Christmas This or That

Yesterday we had one SOLID day of meetings. S.O.L.I.D. My brain was mush by the end of the day, and it was our first day back after our weekend. That can't bode well, can it? ;) 

So in light of my inability to craft deep thoughts, let's have some Christmas fun today with...Christmas This or That!

1. Star or Angel?

I used to have angels on top of my tree, but I found two things to be problematic. One, my trees were tall enough that I was basically looking up their robe/nose, which is really not ideal. Two, they tended to be wing heavy and always looked like they were fainting off the back of the tree. So we use stars around here! They tend to stand up better. (And in full disclosure, one of our trees has a giant glittery red "S" on top.)

2. Egg Nog or Hot Cocoa?

We are a house divided on this one. I'm team hot cocoa and Ryan is team egg nog. I have tried egg nog before (the non-alcoholic variety) and just don't care for the flavor or the texture. He usually gets one carton of it each year, but I don't think he has this year! But give me all the hot cocoa - with whipped cream. Mmmmmm.

3. Candy Canes or Chocolates?

Do I really need to answer this? Chocolates, please!!! Mint gives me a headache, so it's definitely a chocolate answer for me. 

4. Christmas Day or Christmas Eve?

I am a Christmas Day girl all the way. I am a firm believer in holidays being celebrated on the actual day. Now, to be fair, if you want to add extra days and extra celebration, that's certainly fine. Just don't ask me to ignore the day. Ryan and I are working Christmas Day this year, which will be SO WEIRD. I've never done that before. But even though all our family celebrations are done, we will still enjoy our day together - with tenants!

5. Bake Cookies or Sing Carols?

Oh my. Cookies! I do love Christmas carols, but I can't sing! Baking? I can do that, and I did do it this year! I made cut out Christmas tree sugar cookies, and they were so yummy. I used to do a whole huge baking day every single year. I'd take a vacation day from work and load my kitchen counters with bags and bags of ingredients and bake from 8 am until midnight. I would generally hate food and not be able to feel my feet by the end of it, but it was so fun. One of these years I'm gonna do that again.

6. Wrap Gifts or Open Gifts?

I actually love both! In the string of this being a weird year in a lot of ways, I will tell you that I actually wrapped all our gifts in bags this year. I have never done that in my adult life. I always buy themed wrapping paper and do a big matchy-match thing. I had all the paper, but I had all these bags that were just gathering dust. I also had no time to wrap, so I decided to just bag them this year and save my pretty paper for next year. Also in fun trivia: Ryan is actually a MUCH better gift wrapper than I am. Like astonishingly so. I'm not bad. He's just that good! So around here, I think I'd rather open what he wrapped! ;)

7. Real Tree or Fake Tree?

Again...both. I love the fake trees for their sturdiness. (They can hold heavy ornaments like a champ!) But I do love the nostalgia of a real tree and it's been an annual tradition for us since our first year of marriage. I do think, lo these many years into marriage, that I have concluded a small live tree works best for us. We'll use artificial trees for our larger trees. But I do love my little Charlie Brown tree in the corner. 

8. The Grinch or Charlie Brown?

Speaking of Charlie Brown! :) I grew up watching both cartoons every year, and I have super fond memories of both. They usually aired on a weeknight, as I recall, and it was not typical for me to get to watch TV close to bedtime on a school night. But on those nights I would take a bath and get ready for bed and then curl up in the basement (where the only TV in our house was located) and watch while the wood burning stove kept me warm! All that to say...I loved them both, but I would pick Charlie Brown.

9. Sugar Cookies or Gingerbread?

I don't dislike gingerbread, but I grew up on sugar cookies, and they really are my favorite. For as much as I love chocolate, I admit that if presented with a choice between a chocolate chip cookie and a frosted sugar cookie, I'm absolutely taking the sugar cookie.

10. Go Ice Skating or Go Sledding?

Well until a couple of years ago, I hadn't done either! Ryan and I went ice skating on our anniversary trip in 2019 when we went to WinterFest at King's Island. I was terrified of it and though I held my own and did NOT fall down, I was also quite terrible at it. Last winter we went sledding on the hill here in town, and THAT was more fun for me. I still was a granny about it, but it was fun!

11. Pajamas or Sweater?

PAJAMAS!!! Sweaters make me so warm and itchy. Jammies are just like a hug in clothing. I'll pick the jammies every time. (I may or may not have appeared in front of a coworker in Christmas jammies the other day. I figured it was okay since people actually purposely go out in them around Christmas time.)

12. Ham or Turkey?

HAM!!!! We had it at both meals on Sunday and it's on the menu for Christmas day, too! I just can't with the turkey. 

So how about you? Any faves here?