Questions and answers

[Roger Thornhill]

Yes, quite a few.

Has anyone in your neighbourhood put up Christmas decorations yet?

[annavandenhazel]

Yes, I've seen a few decorated houses. The other day I saw a plastic Virgin Mary figurine plopped down next to a mailbox but not plugged in. My son and his friend couldn't quit laughing when I said, "Look at that, they left Mary by the side of the road and she's not even lit up!"

Have you started decorating for Christmas yet?

[rmichaelpyle]

No, it's not December 23rd or 24th yet...

Is your Christmas usually at home, or do you go over to a relative's home, a parent's home, or an acquaintance who invites you?

[annavandenhazel]

Sometimes at home, sometimes a relative's house. Not sure what it will be yet?

Do you serve turkey for Christmas?

[Midge]

I used to brine and roast a turkey breast, but last year I roasted a tenderloin of beef, and it turned out so well I'm going to do it again.

Nov 18, 2010 11:52:14 GMT -6 annavandenhazel said:

My son and his friend couldn't quit laughing when I said, "Look at that, they left Mary by the side of the road and she's not even lit up!"

That's very funny, Anna!

What is your favorite festive beverage?

[annavandenhazel]

I haven't done this for years, but I used to like Cranapple juice and 7-Up together.

What is your favorite holiday dessert?

[dvdjunkie]

Home-made, NOT store bought Pumpkin Pie is the choice for dessert in our home for Thanksgiving.

Are you expecting company for Thanksgiving?

[Midge]

Possibly. My stepsister Sandy may join us. She is planning to drive to Lake Tahoe, where her daughter and son-in-law are hosting Thanksgiving at their vacation house. If it's snowing up there and she doesn't want to drive, she'll stay in the Bay Area and come to our house.

Have you done any holiday shopping yet?

[dvdjunkie]

We are about 80% finished with our Holiday Shopping this year!!! That is a plus, but with our finances being rather tight we have had to be very frugal with our spending, but I don't think anyone will notice.


When do you put your Christmas Tree up, right after Thanksgiving, or closer to Christmas?

[Midge]

We like to put our tree up closer to Christmas so that it will stay fresh through the New Year.

If you have a Christmas tree, will it be natural or artificial?

[dvdjunkie]

Since we are a two family home we have two artificial trees - one is really just a small 4-ft. table model, the other is a 7-ft. white fir and that is probably the one that will go up this year about the second weekend of December.

Do you take down your Christmas tree before or after New Year's Eve, or like we do, during New Year's Eve, it is part of the party?

[annavandenhazel]

Artificial - haven't had a real tree since buying it in 2003.

Do you prefer strings of colored light bulbs (C-7 or C-9), or mini lights?

[dvdjunkie]

Not quite sure how to answer this. Our artificial tree is a prelit tree and we have had it for five years and haven't had to replace a light in it yet.

Do you have your outdoor lights on a timer, or do you leave them on all the time?

[annavandenhazel]

No timer, but we don't leave them on all the time either. Our house was apparently designed by someone who didn't believe in outside decorations - there are no outlets near the front door (inside OR outside) so we plug them into the outlet in the storage shed behind the carport, and since there's no door into the house on that side, someone has to go outside and unplug them. We tried getting a "light stake" with outlets one year, so we didn't have to go very far to unplug them, but it fell apart after an ice storm and we never bothered to get another one.

Do you prefer blinking or non-blinking lights?

[Roger Thornhill]

I prefer the static ones, I think that the flashing lights are rather distracting.

Have you got one of those large inflatable Santa figures?

[annavandenhazel]

No, those things are too much trouble to maintain.

What do you usually have on top of your Christmas tree?

[Midge]

We have a red and gold tree topper ornament that has been in Al's family for a long time.

Are you planning to attend any parties this holiday season?

[annavandenhazel]

Yes - we've been invited to one at a senior center on Dec. 10, and our church Christmas party is on Dec. 17. We also plan to drive to Spanish Fork (about 50 miles away) for their Festival of Lights; they have these elaborate lighted Christmas displays in the city park, we've gotten in the habit of going every year since 2002, although we almost didn't make it that time; they had signs pointing the way to the festival but the last (and most important) sign was missing - it was also the last place to turn off before US-6 headed into the mountains, and we were forced to travel several miles in a blinding snowstorm until we could find a place to turn around. When we got back to town we stopped at a convenience store to ask directions; once we knew where to go it was easy to find, but my husband had a few uncomplimentary words about the event organizers.

Do you enjoy driving around looking at other people's Christmas lights?

[dvdjunkie]

It is a family tradition on the last weekend before Christmas to go out and drive around and look at other house decorations. They even print a map in our local newspaper that weekend so you know where to go.

Does your neighborhood have lots of houses with lights for the holidays?

[annavandenhazel]

Just a few at present, but there will probably be more.

Have you ever left goodies for Santa Claus, or allowed your own children/grandchildren to do so?

[dvdjunkie]

Yes! We always leave Santa something to snack on, and when the kids get up in the morning, it is always all gone with a little Thank You note.


What do you usually do the week between Christmas and New Year's?

[Roger Thornhill]

I relax and I eat quite a lot.

Have you bought a lot of chocolates for Christmas?

[Midge]

Not yet, but there's still time.

Have you had your flu shot yet?

[annavandenhazel]

Yes, a couple of months ago.

Do you use stick-on bows when wrapping presents?

[dvdjunkie]

We don't fancy-up the gifts like we used to. Most of the presents under the tree are for the grand kids and they don't know about anything except ripping the paper off to see what Santa brought.


Do you use "To and From Name tags" on your gifts?

[Midge]

Yes, and what's more we remove them carefully from our packages and recycle them from year to year.

Are you going anywhere this weekend?

[addie]

Sunday morning I am going to Coney Island to swim with the Polar Bears (the swimming club), it is about an hour by subway. Outside of that I am not traveling.

Have you found as you have gotten older that time goes by much faster than it used to?

[Midge]

Oh, absolutely. I lost a couple of days out of my life just writing this However, think time would stand still if I were doing that Polar Bear swim. Brrrrrrrr!

Are you going to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve?

[dvdjunkie]

Oh, yes we are!! And in this new neighborhood we won't have to worry about the idiots calling the police on us because we allow the grand kids their five minutes marching in the front yard with their pots and pans, banging away!!! Happy New Year!!!

What celebratory toast do you make each New Year's Eve?

[annavandenhazel]

Probably not, depends on whether my son will need a ride home from the party at his cousin's church ward.

Do you plan to attend/host a New Year's Eve party?