FIRST FRIDAY CHRISTMAS QUIZ

What’s your favorite gift Santa ever left under the tree?

AMANDA: Probably when I was maybe nine or ten, I got my first real big kid bike. It was a turquoise and silver Schwinn and despite the several inches of snow, my parents let me take it for a spin down the block on the scooped sidewalk!

JACQUI: I can't name a particular gift, but I do remember adoring the Sears Christmas Wishbook catalog. Just looking at it was a gift for a kid who lived on a farm in a remote community with very few shops nearby. 

E.E.: A cowboy outfit complete with "six-gun." (Yes, cowboy. I refused to wear a silly cowgirl skirt.)

LIZBETH: When I was six or seven, he left a game I really, really wanted called “Crazy Clock” and on top of the box was a pair of cowboy boots! I have no idea what that game was about any more, and the boots never did fit quite right, but I was so excited that the picture of them under the tree is indelibly in my mind and proved Santa was real.

C.H.: Thumbelina Doll in her cradle when I was 5 yrs. old – I  still have her 😉

REGAN: The kids gave me an elf hat from Disney's Prep and Landing one year. In the cartoon, the elves put their fear and worry into the hat so they can keep doing their jobs. That hat has a place of honor on my desk year-round.

ANGI: Well, mine wasn’t exactly under the tree and I have two. ONE was a Shetland pony I named Ladybird. And the other was a bicycle left on my porch. My parents took us to look at Christmas lights and when we got home, Santa had left our presents pouring out the front door… NO KIDDING !!  My parents explained that we must have caught him in the act of leaving them under the tree. 😊

What’s your favorite Holiday Movie?

AMANDA: White Christmas always makes me cry and want to go to Vermont in the winter! Unsurpassed, it remains a holiday classic with humor, romance, dancing, amazing music and heart! However, A Muppet Christmas Carol is right up there as a holiday staple!

JACQUI: How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Dr. Seuss' story,  Chuck Jones' animation, and Boris Karloff's voice are the perfect mix for me. 

E.E.: It's A Wonderful Life.

LIZBETH: Love Actually.

C.H.: It’s a tie between It’s a Wonderful Life and White Christmas

REGAN: Die Hard.

ANGI: Family Man. It’s always on the top of the stack of holiday DVDs we have. I’m not sure if I like the characters or the story the best. I love everything about it and watch it several times a year. (Of course, all of the movies mentioned are in my stack.)

What’s your favorite Holiday cartoon special?

AMANDA: A Charlie Brown Christmas

JACQUI: Since my favorite holiday movie is an animated one, here I'll share my 2nd and 3rd favorites holiday movies which (surprise! or may not?) are also animated specials from the 60s: The Little Drummer Boy and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. 

E.E.: A Charlie Brown Christmas

LIZBETH: I can’t decide between “It’s Christmas, Charlie Brown,” or “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” When Linus tells the Christmas Story—it always makes me cry. And when the WHOS all sing together even without presents, it makes me cry, too. It’s really a tie!

C.H.: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

REGAN: Disney's Prep and Landing

ANGI:  “HAPPY BURTHDAY!” That’s from Frosty the Snowman… hahaha

Which Holiday film can you watch over and over without falling asleep?

AMANDA: White Christmas

JACQUI: For many years the answer has been...none. Even films I adore aren't able to keep me awake when I'm exhausted from getting up early and going to bed late in order to...just get one more thing on my to-do list done. 

E.E.: White Christmas.

LIZBETH: This is one people either love with you or write you off their friend list for liking at all – lol. For me it’s “Love, Actually.” Every story within the story touches my heart in some way. And when Jamie (Colin Firth) butchers his Portuguese, I’m a total goner right along with “beautiful Aurelia.”

C.H. : LOL…I’m a Christmas movie junkie and can stay awake for hours!

REGAN:  Home Alone

ANGI: Miracle on 34^th Street – The original or remake. I love them both.

What’s your favorite Holiday desert you’d share with friends?

AMANDA: That largely depends on how much is left<g> I’m traditional, I love a good pumpkin pie with shipped topping! I might share; )

JACQUI: Champagne. And if it isn't dessert it should be! 

E.E.: Homemade peppermint chocolate "bark" 

LIZBETH: Any of our traditional, annually-baked Christmas cookies. I love the old Norwegian cookies my grandma taught me to bake:  Krumkake, Sandbakkelse, Fattigman, and Rosettes. Sadly, my own kids like very few of these, but I’d bring them to my friends anytime with pride!

C.H.: Christmas Cookies: Sugar Cookies, Pecan Crescent Cookies, Gingerbear Cookies…I have a bunch of great recipes that I bake every year.

REGAN:  Cherry Dump Cake

ANGI: My mother’s divinity candy.

What is your favorite Holiday tradition?

AMANDA:  There are more than one. One that I continue even after we moved was to put a candle in every window in our house. It stated when my daughter went off to college and always Thanksgiving when she came around the corner, she’d see the house in the middle of the block and knew we were waiting for her. It continued through our three sons and continues today for family and friends to know we are waiting for them to come home. Most recently, I began holiday cookie baking with my grandson, my daughter and daughter-in-law. It’s a huge mess, we play holiday music, drink hot chocolate and decorate dozens of cookies we share with friends and family.

JACQUI:  Having Christmas dinner with my family. The dinner is always turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Occasionally someone tries to add a salad, but it never gets eaten because the feeding frenzy is always focused on everything else. 

E.E.: Making Christmas cookies with my children (and soon, with their children).

LIZBETH: Just having my kids and sis-in-law at my house on Christmas morning. Usually there are also several dogs as well! It’s pure chaos and I love every second!

C.H.: Having the family get together…grandkids and all!

REGAN:  Our family has a bunch of fun traditions from decorating for Christmas the Friday after Thanksgiving to game night on Christmas Eve to our annual Lowcountry boil and movie marathon on New Year's Eve.

ANGI: We have an old KVIL CHRISTMAS CD (it was a local radio station) of holiday songs and carols recorded by local artists. Each year, we listen to it while we set up and decorate the tree. Even if I decorate most of the tree by myself now, I keep the “kids” ornaments for them to add. I also ALWAYS make divinity candy (my favorite) with my mom.

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