CC & Mad for Plaid

                                                                   

                                       

So...I'm not doing so well on keeping up with the Christmas Challenge. It's turned into more of a Q&A list rather than 25 Days of Blogging, but oh well...Can't quit now!

7. Most memorable Christmas: There's something memorable about so many Christmases that it's hard to pick just one! I was the only kid in the family for a long, long time, so all of my aunts, uncles and both sets of grandparents used to come to my parents house super early on Christmas morning. They'd come for breakfast, watch me open presents and stay through the evening-- that's probably one of the reasons I hate opening presents in front of people now. I was on display for so many years!



There are memories of going out in the woods  to cut down a Christmas tree, me sitting on a sled, eating snow...There are memories of watching Christmas Vacation over and over and over again when I slept over at my best friend's house. It seemed we would watch it every time we had a sleepover. In high school and early college, all of my friends would gather at one house every year on Christmas. Those first couple of years when we got together at Christmas for our mini-reunions were pretty special...

My most recent 'most memorable Christmas' was our first married Christmas. On Christmas morning, we woke up at the lake, ate breakfast, made a fire and went through what seemed like endless piles of presents.  And lately, Christmases have been pretty memorable thanks to these munchkins, our adorable nephews.  

                                     

                                         
8. Christmas Decor: The Sailor surprised me and put up outdoor lights last week. I went to the gym for a quick 45 minute workout, and the house was decorated when I returned home!

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9. Easiest person to buy for: Big T. Reasons: #1: He's a clothes horse. #2: He loves books and music. #3: He cooks. Lots of hobbies makes it easy!

10. Favorite holiday scent: Balsam fir, cedar, Thyme's bitter orange and cedar candles, hot mulled cider, Christmas cookies.

11. Favorite Christmas tradition: It's silly, but I love it when the Sailor wears his Santa hat with "Naughty" on one side and "Nice" on the other. I bought it as a joke a couple of years ago, but he wears it the whole holiday season. What a sport! And, although he's not with us anymore, another one of my favorite traditions was my grandpa's annual Christmas outfit. He was a bit of a grinch so everyone used to buy him tacky Christmas garb as a joke. Every year, he'd wear a red sweater, green fisherman's hat with mistletoe on top and Christmas socks. Photos to come.

Phew, that was long. I guess that's what I get for being a bad blogger and not keeping up with posts. If you're still reading, I'll leave you with some photos of what I'm loving lately:

 Beam me up! I want to hang out here!