A Yuletide Meme

Thanks to Kilroy for coming up with a Christmas-related meme and for thinking my answers might be interesting enough that he included me in a tag.

• Favorite seasonal movie. I went to a friend's house last week to watch Christmas movies. That experience made me realize that, in general, I am not a big fan of seasonal movies. I'm just not that nostalgic. I know, what kind of heartless Scrooge am I? If someone put a gun to my head and forced me to pick a Christmas movie to watch before I die, I guess I would pick "It's a Wonderful Life." Or maybe I'd tell them to go ahead and pull the trigger. I'm just that ambivalent about the whole thing.
• Song you enjoy most this time of year. This is an area where I am not so ambivalent. My favorite Christmas song is "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree." On the other hand, "Jingle Bell Rock" is nice too. So is "I'll be Home for Christmas." Oh, I can't pick just one.
• Holiday Greeting. Since Christmas is a religious holiday, I try to be respectful of others and say "Happy Holidays" unless I am certain of the other person's religious beliefs.
• Do you make a list? If so, how many people are on it? Yes, I usually make a list. The length of the list varies depending on my financial situation at the time. In general, it's a relatively short list. When I win the lottery, I'll make longer lists.
• How up to the last minute do you shop? I have a serious aversion to stress and I usually organize my life so that I experience as little stress as possible. To me, waiting until December 24th to shop is about as stressful as it gets. I don't wait until the last minute to purchase Christmas gifts. I don't start shopping in June like some people but I'm not a last minute person either.
• When do you open your gifts? As early as the giftgiver will let me. Watching an unopened present sit there and mock me for not being able to open it until Christmas Day is just plain torture.
• Holiday food you most savor? It's a toss up between cornbread dressing and sweet potato casserole. It's a travesty in my book to have one without the other.
• Favorite holiday book? Does the Williams-Sonoma catalog count?
• New Year Resolutions? I usually try not to make New Years resolutions because I always break them but I made a short list this year. Oh, I'm not going to reveal them here. If I don't tell anyone, maybe I'll actually have a snowball's chance in hell of keeping them.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!