Snow angels? Snowball fights? Giving presents? Getting presents? ‘Tis the season for a wintry round of This or That!
I honestly go back-and-forth debating which season is my favorite, between autumn and wintertime! I love a good glass of apple cider, but there’s something special about this time of year. It’s cozy. People are happier. People begin feeling twinges of hope for the new year. Personally, I believe that the perils of 2020 happened because the entirety of humanity held their breath and prayed for 2020 to be THEIR year on New Year’s Eve 2019… thus jinxing it across the globe. That’s a whole other tangent, though!
In my part of the world, we are feeling “our” version of winter. It was 40 degrees this morning, but twice that last week. I always want ice cool temperature on Christmas, but last year it was in the high seventies! My kingdom for some snow… though, if that happened where I live, that’d be the sign of the apocalypse!
I digress. Hot cocoa, ice skating, and more… here’s a snow-covered round of “This or That”!
1. Heated Blanket or Cozy Fireplace? Cozy fireplace! You get the extra bonus of smoky scents.
2. Hot Toddy or Hot Cocoa? Hot Cocoa! Cold alcoholic beverages are barely my thing, heating them up sounds way more discomforting.
3. Christmas Cookies or Peppermint Bark? Cookies. Every time. Just. Cookies.
4. Gloves or Mittens? I find mittens constricting! When I was a kid and my family would go skiing, I’d find it so much more challenging to grip the ski poles in mittens compared to gloves. There’s so much more functionality in a pair of gloves!!
5. Skiing or Ice Skating? THIS IS THE TOUGHEST ONE YET. I have so many good memories of both, but I’ll say ice skating. It’s one of the few sports I’m actually good at doing (notice that I said “good at,” not “not bad at”. It’s an important distinction!).
6. Christmas or New Years? If I haven’t outright stated it yet on this blog, I’m Jewish. My mom is Jewish, and I was raised Jewish, and I love being Jewish. THAT SAID… my dad is Catholic, so I grew up with Christmas every year. When I say I love Christmas, I mean the capitalist part that most bona fide Christians don’t appreciate. Decorating the house. Getting presents. Mariah Carey. In my defense, it’s very loving time of year and you spend it with the people you care about most. This time of year… love is all around!
7. Beanie or Ear Muffs? BEANIE. I love hats. Ear muffs are endlessly stylish, but even thick headphones irritate my fragile ears. You can find me in a big coat, boots and a beanie in cold places nine times out of ten.
8. Latkes or Jelly Donuts? For the unaware, both are staples during the eight nights of Hannukah! Both are fried in oil, to commemorate the oil that lasted in the temple for eight days. My mom makes great latkes, but I’m not really there yet. That said, last year I made jelly donuts for the first time, and OOH. I did a good job. I also have a major sweet tooth!
9. Staying fireside or playing in the snow? Playing in the snow! I love snow angels, building snowmen, and I’d probably love snowball fights (I didn’t grow up with snow, so I don’t think I’ve ever been in one).
10. Wrapping presents or Using gift bags? A year ago, my answer may have been different, because I used to be really bad at wrapping gifts. There’s a Christmas episode of “The Office” where Pam jokes with Roy, “If you’re using more than three pieces of tape to wrap a present, you’re doing it wrong.” That line plagued me for years, but last year I figured it out for myself! This year, for every gift giving occasion, I rarely used more than three pieces of tape. Oh, and by the way, in an “Office Ladies” podcast episode reviewing the episode with this line, Jenna Fischer (Pam Beesly herself) admitted that she can’t wrap with just three pieces of tape!
11. Candy canes or gingerbread houses? Gingerbread houses are so fun and cool to me! I feel like I don’t see them as much lately, but I would like to build a whole village one day. Or at least a mansion. My only problem is that I don’t love gingerbread. Can I use really strong graham crackers instead?
12. Winter Olympics or the Superbowl? See item no. 5. All power to those powerhouse athletes and Gisele’s husband (hehehe), but I LIVE for the Winter Olympics to watch the figure skating championships. Here’s my favorite program from the 2018 Winter Olympics, featuring Canadian skater Kaetlyn Osmond. She ended up winning the bronze medal at the Olympics as an individual, but won the gold at the team event and then came in first at the 2018 World Championships. Well deserved!
13. Gift giving or gift receiving? Don’t roll your eyes… I think I like giving gifts more. I’m not going to pretend I don’t love opening presents, of course, but I feel on top of the world when I see people’s faces light up after opening a really good gift I got them. I feel like a champion when I know I’ve nailed it! It’s such a compliment to hear “you give really good gifts.”
14. White lights or multicolored lights? I like white lights on my Christmas tree, but I would decorate the rest of my house with multicolored lights. If I do white lights on the tree, then the various ornaments I have can give the tree the color it needs.
15. Santa Run or Christmas Parade? I could totally see myself doing a Santa Run 5K in my life, but I’ve already BEEN in more than one Christmas Parade! I used to baton twirl in my town’s Christmas parade as a kid during the holiday season. It’s like a pageant, only more fun and less stressful, I assume. I don’t remember feeling stressed getting ready for parades as a kid. I still can’t hear “Jingle Bell Rock” without thinking of my decades-old choreography!
16. Ugly Christmas Sweaters or Matching PJs? Growing up, I didn’t really have a chance to indulge in either. This year, I have both! In my future, I hope that Aaron and our kids have matching PJs every year for Christmas morning. It’s so silly, but I see it on social media all the time and I just think it’s so cute!
17. Home for the Holidays or Travel? Aaron and I have hosted Christmas for the past three years. This year, his parents are taking over now that they’re staying in town for the holidays. I don’t know what the future holds, but in an ideal world, Aaron and I will have a fancy winter lodge where we host Christmas every year. It’s a combination of both! Travel to our winter home. I love being with family on Christmas, but at least once I would like to do a Europe trip with Aaron on Christmas, either in London, Paris, or Amsterdam. I just think it’d be really pretty to see those cities lit up for the holidays!
18. Secret Santa or White Elephant? Also called “Yaaaaaaankee Swap,” White Elephant wins out here. Secret Santa is fun, but if you don’t know what someone likes, you end up getting them the bare minimum, like a peach candle or a shamrock keychain, and then you and the person have to face the fact that you don’t know each other very well. At least with Yankee Swap, you can get something that anyone would appreciate or even really want, like a good water bottle or a bluetooth speaker.
19. Real Tree or Fake Tree? Real tree! I used to get so excited at the prospect of going with my dad to pick out a Christmas tree. Aaron and I have been using the same artificial tree since moving in together, but I’m hoping that when we live somewhere more permanent we’ll get a real tree. I know they shed, but they smell so good!
20. “Home Alone” or “Elf?” Yes, “Elf” is a modern classic: Mr. Narwhal, New York at Christmas time, Zooey Deschanel before she was Zooey Deschanel. But Home Alone has been a staple in my house since I was born, practically. It’s just a WARM movie. There are so many little snippets that live rent-free in my mind, even when it isn’t Christmastime. Yes, I must’ve seen it over thirty times by now, but… how do you not cry every time?
Well, now that I’m sufficiently misty-eyed, it’s time to go get into the season. I’ll be setting up my menorah, queuing up the Christmas movies, and finding ways to decorate a home that won’t come across as a destruction challenge to my cats. That’s what Christmas is all about, right?