A Yuletide Meme

1.) Have you started your Christmas shopping? Yes.

2.) Tell me about one of your special traditions. We've started making a gingerbread house every year. I like to serve cinnamon rolls on Yule morning, and might look into stollen for that instead (make ahead! yay!)

3.) When do you put up your tree? The day after Thanksgiving with the rest of the Yule decorations, at least so far.

4.) Are you a Black Friday shopper? No, I put up Yule decorations that day.

5.) Do you travel at Christmas or stay home? We stay HOME. After one holiday visiting 5 houses - well, that won't happen again.

6.) What is your funniest Christmas memory?

7.) What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time? The full length How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The half-hour version is banned.

8.) Do you do your own Christmas baking? What’s your favorite treat? Yes. Favorite treat so far is my nutty Sugar Plums, for which I've never seen the recipe. Honey and spices and nuts (no fruit) rolled in cocoa or powered sugar, and taste better after a few weeks to let the flavors meld. Yum.

9.) Fake or Real Tree? Fake, due to fire codes. I strongly prefer real ones, and generally get a live wreath to hang inside, plus 'tree-scent' candles to get the scents.

10.) What day (as a Mom) does the actual panic set in to get it all done? It doesn't.

11.) Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? Only a couple, often for stockings.

12.) What is your favorite family fun time at Christmas? All the yummy food :) Hanging out with loved ones.

13.) What Christmas craft do you like the best? You mean I have to pick just one?

14.) Christmas music? Yes or No. And if yes, What is your favorite song? In small doses, yes. Favorite songs - Adeste Fideles, in Latin; and Let it Snow, by Bing Crosby.

15.) When do you plan to finish all your shopping? A week before Yule, as we're traveling for the Christmas and Yule is several days earlier.

Any blogger is welcome to participate in this meme, even if you haven’t been tagged yet. Just simply copy and paste the questions into your blog, and then answer them. Then tag 5 or more of your favorite blogs, and leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged. I wasn't tagged; just playing along - care to join me?

When you post your blog, please spread some Christmas cheer, and leave a link back to Heather’s Top Ten Christmas Blog, and the blog that you were tagged by.

A Handmade Yule

I plan on making a fair bit of my gifts this Yule. I like to make gifts that are used. My shelves are quite full of knicknacks, and no one needs more clutter. Things like Gifts-in-a-Jar are great - it's like saying "Have a night off from cooking dinner!" or "Enjoy special hot chocolate while it snows" and such sweet things. I've picked up two recipe books for these, and I have links below as well.

Here's my list so far:

• Purse for Dear Niece
• Lemon Hand Scrub for various relatives
• Cider Jelly for various relatives
  
• Basket of homemade jellys for Grandfather (which he loves)
  
• Basket of home-dried diced peppers for mother
• Not sure what else, yet...

Although I do knit and crochet, except for what's already started I'm not sure I'll be able to make more yarny gifts. And, granted, there are only a few people that get those ... I'm more generous with food than knitwear :)

Gift-in-a-Jar links:
Cookies in a Jar
Painted Desert Chili - makes a lot of chili, tastes great, looks almost too pretty to eat. Yes, it got rave reviews as a gift!
Gifts in a Jar Recipes (several sections!)
Gifts in a Jar - LOTS of recipes!

with many thanks to Ravelers who have posted them!

sneak peak