1. Marshmallows or nuts on top of the Sweet Potato Casserole?
My grandmother has a wonderful sweet potato casserole that has a brown sugar/pecan topping that is to-die-for!

2. Turkey or Ham?
Ham . . . or goose—my mom and I roasted a goose for Christmas a few years ago and it was fabulous! When I’m in Baton Rouge (every other year), it’s always Cajun fried turkey.

3. Do you get a fake or real, cut-it-yourself Christmas tree?
FAKE—I’m allergic to the real kind.

4. Is there a theme to your Christmas decorations?
Is color coordination considered a theme? All of the decorations on my tree are purple and/or gold.

5. Snowball fights or sledding?
Sitting in the front window, drinking hot cocoa, watching the snowflakes gently drift from the sky . . .

6. Fireplace: only for roasting marshmallows?
I don’t like marshmallows, so no. If I had a fireplace, it would be used for warmth and ambiance.

7. When do you finish your Christmas shopping?
I try to have most of my Christmas shopping done before Thanksgiving, with the exception of some things that I order online by the beginning of December. As of today, with a last order placed on Amazon, my Christmas shopping is finished.

8. Favorite Christmas movie?
A Christmas Story – “You’ll shoot your eye out!” Is there a more quotable Christmas movie than that?

9. Favorite Christmas TV special?
A Charlie Brown Christmas – my favorite part is when Linus quotes the passage about the shepherds and angels from Luke 2.

10. Favorite fictional Christmas character other than Santa?
Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol

11. When is it too early to start listening to Christmas music?
Any time before the Friday after Thanksgiving. Let’s give Thanksgiving its due.

12. Stockings before or after presents?
Stockings with Santa Claus gifts, before breakfast, and before unwrapping all the rest of the presents

13. Go to someone else’s house or they come to you?
In odd numbered years, I go to my parents’ home near Dallas, TX, and we celebrate with just our immediate family (sister/brother-in-law and kids come from Louisiana). In even numbered years, my parents and I go to Baton Rouge, where my grandmother and sister are—and most of my mom’s brothers and sisters come sometime during the week between Christmas and New Year’s. But because I’m single, live in a small house, and live far from any of my family, I always go elsewhere.

14. Do you read the Christmas Story the night before Christmas?
We usually read “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (’Twas the night before Christmas . . .) on Christmas Eve, and then read the biblical account on Christmas morning.

15. What is Christmas dinner like?
Tons of food—ham or turkey (or goose or roast beef), corn bread dressing, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, rice, green bean casserole, black eyed peas, freshly baked rolls, cranberry sauce. Then there’s dessert: lemon meringue pie, lemonade icebox pie, pecan pie, pralines, fudge . . . Needless to say, we linger over Christmas dinner.

16. What do you do after presents and dinner?
Sink into a gluttonous stupor? No? Uh, help the kids find batteries for their new toys, put together anything that I’ve been given that requires being put together (already done for this year!), catch up with family I haven’t seen in two years (when in Baton Rouge), read a new book, or write. Many in my extended family always go out to a movie that evening.

17. What is your favorite holiday smell?
Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg—all of the holiday spices.

18. Ice skating or walking around the mall?
Sitting in the front window, drinking hot cocoa, watching the snowflakes gently drift from the sky . . .

19. Favorite Part about winter?
No hot weather! I’m one of those weird people who prefers cold weather to hot weather—it’s a perfect excuse for not getting out of the house and doing anything! It’s also a time to prepare for renewal—for a new year, for spring, for looking forward to celebrating the Resurrection at Easter.

20. Ever been kissed under mistletoe?
Never been kissed, period, mistletoe or not.