The Christmas Tag

Tag, I’m it.

Hannah chose me as part of her Christmas Tag, meaning I must do the following:

1. Thank the blogger that tagged you and link their blog to your post. (Thanks, Hannah!)

2. List the rules in the post.

3. Answer all the questions asked by the blogger.

4. Nominate some other bloggers and provide them with 12 new questions!

1. What’s your favourite thing about Christmas?

To be honest, presents. Relax … not because they’re the only thing I care about (although I do like them a lot), but I like everyone gathering around to open presents and hand them out, and there’s usually no small amount of joking around!

2. What’s the worst Christmas present you’ve ever received?

I don’t remember anything specific, but I had a family member who used to give some really wacky ones, but she also gave me a calendar of panoramic views of minor league baseball parks, which I loved.

3. What meat do you have with your Christmas dinner?

We don’t actually have a set Christmas dinner, and with it being at my parents’ this year, I have no idea what my mother is going to make. When we’ve had it at our house, my wife has made roast beef, but she also made lasagna, which was a hit.

4. If you could only watch one Christmas film for the rest of your life, which would it be?

Easiest answer of all — “Love Actually.”

5. When do you open your presents on Christmas Day? (i.e. as soon as you wake up, after your lunch/dinner etc.)

We do them with my wife’s parents Christmas Eve, usually right before or after dinner. On Christmas Day with my parents, right after we arrive.

When my brother and I were little kids, our parents made us eat breakfast, wash our faces and brush our teeth before presents. You can imagine how frustrating that was!

6. Chocolate or cheese?

Chocolate

7. What is the most underrated Christmas song?

I don’t know if it’s underrated, but Josh Groban’s “O Holy Night” is a really good Christmas song that I don’t always immediately think of when I think of really good Christmas songs, so I’ll say that. (Plus, his current album, “Bridges,” is incredible and would make a great Christmas gift for anyone.)

8. What is your go-to Christmas dessert?

Pie

9. What would you ultimate dream Christmas entail?

Everyone laughing and being happy. The rest is just details.

10. Do you have a Christmas day routine or do you just go with the flow? If you do, what does your routine entail?

Breakfast with the in-laws, go to wherever we’re spending Christmas Day with my family (our house or theirs), open presents, dinner.

11. Have you ever had white Christmas?

Yup, most recently last year. However, when you’re driving somewhere for Christmas, the thought of a white Christmas is NOT enticing. (I would have never been able to do it last year without my wife’s help.)

12. Are you a brussel lover or a brussel hater?

I’ve never eaten them in any circumstance.

Those were Hannah’s questions, but I saw a few others in her post and others that I thought might be fun to answer.

If you had to choose between Michael Buble’s Christmas album and Justin Bieber’s Christmas album, which one would you choose and why?

True confession … I like Michael Buble a lot, but while there are good songs on his Christmas album, there are also some clunkers. (His version of “Santa, Baby” is absolutely cringeworthy,)

However, any question that includes the phrases “If you had to choose” and “Justin Bieber” is always going to be the other person unless the question is “If you had to choose who should be deported immediately (almost any other person) and Justin Bieber, which one would you choose and why?”

Do you put a star or an angel on top of the tree?

Not just a star, but the Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson ornaments go right under the star.

How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa?

I have no idea what you’re talking about! And amazingly, Santa’s handwriting is exactly the same as my mother’s!

So now I have to come up with some of my own, and you should feel free to answer any of the ones above.

1. What’s one Christmas tradition from your childhood that you still wish you did today, even though you’ve long since outgrown it?

2. Do you prefer Christmas lights on people’s houses to be understated or extra?

3. Memory from a previous Christmas that to this day makes you laugh your head off?

4. Church or no church?

5. “Love Actually” — great Christmas movie, or greatest Christmas movie? (If you read to this point, you know what the answer better be.)

6. Stockings for your pets, or no?

7. Has anyone ever actually brought you figgy pudding?

8. What exactly is figgy pudding?

9. Have you ever gone Christmas caroling?

10. Completely unexpectedly, a celebrity knocks on your door Christmas Day with presents for you and yours. Who would you want it to be?

11. If you could fly away to some foreign country for Christmas, where would you go?

12. If money were no object, what gift would you want for Christmas? What gift would you want to give?

Whom shall I tag? How about Lesly, Molly, Savannah, Becky, Paul, Hannah, the Girl on the Fly, Lucy and Sara?

And because it will be fun, I’m going to tag some non-bloggers on Twitter: Joy, Rob, Gardner, my boy Poopsie, Jon, Bob, Renee, Camy and Caitlyn. Maybe they’ll reply in the comments. Maybe they’ll send a really long Twitter string. Maybe they’ll curse my name in private, but what the heck?