Holiday Questionnaire

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December is here ready or not and I have definitely been feeling the pressure of decorating, gifting, giving……elfing.  Jenn at Going the Distance posted this little Holiday Questionnaire and I love it!  Instead of focusing on all the crazy it made me think of the fun this season brings.   Since I have also been in a bit of a blogging rut I thought I would share!  
 
A holiday tradition:  Everytime this question comes up for any holiday it stresses me out!  I don’t know why but our family is evidently just too spontaneous for traditions because there is never anything that we do year after year.  We always have Christmas with the Janac’s on Christmas Eve, Christmas morning at our house and then we will travel down to my hometown to celebrate with my family.  Other than that nothing ever rolls the same for us.
 
I do always bake my Meme’s Chocolate cookies and we have fun delivering to some of our friends.  My mouth is watering just thinking about them!
What you’d love to see Santa bring you most this year:  I would love for Santa to bring me a vacation somewhere fun where my entire family could all be together.  I do not think that is probably in Santa’s budget so I took it upon myself to buy a new vacuum on Black Friday. Ha!
 
What’s your go-to stocking stuffer item:  I go overboard on stockings every single year!  If you missed my Monday post it was all about my favorite stocking stuffers.  Socks are probably the biggest go to item because they work for everyone in the family.
Who is the hardest to shop for during the holidays? Definitely my mother-in-law and sister-in-law!  These two love to shop and pretty much do it all year long.  They are super hard to surprise.
 
Favorite winter accessory:  Definitely scarves!  It’s been cooler in Texas finally so I have loved pulling all my scarves out.
 
Christmas Tree lights; colors or all white? I grew up with all colored lights and still love them but when we switched to an artificial tree we became a white light family.  I love all the twinkling.
Favorite holiday cocktail:  Super easy on Christmas morning is mimosas but with cranberry juice instead of orange to make it a little more festive.  Yesterday Annie shared these Mistletoe Margaritas and I’m thinking these would be super fun for a girls night out.
Favorite holiday food: Tamales!  We have had tamales for Christmas with my family my entire life and it is always the one thing I look forward to the most.
 
Do you have a good white-elephant gift idea?  I seriously was at a party one year when someone brought rat traps!  I don’t recommend that.  When all else fails an outrageous ornament always works!
 
Do you have a funny picture of you and Santa as a kid?  (post if you do) Ahh…I wish!  I only remember seeing one picture of myself with Santa and who knows where that is.  Our kids are blessed {or screwed} with the digital age and the fact that we can pull out pictures at any time!  Like this little gem for instance…Carly Jo has never been impressed.
Do you like candy canes?  I’m not really a peppermint fan so I would say candy canes are not my favorite.
 
Hot chocolate…marshmallows or no marshmallows?  If I’m going to drink hot chocolate I definitely want lots of marshmallows!  I made this fun hot chocolate bar for the kids this week and lets just say it’s running low by Friday.
Favorite holiday song: I love Christmas music!  Probably my favorite traditional song would be O Come All Ye Faithful.  I just love to gather and sing all those traditional songs.  We have the CD’s on repeat in my car right now and I love that Carly asked for me to turn it on as soon as we get in the car!  All I Want for Christmas is You is probably one of my favorites too and of course there is always the ever dysfunctional family Christmas song that always gives me a giggle…Robert Earl Keen’s Merry Christmas from the family.
 
Favorite holiday movie:  Family friendly Elf is always a favorite but I love to sit by the tree lights with a glass of wine when everyone else is asleep and watch Love Actually or the Holiday! This year I have on my list to watch some classics like Miracle on 34th or White Christmas because…y’all…I’ve never seen either one!!
 
A funny holiday story: my mom always took for-EVER to decorate our tree.  She was quite the perfectionist and everything had to be aligned just right…no mixing the large balls with the small.  We always had icicles (dating myself if you know what those are) and she would lay each one strategically on the tree.  One year after a little too much “Christmas cheer” my dad walked in and told her “that’s not how you do it” as he began picking up the icicles and tossing them in the air to gently fall where they may land on the tree.  I’ll never forget the look on my moms face!!
 
Have  you ever been on a sleigh ride?   Nope, but how fun!
 
A fun holiday memory:  When I was growing up we always had both my mom and dads family over for Christmas Eve.  I can remember going outside with my grandpa and looking up at the sky and talking about where Santa was at that moment.  He would always have me convinced I could hear the sleigh bells.
 
Bonus {I’m adding this one!}  Favorite Elf Memories:  I have to tell you guys I despise this little elf but every year once he arrives there is just so much magic in our house!  Some years he’s been naughty and some years he’s been nice.  This year he has come encouraging kindness!  Kindness to others and kindness to ourselves.  You can follow along with my friend Holly and I on our elf adventures as well as lots of others on Instagram using the hashtag #unshelfyoelf2015
Here are some favorites from last year! 
 
Hope you guys are crossing off all those gifts on your list and finding a way to have some Christmas cheer!  My fave party of the season is tonight and I can’t wait to see some of my favorite friends.  
 
 Linking with||Friday Favorites with ErikaAndrea & NarciOh Hey FridayDiary of a Real Housewife , High Five for FridayFriday Flash BlogFriday FavoritesThoughts for Friday
 
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