A Christmas Tag!

My grandson Payton, Christmas 2008

I've been tagged by the lovely Mrs. Amber Apple. Here we go!

The Christmas Quiz

1.What is your one favorite dish to see on the table at Christmas dinner?
My sister-in-law Gail's sweet potatoes

2.Do you have a Nativity scene or a creche? How many pieces does it have?
I do! It was given to me a couple of years ago by my dear friend Teri. It has eight beautiful pieces.

3.What is your favorite Christmas movie?
It's a Wonderful Life

4.If you and your family could spend this Christmas in another country, where would you go?
Well, all my loved ones would have to go with me...but much I would love to go to Ireland or France, I think probably the Swiss Alps would be amazing at Christmas time!

5.Does your grandmother usually knit you something for Christmas, or does she give you something different — say, a Wii?
Sadly, both my grandmothers are in heaven. But interestingly, neither of them knitted!

6.Have you ever gone out of the house wearing a reindeer headband? What about a Santa hat?
Not yet, but I wouldn't be opposed to it!

7.Do you usually make or buy your Christmas gifts?
I've made some in the past (when everything was all about the "country" look), but not lately.

8.When do you set up your Christmas decorations? When do you take them down?
Usually it's a trickle that starts the day after Thanksgiving and is fairly complete by early December...but we don't have a tree yet! :(

9.What kind of activities does your church usually have at Christmas?
A Christmas cantata/reader's theater.

10.Did you ever believe in Santa Claus as a child?
Honestly, I can't remember actually believing in Santa, but I thought it was fun to go along with it.

11.Which of the Gospels gives your favorite account of the Christmas story?
Luke

12.Have you ever acted in a Christmas pageant? What part did you play?
I don't remember acting in one, but I've sung in them. A particular memory is when I was in the fifth grade, attending a school in Beirut, Lebanon. We had a big Christmas pageant and even sang on TV.

13.Do you buy Christmas presents for your pets?
I have a couple of times, although I don't make it a priority.

14.What is your favorite Christmas tradition?

When my kids were little, we had Swanson family Christmas on Christmas Eve, with all my husband's brothers and their families. The Swansons are Swedish-American, and Swedes celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. We would eat delicious food, open gifts that we had exchanged names for earlier, and the evening would culminate in watching and laughing over hundreds of family slides.

When we got home--fairly late--we would open our own family presents. Yes, on Christmas Eve!

After everyone went to bed, I would fill stockings, hopefully giving each child some things they would really enjoy getting in their stocking, plus candy, of course. So the stocking was like a kind of bonus gift, and Christmas Day itself was spent with our own family and one or two others.

Our Christmas celebrations haven't always followed a specific pattern, though. Several times we've gone to Texas for Christmas; a couple of times we've gone to Wyoming where my sister Beverly lives.

One of my favorite Christmases completely broke our pattern. When my son Jonathan was a student at Cedarville University in Cedarville Ohio, he worked at a Franklin Covey store at the mall. He had to work both Christmas Eve and the day after Christmas, so he couldn't come home.

So we decided to bring Christmas to him. My husband, my other son and my daughter and I packed up and went to Cedarville. We stayed with him in the little Victorian home he shared with some other guys, who had all gone home for Christmas.

It turned out to be one of our happiest and most fun Christmases, and it was just the five of us.

For me, Christmas is all about celebrating the birth of Christ with my family. I'm overjoyed that all my three children and my two grandchildren will be with me for Christmas!

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular, but if you do this on your own blog, please let me know in my comments section!

Please hop over and check out my book blog, Cindy's Book Club, where today I'm featuring some awesome bloggers!