1. Christmas Eve is upon us and you are in the midst of last minute preparations. What is going on in your house on this busy, busy day?
We're checking last minute flight schedules and road conditions to make sure no one is delayed. Yes, the weather outside is frightful, but if our home isn't filled with our loved ones on this holiday eve, the holiday won't be quite as delightful. The whole family is gathered around the Christmas tree to put the finishing touches on it. Mom found a whole box of childhood ornaments and if the tree doesn't topple over from the weight, we're hoping to put ever last one on its branches. I'll probably run through the house just once more to make sure all the holly is straight and no one has eaten Santa's cookies. I'm checking my list just one more time to make sure that everyone has at least one gift. Oops, I missed Uncle Marvin, well it's off to the mall for me again! I hope I don't get caught in all of the holiday rush. I'm busy filling up platters of food, checking the liquor supply and making sure that our home is warm and cozy for the evening's festivities. We have to make sure we have all the necessary ingredients to keep this house rockin' until Santa comes down the chimney.
2. It's here! It's here! Christmas has finally arrived! You go running downstairs... and then what? What is a typical Christmas day look like in your family?
Typically Christmas begins the moment we hear Santa's sleigh depart from the roof. We'll rush downstairs to see all of our presents. Then we'll resume our festivities around the holiday table with all of our Christmas treats. After we've had our share of ham, gingerbread cookies and egg nog, we'll go caroling to bring the holiday spirit to all of our neighbors. When we're through we'll head home to curl up by the fire and watch Miracle on 34th Street. Well, we'll all gather together around the tree and exchange presents. Then we'll sit down to a large holiday feast. Once that is through, we will go to our cousin's house and do the same thing with the extended family. Christmas begins and ends with presents for us! We'll open one or two on Christmas Eve-- because we can hardly wait to see what we've all received-- and then dig into the real loot on Christmas day. The rest of the day we'll spend playing with all of our new stuff. The table will be set and we'll sit down with a nice bourbon to begin our day. The kids will open presents, the adults with eat their weight in food. We'll top it off with an Irish coffee and then head to a huge Christmas day party.
3. Christmas movies are the best. They represent all the different aspects of the Christmas spirit. Which film really sums up your feelings about Christmas?
A Christmas Story! I can totally relate to Ralphie's dilemma. There have been tons of times I've wanted a really special gift for Christmas and it just felt like I would never receive it. White Christmas! Bing Crosby trying to create the biggest Christmas gathering his old Colonel has ever seen? That seems like so much fun. Home Alone! Christmas is about the family and if even one member is missing the holiday is bound to be less jolly. A Christmas Carol. It's old and classic, just like the Christmas spirit it celebrates.
4. Christmas just isn't Christmas without one special thing. What is that element that makes the holiday so special for you?
It's the most fun time of the year! There are more parties during the Christmas season than at any other time of the year. Presents! Can't get enough of them. There isn't one thing that makes Christmas special. It's the feeling the comes with all the little elements like a caroler or an angel atop of a tree. Having all of my loved ones around me. It just fills me with Christmas joy.
5. Whoo! Christmas is finally over. Looking back on your holiday, you realize this was not quite the happiest Christmas ever. What happened that made this particular Christmas less special than Christmases in years past?
It's not that it was bad, it just seemed to go too quickly. I hardly got a chance to revel in the holiday spirit. My brother was stuck in Tuscan and was unable to join us for the holidays. Nothing felt the same with out him; we missed him a great deal. I didn't receive exactly what I wanted for Christmas. I guess there's always my birthday, but that seems so far away! My annual party was a total disaster. Uncle Berry got wasted and threw up in the ficus. Aunt Harriet spilled the cranberry sauce all over my white carpet. I don't even know why I throw the annual shindigs.