Christmas meme

h/t Suzanne

1.What is your favorite Christmas carol?
Well I love lots, most of the “biggies” have a special verse or line hidden in there somewhere, but I think my all-time favourite would have to be “Hark the Herald Angels sing” (even though when I was a little I thought the herald angels had something to do with the Sydney Morning Herald, our local newspaper). Verses 2 &3 still touch some incredibly deep place inside me.

2.What is your favorite secular Christmas song?
How secular do I have to be? Santa songs do nothing for me, and winter/snow ones even less since, Aussie born and bred, I’ve only ever known Christmas in summer. There are some great Aussie carols (and some silly ones, like the 3 drovers who hear the angels sing) but they still mention Jesus, one way or another. If I’m allowed to have something that’s not a carol but not all that secular, I’d probably settle for Do you hear what I hear?

3.What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Sorry, I hardly know any Christmas movies. This may be a cultural difference, with a summer Christmas we’re out going to carols by candlelight and stuff like that, there aren’t even all that many “Christmas” movies on tv.

4.What is your favorite Christmas memory growing up?.
As a teenager in the church youth group I would go carol singing Christmas Eve. We’d sing as we walked the streets, wishing everyone we saw a “Merry Christmas”. We’d stop at the homes of some of the youth group parents, sing them several carols and earn ourselves some refreshments, then be back at the church in good time for the 11:30pm service, It worked out so that virtually our first act on christmas morning was to take communion.

5.Do you shop early or are you a late shopper?
Medium. I start early december, and aim to be done by a week before christmas (which is when schools break up for the summer holidays, and the shops get REALLY full) then a few days off before I have to worry about the food.

6.Is your tree real or artificial?
Artificial. Real trees don’t last long in summer conditions, and we like to follow the English tradition of putting up our tree at the beginning of Advent and taking it down 5th January (end of the 12 days of Christmas)

7.Do you still put tinsel on your tree?
Still? I’m missing something here. Not traditional tinsel, and not lights either, just lots of ornaments (mainly angels and reindeer and a few stars)

8.Do you read the Christmas story every year on Christmas day?
Is this an American tradition? No, but we go to church.

9.Would you consider yourself to be a Grinch?
Last time I looked I didn’t have green fur.

10.Are you more like Scrooge or Father Christmas?
My problem is figuring out how much I can give people without embarrassing them. Giving presents is so much fun!

11.Do you make homemade gifts for friends and family?
My life is a craft-free zone.

12.What was the worst Christmas present you ever received?
A carpet-sweeper, and I won’t embarrass my husband by telling the whole story.

13.What was your favorite Christmas present ever?
When I was 8 I got this huge parcel. Inside were over 20 books. I was ecstatic! (But then I still feel like Christmas every time a box arrives from Amazon. Which probably tells you a lot about me – but yes, I survived a lonely and rather abusive childhood by escaping into books)

14.On the average how many presents do you buy for each of your kids?
Who’s counting?