Happy Christmas and my Christmas Meme

I would like to wish Happy Christmas to all fellow gardeners from all over the world, which I met in the last months and thank for sharing the passion!!

The picture - that's the Christmas Card we have received from my mom this year for Christmas.

I found this meme on Karen's blog and I decided to do mine. I will point my choices at the end of it and you are kindly invited to do it at the time of your most convenient choice - either during or after :) It would be nice to know better your Christmas habits :)

However if you are too busy to make this meme, please just send your mental blessing :)

• Eggnog or hot chocolate?

Traditionally no alcohol allowed during Christmas Eve, however lifted by church 2 years ago.

For 25th and 26th there was no such limitation.

I love home made coffeenogg. Which is very easy to make.

Proportions are following: 1/2 ltr condensed milk (without sugar), 1 spoon vanilla sugar, 2 spoons instant coffee, 100g sugar and either 1/2 ltr of vodka (abt 40%) or 100 ml of alcohol (90%).

First you cook milk mixed with vanilla sugar, coffee and sugar for about 10 minutes and mix it constantly - please beware - it has strong tendency to boil over, so you need to make the flame small. After it cools down (important) it may need using mixer, cos there might me some bigger particles caused by milk and it is not nice to get surprised by it while you drink :) So when it is cooled down and smooth you add slowly alcohol and mix well.

At this moment it is ready to drink, however tastes litlle bit better next day :)

• Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?

Santa is still coming to our house - that's a great time to give presents to people you love. Santa wraps presents in his headquarter, where everything is planned logistically and labelled properly:)

• Colored lights on the tree/house, or white?

White white white.

• Do you hang mistletoe?

Not every year, rather not - more often nope.

• When do you put your decorations up?

I try to put them in December as soon as possible - I like the house to have that extra decoration and lights, when outside is sooooo gray. It cheers up a bit.

Usually in Poland we decorate the Christmas tree and the house in the morning of The Day - which is Christmas Eve 24.12. This year it looks that we will be following the common habit, or do it just one day before - which is today.

• What is your favorite Christmas dish (excluding dessert)?

In many jokes we divide Poland in 2 parts - both of them follow little different culinary habits: one is doing traditional wild mushrooms soup, the second one is cooking betroot soup with tiny ravioli called 'uszka' (ooshka) stuffed with special sour cabbage with wild mushrooms.

Because our family is not tight with any special part of Poland (due to long family story rooted in second world war 2) we switch the traditions. However I prefer mushrooms :)

And my really favourite dish is the fish that we eat only on Christmas Eve - it is fried carp. It special taste is in my head strongly related to Christmas.

• Favorite Christmas memory as a child?

Many blurred pictures - no favourite one. Why?

• Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

Santa always arrives before That Most Important Special Dinner on Christmas Eve and puts his presents under the tree. All presents have to be opened just after dinner :)

• How do you decorate your Christmas Tree?

The main 'tree' - it is difficult to call it 'tree', cos it is a small ready decoration on form of small tree. Many years ago I decided to not have real tree for Christmas - which is wide tradition here - just symbolic decoration. Since years I use same decoration - boring, ha? Nope... just symbol of one stable thing around me.

Aditionally, since moment that my araucarias became big enough, I decorate them too :)

• Snow! Love it or dread it?

I love it - to walk on it, to look at its sparky lights and most of all I love the sound it makes while you walk on it, when the temperature is below 10 centigrades.

• Can you ice skate?

No.

• Do you remember your favorite gift?

No.

• What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you?

To gather as much family members around one table as possible - maybe because it was not happening often when I was a kid, so for me Christmas was unique time of having all important people around. This time it will be different and I try to not think about it, however I am aware that Christmas Eve will be tough.

• What is your favorite Christmas dessert?

Poppy-seed cake.... mniam... mniam... its is great and gives a lot of energy :) There is a kind of magic connected with it. Maybe because of.... hmmm....

• What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Sharing the christmas wafer (poppadum) at Christmas Eve dinner.

• What tops your tree?

Nothing :)

• Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?

Giving definately - I hope to make 'them' happy.

• What is your favourite Christmas song?

Bing Crosby "White Christmas"

As promised at the beginning, that I will ask 3 of you to make your Christmas meme, however if you are too busy, please just send your mental blessings to me :)

So it will be:

Yolanda Elizabet at Bliss

Ida at Surfida

Hannele at Hannele's Paradis

Important: If you make your Christmas meme, please point another 3 persons, however at the beginning you need to refer firstly to the person that pointed you and secondly to origin of this meme, which is Sharkey Malarkey

Have fun during Christmas and don't get stressed!

If you didn't do something it means it was not ment to be done!!