Holiday Traditions: In Which the Chick Swears & Miss Emmie Has Too Much Whiskey

Bella Foxglove at Memoirs of a Crazy Witch tagged me to do a fun Holiday survey about the Yule Traditions here at the Lilypad. I gathered all the animals round, poured the eggnog (Miss Emmie wanted extra whiskey in hers!), and we thought through our answers.

(Of course, Miss Zoe would like you to know that Bunnies have much different Holiday and Yule traditions, so She sat mostly in the corner with her back to us. She did, however, make us add some carrot to Her eggnog, so She was a little in the spirit!)

Here it goes!

1. Have you started Yule shopping yet? YES!! DONE!!! Cats, Bunny, and the Chick!! All done!! (With lots of help from..er...Mr. Rumi.)

2. Tell me about one of your special holiday traditions? Let's see. We do enjoy putting the pickle ornament on the tree. We have tried to develop our own traditions over the years. They get better and better all the time. One of my personally favorite Holiday Traditions is listening to the flow of obscenities that emanates from a BlissChick stringing the lights on the Tree! Classic!!

3. When do you put up your tree? The earlier the better, but we don't like it to get dry. The cats are obsessed with drinking the Tree water, so it doesn't stay properly hydrated! This year, we are waiting a little longer than usual since the Chick's been out of town. Sigh.

4. Are you a Black Friday Shopper? NOPE! Went a couple of times though. Great people watching opportunities if you can stand the traffic and such.

5. Do you travel at Yule or stay at home? We have ALWAYS traveled. This year, for the very first time in our 15 years together, we will be AT HOME on Christmas morning. WOW!

6. What is your funniest Yule memory? Christine putting blue, shiny ball ornaments in her ears and yelling: "Look at my big blue balls!!" She slapped them back and forth against her neck, while we all looked on in awe and amazement. A little too much eggnog that night? Perhaps.

7. What is your favorite Yule movie of all times? A Charlie Brown Christmas. Meaningful, poignant, and full of Snoopiosity!! I love the Snoop! We also enjoy Elf.

8. Do you do any Yule baking and what's your favorite treat? I LOVE to bake, so yes. But not too much baking, or we eat it all. The Chick has a favorite family fudge recipe that I like to make. Simple. This year, I think i'm going to make the stickiest sweet rolls ever, too.

9. Fake or real tree? Real. Sometimes I feel badly about that, but they are already chopped down, so then I feel like they need to be cared for anyway. Also, we put the Tree out in the backyard post-season and fill it with birdseed and stuff. The OutdoorBunnies use it as a shelter, and birdies seem to like it, too.

10. What day does the actual panic set in to get it all done? No panic. Just fun!

11. Are you still wrapping presents on Yule Eve? Uh-huh! And cats and bunnies love to "help" so it takes awhile.

12. What is your favorite family fun time at Yule? All of them! I guess I like relaxing evenings with music and the candles and Tree lights on. It feels magical to me. It's really fun to put the Rabbit under the tree!

13. What Yule craft do you like best? Craft? Not very crafty I'm afraid. I wish I had something cool, like knitting a gingerbread house or constructing a chocolate nativity set (Mmmmmm... sacrilicious!), but I got nothin' on this one.

14. Yule music? Yes or No, and if yes, what is your favorite song? Yes. I love holiday music. I love Harry Connick Jr.'s "The Happy Elf." Also, in sticking with the favorite Holiday movie theme, I greatly enjoy the Charlie Brown Christmas. John Denver and the Muppets is always a favorite (who doesn't love Muppets???), and then there's the Rat Pack Christmas-- OK, I guess i just like everything.

15. Do you plan to finish all your shopping? Ummm... I thnk I answered this at the top. Full Circle!!

Here are my picks, and if you do not want to do it, then of course you do not have to!

Carly at Peeling a Pomegranate

Mrs. B at Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom

Lisa at Nerdy Renegade News

Linnea at Playing Connect the Dots

Bethany at Bloom