Oh fer chrissakes...

I see I am receiving a warm welcome back to Blogland by being oh-so-merrily tagged by Joe. Ah well, 'tis the season - to labour over trite memes until they are mildly entertaining.

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? Um... if the word "chocolate" is in the title, is it really a contest?
   
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? They better be wrapped! The surprise is most of the fun!
   
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? We've got both in my apartment. We're very non-discriminatory.
   
4. Do you hang mistletoe? I just hang around *under* it... hoping... every year... hoping ;)
5. When do you put your decorations up? Between exams.
   
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? YOU WANT ME TO PICK ONE?!?!?!? This is how I eat holiday dinner: fork up a piece of turkey, a dab of stuffing, a touch of mashed potatoes (slathered in gravy), and a hunk of cranberry sauce, and proceed to shove it all in my mouth at the same time. Yes, I do this for every bite. Note to self: do not take boy out for holiday dinner as first date.
   
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Waking up to find a present on the end of my bed - this was the ONLY thing I was allowed to unwrap until my parents rolled out of bed and my Dad set up the video camera twenty million hours later!
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Truth? WHAT truth? Are you trying to tell me something here??????????? Lol - eventually, it was the wrapping paper that gave it away - there were waaaay more empty rolls in our recycling bin that my parents could possibly have used (you'd think this makes me clever... until you realize I was about 9 or 10 years old before this dawned on me.) We kept my brother going until he was almost 12, I think - Christmas is more magical with Santa around.
   
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, but I used to lurk around them like a fiend, poking, prodding, and shaking. Then I would be poked, prodded, and shaken off to bed before I damaged anything :)
   
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? Heh - I usually try to drive my Dad crazy by flinging tinsel all over the tree, the floor, and my brother. It gets him suitably riled up for the season. We also have a bunch of gawdawful ornaments my brother and I made in kindergarten, that still make their way out into the light every year.
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? SNOW!!!!!! I WANT SOME NOW!!!! This is Canada, for goodness' sake, WHY is it above zero on the 18th of December?
    
12. Can you ice skate? You bet your ass.
    
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Getting a guitar in first year university was pretty amazing. But I think my favourite present of all was the time I opened up a basket from my Mum - you know, all wrapped up as if it was one of those trite holiday numbers filled with chocolate and nuts - and it was filled with GROCERIES! It was the cutest little student-friendly gift ever. I just thought it was brilliant.
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? No school. Lots of food. 'Nuff said.
    
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? It starts with a choco- and ends with a -late. You guess.
    
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Spending New Year's with a few good friends, totally smashed in my best friend's hot tub.
    
17. What tops your tree? In our apartment, a dinky little star from Dollarama. At home, this really kooky "angel" number my Mum made by spray-painting some macaroni silver. It actually looks aweseome, but never stands up straight.
    
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Now there's a loaded question. I'm going to do the diplomatic answer: I enjoy giving something that the recipient really loves, because I like to see their *genuine* reaction, and see them use it later. But damn, I won't lie - I ADORE getting presents :)
    
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? I like the classic ones with a great melody, like O Holy Night and In Excelsis Gloria or however the fuck you spell that. Too bad they're the most religious ones, but I guess people are more motivated when they're writing songs for God or something. I DETEST the insipid carols that are always being played on the radio, when pop artists try their best to butcher the entire melody of a song with their inventive "variations". I think if I worked in a mall and had to listen to that shit all December long, I would probably jump off the Viaduct. Or at least shoot my ears off. But for sheer fun, nothing tops a good rendition of Feliz Navidad. And I can personally attest to the fact that Santa Baby makes a great soundtrack to the exam-ravaged, stir crazy individual who runs around her apartment dancing like a burlesque maniac and then takes it out to the fire escape so the whole neighborhood can witness her insanity. Not mentioning any names, of course ;)
20. Candy canes? Mmm... yes, please.
    
21. Favorite Christmas movie? Ugh... I'm not a huge fan of Christmas movies, to be honest - I usually don't manage to sit through them. But I do remember being a fan of The Santa Clause as a kid. And of course, nothing on Earth tops A Muppet's Christmas Carol.
22. What do you leave for Santa? One cookie for Santa... one cookie for me. One for Santa... one for me :)

HO HO HO! My Christmas gift to you all is to spare you the pain of more tagging. But please feel free to go ahead anyway if this is up your alley.