Happy Sunday evening...

I'm sorry I've been a slacker-girl here in bloggle world, but life really isn't particularly pink and fluffy right now, in fact it's positively sucky x a million squillion - my step-dad has now gone into a hospice and there's a lot of tears and a lot of fam hugging, but I don't wanna depress your sweet selves and in an effort to escape real life for an hour or two, I'm sipping pink lemonade, watching the X-factor final on repeat (I'm shocked Leon won, I like him, but not enough to win - poor Rhyds!) and answering questions about Christmas...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper. I'm all about wrapping, I'm not very good at it, but bags are deffo a cop-out...

2. Real tree or artificial?
Artificial. Our house is just too teeny, tiny to fit a real one...

3. When do you put up the tree?
If it was up to The Man, we'd have it up mid November, he LOVES the Christmas, but anytime after the 1st is the general rule in our household...

4. When do you take the tree down?
6th Jan - I get sad coz it makes the house look so bare, but I'm a superstitious sorta gal so I won't risk it!

5. Do you like eggnog?
I love the sound of it but had it when we were in a cold country one year, think it was Copenhagen atch, and I didn't have any love for it

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Fashion Wheel - it was the best present ever - I was convinced I was gonna be a fashion desginer, I used to make entire catalogues with my fashion wheel designs - ahh, happy days!

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
No.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
My BFF Susie - you'd think after 18 years of friendship, it would of gotten easier, but nope, it really hasn't, and I refuse to buy ANOTHER Celine Dion CD...

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Miss Sally - because it's like buying for myself!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Everything's recyclable so there's never really a bad present, one man's rubbish is one man's treasure and all that...

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Deffo Christmas cards - I do care 'bout the environment, but they're recyclable and I LOVE getting real post as you all know, coz I tell you all the time!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
Elf - "Santa's coming?! I know him! I know him"

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
I was done by the first week in December - I'm not into all that pushing and shoving malarky...

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Oh yeah - see question 10!

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Chocolate - why change a habit of a lifetime at Christmas?!

16. Clear lights or coloured on the tree?
I love lights so we have both!

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Kirsty MacColl and The Pogues - The Fairy Tale of New York - the one and only cool Christmas song.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home?
Travel - I used to travel with mum and my step-dad to different cottages around the UK for Christmas, that was cool. I do think The Man and I will be travelling a lot more at crimbo time in future...

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?
Of course I can! They're Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, Donner and Blitzen and my personal fave, Rudolf.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
A star, although I'm not loyal to tree-toppings, so if I found the pefecto Angel, that would totally take over!

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
What? You can open them on Christmas eve? I never knew that! Why did no-one tell me??

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Is it bah-humbug to say the incessant emphasis put on you to have a good time? Christmas has never been my fave time of year, being an only child with divorced parents all wanting a piece of you, and feeling total guilt no matter what your decision, is not my idea of a good time...

23. What I love most about Christmas?
It used to be Top of The Pops, I used to love that...Now it's eating a roast dinner coz it's the only time we get to do it!