Friend Makin' Monday (on Friday) - Christmas is Coming

Wooo, I've missed doing these!  Many thanks to Sara at sararunsthisweigh.com for keeping this going!

Christmas is coming!

Here’s how it works: you copy the questions, answer them and post them to your own blog. Then you come back here, and in the comments, post the link to your blog post with your answers to this week’s questions. If you don’t have a blog of your own, just post your answers in the comments.

1. Do you celebrate Christmas?  Yes

2. What are your Christmas traditions?  Every other year (this is one of them) we drive to Arkansas and spend Christmas and New Years with my Mother In Law.  We get together with my crazy family before we leave to exchange gifts & hang out.  For the Michigan years, it's changed in the past couple years since Dad passed away, so I'm not even sure what they're doing anymore.  In my house, we also take an evening to go out to dinner at this little diner called chomp (yes - lowercase c) and walk up & down Main Street in nearby Rochester. The entire mile or so stretch is totally covered in lights.

3. Do you decorate for Christmas?  Yes!  I have a small collection of blowmolds for the front yard - for some reason I have no pictures - GASP !!!  I'll remedy that when we get home.  On the inside we have our tree with colored LED lights & I have a collection of over 100 nutcrackers so they are everywhere!

4. What was Christmas like for you when you were a child?  I'm the youngest of 5 so it was chaos.  It always looked so magical, coming down the stairs and seeing all those presents around the tree!!

5. Is there anyone on your Christmas list you don’t like buying gifts for? Why?  The hubby is a pain in the butt to buy for and so is the kid (she's 17).  Neither of them lack for anything. 

6. Is there anyone you particularly like buying gifts for?  Nope.  I was so disgusted this year that I threatened to give everyone in the family nutcrackers from my collection....and I did!  

7. Did you believe in Santa as a child? Do you remember when you found out he wasn’t real?  My brothers & sisters did a great job of not giving away that secret!  I found out the year I was probably 10 when I went into the basement ~ where I never went ~ and saw Mom with a pile of presents behind the couch.  Let me tell you I turned and ran back up those stairs!

8. I know Elf on the Shelf has only been around since 2005, but did your parents do anything similar when you were younger to make you behave during the holidays?  Nope.  

9. Speaking of Elf on the Shelf, do you have one?  No way - they are so creepy!

10. What is your dream Christmas (present/decorations/vacation/whatever)?  My dream present would be something thoughtful that I didn't have to suggest to someone or buy myself.  I actually broke down & cried while wrapping the presents this year since I wasn't looking forward to the annual disappointment (this includes Valentines & birthdays, too). And it was, too.  I didn't get the simple thing I suggested to the hubby because I didn't search for it online and send him a link to it and I didn't get the simple thing I suggested to the girl because her & the hubby didn't make time to go out shopping together before we left to come to Arkansas.  They thought I was kidding when I told them they both suck. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!