In the Dailies

Dale over at Pyretic Ponderings tagged me in a 6 Things meme. Since I’m all in a Christmas-y mood, I thought I’d also tackle Kellie‘s meme today. Here goes.

6 Things I Value:
Faith, Grace and Mercy (I’m counting them as one thing, the opposite sides of the same coin.), Forgiveness, Truth and Authenticity (again, two sides of the same coin), Family, Fellowship

6 Things I Support: (This wasn’t in Dale’s meme, but I’m adding it because the things I support stem from what I value, but they are not the same.)
Adoption, Missions, Bible Translation, Small Government, Stay-at-home Moms, Lifetime Discipleship

6 Things I Do Not Support:
Gay Marriage, Polygamy,

Abortion, Full-day Kindergarten, Divorce, Busyness for the sake of looking or feeling important

6 People I Tag: Karen, Sarah, Lauralin, Kelly, Monica and You.

And now for something much lighter, a “Getting to Know You” meme about Christmas.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Usually wrapping paper, but occasionally I’ll find a really, really cute bag and have to use it. I have a bit of a wrapping paper fetish. I hit The Container Store the day after Christmas almost every year.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
I prefer real, but also have an artificial for practical reasons, like the years we’re away from home for Christmas and don’t want to leave a giant fire hazard in our empty house.

3. When do you put up the tree?
The first weekend of December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
January 6th: Three Kings Day

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes. Love it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
I don’t know … just being with family was/is always my favorite part of Christmas. I don’t really remember the gifts.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
My husband. No question.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
Myself…(Just kidding!) (Sort of)…The kids.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes! I have the Willow Tree set and I LOVE it!! Rick gave me different pieces for my birthday and Christmas the last couple years — first the Nativity, then the creche, the shepherds and the wisemen. It’s very classic, monochromatic and none of the characters have faces. I like that. Simply gorgeous!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Christmas cards? What are those? Just kidding. I mail them, but sometimes they don’t get out until January … or June or July.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
A giant Tazmanian devil mug that reads “It’s my way or it’s wrong.” Yes, a lovely reminder of my controlling tendencies. It has since become my husband’s favorite soup mug.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Oh, this is tough ’cause most of my favorite movies are Christmas ones: The Sound of Music, The Family Man, Christmas Vacation … all three of these are traditions in this house. We watch all of them at least three times each between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I’ve been getting better about this! This year I started in June. I found a great close-out sale and stocked up. With the exception of stocking stuffers, I was finished before the end of October. Normally, though, I start in mid-October getting pretty serious the week before Thanksgiving. It’s not about being organized; it’s about hating shopping and crowds that much.

14 . Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes.

16. Lights on the tree?
Just like I prefer a real tree, I prefer white lights. However, our artificial tree is pre-lit with colored lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
O Holy Night.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Almost always. We alternate between my husband’s family and my family, so the question is not whether we travel, but how far. Is it a day-trip or a week-long vacation?

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Who’s Santa? *wink* Um, let’s see … Donner, Prancer, Nixon, Vixen, Rudolph, Clarisse, Clinton? Okay, no.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
We do one gift on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we read Luke 2 and pray, then open the rest of the gifts.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
I love it all! I can’t think of a single thing I don’t like about Christmas.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
Red. My favorites are classic ornaments, shiny and bright, but we have an ecclectic collection of ornaments and decorations, some from my childhood, some our kids have made.

24. What do you want for Christmas this year?
I already told you about the livestock … the only other thing I want is for my family to enjoy the holiday in all its wonder! This truly is the best time of the year, and I don’t want us to rush through it only to realize we’ve missed the very best parts. Christmas is like parenting: you could miss it if you blink.