it's not 100% the same thing, we call it egg cognac). From what I've noticed, most US desserts/drinks have more sugar than we normally use, so it's a valid theory. :-)

I like my coffee black, so Starbucks is no temptation for me. Which is a good thing, because we don't have it here (they are present in Europe, but not in our forgotten Grand Duchy). :-)

Oh, I'm with you on sweet tea. I've read the recipes and yep. Never.

I think I should try some egg nog / egg cognac to see if I still like it!

I love eggnog. I actually do it fresh for my kids on Christmas Eve, but always have 2 liter cartons in my fridge for the rest of December. The eggnog I make is not that sweet since I reduce the amount of sugar, but the one pre-made is really sweet, so I mix it with milk (like 2/3 milk, 1/3 eggnog). I also do eggnog smoothies with plain yogourt and bananas and I use it in my coffee.

[nanienamou]

white lights or multi colored? white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? blue and silver (that might change, I'm getting tired of it)

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? anything that plays on the radio

any special traditions you do throughout the season? we do an Advent calendar, my mother always comes over to make the tree with us, the boys have matching clothes and jammies, we go see Santa at my F-I-L social club on the first sunday of December

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
23rd - fondue at my inlaws and opening presents
24th - "reveillon" at my place with family and friends where we basically stay up to wait for midnight and have a buffet and games and presents
25th - in the morning, the kids open their stockings. In the evening, dinner and party at one DH's cousins hous (we alternate, some years, I end up entertaining on the 24 and the 25th).


and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?

see my other post...

[Stacey42]

white lights or multi colored? white on the tree, multicolored around the house

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mishmash but after 14 years of collecting the Star Wars ornaments are emerging as the dominant ornaments

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? a mix

any special traditions you do throughout the season? the boys get new ornaments on Dec 6th based on their interests during the year and we celebrate the Winter Solstice on the 21st

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? no

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? eggnog

[Kat Stokes]

white lights or multi colored? White on the tree (prelit artificial tree) and color on the house with white in the bushes.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? A little of both. We have a lot of firefighter ornaments.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Classical

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We have Elf on a Shelf - Buddy and of course the tree cannot go up without an Eggnog or two.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Not really. We have to split our time between families so it changes every year. Pretty much the exact same meal every year though.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? Definitely Eggnog.

[Megan Turnidge]

white lights or multi colored? White for me!

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? My tree is super boring cheap-o balls, but I'd love to do a more fun, themed tree.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Classics

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Campout in front of the tree, lots of baking, looking at lights, church Christmas party...

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Christmas Eve- open one present each (a new pair of jammies), read the story from the Bible, leave out oats and carrots for the reindeer. Christmas morning - cinnamon rolls and/or breakfast casserole, open stockings and then gifts, chill most the day, and for dinner I do a fab honey ham, potatoes, rolls, etc. Yummmm. I cannot wait!

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? *gag*

[SmallMoments]

white lights or multi colored? white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mostly red & white. I have a few "extras" on there- like our angel that represents the baby we lost.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? both

any special traditions you do throughout the season? a countdown with lego advent and an activity advent. Also, I'm stealing a pinterest idea- I'm going to wrap 25 Christmas stories and Luke gets to open one each day to read before bed. Oh! And he gets a new dated ornament each year.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? PJs to open on Christmas Eve; cookies & milk for Santa, even tho he doesn't believe in him anymore.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? NEver had it. It scares me.

[HeatherKS]

white lights or multi colored? On my tree, white only. Outside, I'm loving our red/white/green this year.

real or artificial? Artificial.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? I decorate the tree with a certain color scheme - this year is red, brown, gold/bronze - and then we add our mish mash of ornaments onto it. Best of both worlds for me.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Both. I haven't met Christmas music that I don't like.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? Driving through the light display in the park, caroling with our church family, special Christmas baking, Christmas countdown calendar.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? Christmas Eve service at church, the kids open their new Christmas ornament on Christmas Eve so they can put it on the tree, Christmas morning breakfast is always egg/sausage casserole and sticky rolls.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? I like it but rarely actually drink it. LOL

[lizzyfizzy]

white lights or multi colored?
white - all the way!

ornaments themed or just a mishmash?
kind of a mix but all matching in that christmas whimsey theme.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions?
classic!

any special traditions you do throughout the season?
really, we don't do much.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
we are pretty traditional. we open christmas p.j.'s on christmas eve. we bake cookies on christmas eve and we go around to look at the lights on christmas eve.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog?
eggNOT. lol!

[julifish]

fake or real tree? Fake

white lights or multi colored? Multi-colored LED lights - which I really don't like, but everyone else is happy. If I want white lights I have to put up a second tree.

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Mishmash, but if I do my own tree then it's themed.

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? Any kind of Christmas music will do, especially at night when the tree is all lit.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? We drive through neighborhoods looking at holiday lights in our PJ's while sipping milkshakes (DH refuses to wear his jammies b/c someone has to order the milkshakes at the drive thru); Holiday choral concert, local events like the city park lighting, snow & santa - whatever I can find; spend the night at Grandma's so mom & dad can shop and wrap; Watch the Grinch, Frosty & Rudolph; Black Friday shopping with my mom and sister; holiday can food drive - I pack a little bit of Christmas into each day.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day?
Christmas Eve we go to my parents and spend the night so we wake up there Christmas morning. Santa leaves his presents by the fireplace and they get opened first (he's also clever and uses special Santa paper), we open family gifts in the living room after some coffee. My brothers come with their families and we do gifts yet again. My generation (all 9 of us) do a Gift Swap. Then we usually pack up the car and head to my husband's grandmother's lake house and spend the rest of the day with his family. That night it's wall to wall bodies on air matresses (like 20 people in a small 2 bdrm hous). The day after Christmas we get Mc Donald's for breakfast and the guys always play golf and the gals take the kids bowling.

to eggnog or not to eggnog? Eggnog me baby! Love it! I'm right with Brie in stopping by McDonalds for an eggnog shake at least one during the season.

[BrattyMeg]

Originally Posted by sprauncey1

Plus now we have the Gingerbread Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Salted Carmel Hot Chocolates to compete for our drinking attention here. Hmmmmm....Starbucks!

Don't forget my fave..the Creme Brulee!

[kresta]

Love it!


white lights or multi colored? white

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? mishmash

christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? both

any special traditions you do throughout the season? just family visiting and church

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? used to go to church on Cmas Eve, but we're actually doing our service the night before this year; so maybe family on Cmas Eve. Then on Cmas morning, we do presents here, then go to my parents' house for breakfast and presents.

and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? no strong feelings either way...is it spiked?

[Freckles]

white lights or multi colored? I always had white lights, but this year I might change my mind about that and get some multi-colored ones. I'd like to try and take a bokeh photo of them, lol

ornaments themed or just a mishmash? Themed. Last year it was purple and white.
christmas music...classical songs or the new jazzed up versions? I only have 1 Christmas CD and it's classical.

any special traditions you do throughout the season? not really.

any special traditions you do on Christmas eve/Christmas day? family picture by the tree and everyone sleeps over at the one who's doing the Christmas Eve dinner (we take turns)


and finally...to eggnog or not to eggnog? I have nothing against eggnog, but we don't do that on Christmas (Eve)

Tree: artificial.