Apron Swap Meme

For the Apron Swap, I need to answer a few questions about my own winter holiday traditions...

1. what kind of holiday party food do you like best? finger food buffet or sit down multi-course style?
Hmmm.... well, it really depends. I think for the holidays, I'd say multi-course. I really love a nice Christmas dinner with the whole family. Love tried-and-true recipes that have been passed down through the family. Traditional dishes. Lots of sweet cookies, candies, or cakes for dessert to snack on while you play games, exchange gifts, talk or stay warm by the fire. But I'm always interested in yummy finger foods (to use year 'round).

2. do you make/use those little name cards for your table seating or is that just another little something that magazines are trying to add to our already long holiday to-do list?
If I had a table that sat more than 4 people (or 6 people squeezed in), and I was hosting a holiday dinner, I probably would use name cards. I haven't had the occasion to use them, yet ...

3. do you miss sitting at the "kid's table"?
Did I ever get to leave the kid's table? At famiy functions, especially Christmas, my brother and cousins and I (and now Jeremy, too) ARE the kids table! We have grandparents, parents, 6 aunts, 6 uncles, and many older cousins who still stake a claim on the "adult" table. We always have fun sitting at the kid's table. With the "adults," it's not as much fun. You have to use manners and all that stuff....

4. any particular holiday party traditions that you like to do every year?
I like playing hostess for close friends and family. It seems that we always have a get-together with some of my best girlfriends around Christmas and Thanksgiving. I think we should also have a dinner party each year with my husband's relatives that live around here. In my family, we always open gifts on Christmas Eve after we've eaten a huge meal and gone to a church service. With Jeremy, we have been reserving Christmas Day to spend with eachother. The rest of the holiday season seems to be all about visiting with friends and family, and a whole lot of driving!

5. Which is your favorite winter holiday?
Christmas! Christmas, because I love that you get to spend time with family and friends. And give them gifts that you are too excited to give! (Or can no longer keep under your tree for fear that you will rip open the wrapping and keep it for yourself because it is that cool. )

6. do you make or have you tasted any good egg nog recipes...whether using it in a dish or as a drink?
Fill a glass halfway with milk, and pour in some eggnog from a container until the glass is full.....? I'm sure there are many good eggnog recipes, but who has the time?

7. fruit cake .... do you love it or think it should be used as a door stop?
Never tried it, but not really interested. They just don't appeal to me!

8. What do you like to do to get yourself in the holiday sprit (ie. certain music, visiting certain seasonal sites, enjoying winter weather, ect.)
DECORATING! Our house is small, but I fill it with holiday spirit! I have a friend who puts up 3 trees, but I think one large tree and 2 little trees will do it for me this year. I get especially excited when decorating the trees, and I make Jeremy sit with me so I can tell the story of EACH AND EVERY ornament: "This ornament was given to me by so and so, the year that bla, and it reminds me of....". Yeah, I'm a little sentimental about things like ornaments, and we have too many!

9. What is your favorite holiday song and who sings it best?
I love classic holiday songs, especially sung by Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby. I love "Let It Snow" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas", but my absolute favorite is "Joy to the World!"

10. Any ideas for interesting holiday themed parties? (Even if it's really out there -- like renting a snow machine and having everyone build snowmen if you live in a no-snow areas!)
One year I had a cookie exchange party with a bunch of ladies I worked with at a restaurant. The invitations were attached to cookie cutters, and everyone brought a Tupperware full of 2 dozen cookies. Fun!
Holiday parties:
What about a sort of card-making party in early December? Bring scrapbooking papers, stamps, stickers, etc. to share, along with a dozen or so blank white cards, and make handmade Christmas cards to send to special friends?
Or maybe a Christmas movie watching party? Like watching A Christmas Story and making food from the 40's....
or maybe a Christmas Wrapping Party.... you could watch Christmas movies or listen to holiday music and bring wrapping paper so that you can wrap while you watch or listen...