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Only a day late
Dec. 13th, 2003 02:58 pm1. Do you enjoy the cold weather and snow for the holidays? I've never known anything else. I suppose I might miss it if it were gone ... but I wouldn't count on that. Snow and cold have their good points, I guess, but I'm usually tired of them after about a month and want to go around without freezing myself. But after a month of snow and cold in Minnesota, I know there are five months left.
2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect? The mass of my family lead lives of quiet desperation. So there aren't any drunks or wife-beaters or jailbirds, but there are a lot of people who'll make subtle digs at each other all evening, and say they're happy with presents when they're not, and eat a lot of candy, say they shouldn't eat candy, yell at their kids for eating candy, etc. Some members of my family lead lives of loud desperation.
Be that as it may, I love Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house. I loved it when they used to get a little tree and put it on a stand; their house is so small. I love the food--the turkey, the scalloped corn, the peanut butter cups, the lefse ... she used to make krumkake too, but sadly that hasn't happened in years. I love my grandpa handing out everyone's presents. I love the card-games that go on until after midnight. I know it's horrible and sentimental of me, but it doesn't get any better than that.
3. Do you do have any holiday traditions? The day after Thanksgiving is usually spent Christmas shopping. Over the rest of the weekend, my mom will get out all of her Christmas decorations and fill the house with them. The tree tends to show up around then, too. My dad puts lights on the house and bushes, usually on the coldest day of the winter. My brother's and my birthdays are both in December, so they seem part of the holiday tradition too. Then we spend Christmas Eve at my grandparents, Christmas morning opening our immediate-family presents, and Christmas Day with my dad's side of the family. The tree comes down on New Year's Day, if it makes it that long, as we watch football or parades.
4. Do you do anything to help the needy? I always give my pocket change to the Salvation Army bell-ringers when I see them. Not much, but it does make me feel good.
5. What one gift would you like for yourself? This year, I am lusting after the DVD box sets of The West Wing and South Park. I've dropped unsubtle hints to my parents along these lines, but if past performance is any indication of future results, I will not get them.
2. What is your ideal holiday celebration? How, where, with whom would you celebrate to make things perfect? The mass of my family lead lives of quiet desperation. So there aren't any drunks or wife-beaters or jailbirds, but there are a lot of people who'll make subtle digs at each other all evening, and say they're happy with presents when they're not, and eat a lot of candy, say they shouldn't eat candy, yell at their kids for eating candy, etc. Some members of my family lead lives of loud desperation.
Be that as it may, I love Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house. I loved it when they used to get a little tree and put it on a stand; their house is so small. I love the food--the turkey, the scalloped corn, the peanut butter cups, the lefse ... she used to make krumkake too, but sadly that hasn't happened in years. I love my grandpa handing out everyone's presents. I love the card-games that go on until after midnight. I know it's horrible and sentimental of me, but it doesn't get any better than that.
3. Do you do have any holiday traditions? The day after Thanksgiving is usually spent Christmas shopping. Over the rest of the weekend, my mom will get out all of her Christmas decorations and fill the house with them. The tree tends to show up around then, too. My dad puts lights on the house and bushes, usually on the coldest day of the winter. My brother's and my birthdays are both in December, so they seem part of the holiday tradition too. Then we spend Christmas Eve at my grandparents, Christmas morning opening our immediate-family presents, and Christmas Day with my dad's side of the family. The tree comes down on New Year's Day, if it makes it that long, as we watch football or parades.
4. Do you do anything to help the needy? I always give my pocket change to the Salvation Army bell-ringers when I see them. Not much, but it does make me feel good.
5. What one gift would you like for yourself? This year, I am lusting after the DVD box sets of The West Wing and South Park. I've dropped unsubtle hints to my parents along these lines, but if past performance is any indication of future results, I will not get them.