Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping presents is one of my favorite things to do! I remember getting really elaborate with the ribbon in my early teen years, they were works of art, let me tell you! Gift bags are awful for presents but super cool for storing things like stationary and cards or as part of the decorations with heaps of pretty ornaments inside.

Real tree or artificial?
We've had both, I fondly recall trying to assemble those old artificial trees with the color coded wire, best thing I ever did was recolor that wire with vibrant nail polish one year! As far as real trees go the first one I recall was cut down deep in the forests of the CO Rocky Mountains and carried home, we've hauled cedar trees home behind our horses and then put a "real" tree inside, cedars are only good for bonfires!

When do you put up the tree?
I try to have the tree up by Saint Nicholas' Day.

When do you take the tree down?
Sometime during that week after New Years.

Favorite holiday theme?
Seaside Seashells!

Favorite gift received as a child?
Herbal books and handcrafts.

Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes! I had the hardest time finding one here in the Keys, I had half a marina out looking for us one year! Jack and Lorraine found a beautiful snowglobe Nativity that we love but no one could find a traditional multi-pieced set. How awful is that? Then the good ol' Dollar General stepped up to the plate and had a pile of really nice Nativities. I bought one on the spot!

Hardest person to buy for?
My dearest husband, of course!

Easiest person to buy for?
Marianna!

Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Oh, it had to be Grandma's traditional underware, always really nice panties, and I actually liked one set with delicate embroidered doves but having to unwrap underclothes in front of all Dad's brothers was mortifying!

Mail or email cards?
Snail Mail all the way! I think giving and receiving cards and letters and finding them in the mailbox is one of the best parts of this Season!

Favorite Christmas movie?
White Christmas, or maybe It's a Wonderful Life, or Little Women...

When do you start shopping for Christmas?
December 1st. Don't rush me!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No, but there is this one tiny, tiny gift bag, that has been passed around this family for years!

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Russian Tea Cakes!

White lights or colored on the tree?
Colored lights on the inside tree, up on deck we have varied colored and white over the years. I don't know which we'll do yet this year!

Favorite Christmas song?
OK, how can I name just one?

Still, Still, Still - my December baby's lullaby
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
The Carol of the Bells
O Holy Night

Travel for Christmas or stay at home?
For the past few years we've stayed on the boat.

Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Probably not!

Angel on the tree top or a star?
I like stars on the top of trees but Marianna found and fell in love with an angel one year so she flies over our inside tree.

Open the presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
One present on Christmas Eve, it used to be from Mom's parents when I was a kid and it was usually a nice warm nightgown.

Most annoying thing about this time of year?
People who moan and groan their way through December especially if I'm trapped beside them in the post office.

What I love most about Christmas?
Christmas lights and candles, the music, Jesse Trees, Advent Wreaths, Saint Nicholas - patron of sailors and Saint Lucy - my name saint and wrapping presents and decorating the tree and the reflection of our lights in the ocean...



A picture of our Jesse Tree so far this year, Marianna has been making one ornament a day on some sparkly silver and purple gift tags from Martha Stewart, of course you can't actually see the sparkly silver and purple in this shot but I love her depictions of Creation with the sun, moon and twelve foil stars, the Tree of Knowledge with the tempting fruit, and the Fall of Man with an amazing snake bearing the shining fruit in its mouth.



In other news...I've been nominated for the 2007 Homeschool Blog Awards! I'm deeply honored to be nominated two years in a row, in the category of Best Geographical Blog.

Thank you so very much for brightening my day!