Shawnee's Secret Santa Swap Questionnaire

Yay!!!  It's swap time!  I have joined Shawnee's Secret Santa swap and part of the fun is answering this questionnaire so that our partner can learn a little bit about us.  I'm really excited about this one so here goes...

Shawnee's Secret Santa Swap Questionnaire

What are your hobbies? 

I enjoy crafting, sewing, and re-purposing old finds into new and useful things.  I love flea markets, thrift stores, and yard sales.  Finally, I love painting furniture!

What are your favorite colors?

Gray, cream, pale blue gray 

Do you collect anything?

Yes!  I collect French grain sacks, old mirrors, burlap coffee sacks, old weathered baskets....oohhh and I adore tarnished silver that I find in the flea markets.

Are you allergic to any fibers or animals?

Nope, no allergies.

Do you have any pets?

Yes, we have 2 dogs.  A black lab and a yellow lab.

Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate?

Definitely coffee...my Keurig and I are besties!

What do you like to read?

I love to read decorating magazines as well as inspirational Christian fiction novels.

Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet?

Cookies ~ iced sugar cookies are my absolute favorites.

What is your favorite holiday treat?

Sugar cookies with a good cup of coffee.

Describe your favorite holiday tradition.

I always look forward to the day that we unpack the Christmas decorations and start decorating the tree.  We put on some classic Christmas music and reminisce about all of the ornaments as we unpack each one.  Another thing that we love to do is bake.  My husband will take a day off of work and we will spend the entire day baking Christmas cookies with the kids.  So much fun and I always look forward to it.

Did you believe in Santa as a child?

Yes!

When do you open presents?

When we were kids, we were allowed to open one thing on Christmas Eve and then everything else was opened on Christmas morning.  Now, we get together with my in laws and all of my husband's family on Christmas Eve.  We always have a white elephant gift exchange for the adults and everyone draws names for the kids.  Everyone exchanges those gifts on Christmas Eve.  Then Santa comes and we open gifts on Christmas Morning.  We will usually go to my mom's house for Christmas dinner and have an exchange there too.  We have such fun!!

Do you put up a tree and when?  If not, how do you celebrate?

Yes, we put up a tree.  In fact, there are 3 trees.  These always go up on the day after Thanksgiving.

Does your tree have a theme?

Yes.  The tree in our family room is always filled with the ornaments that my husband and I have collected since we were married as well as all of the ones we have collected for our children.  I guess you could call it the Family Tree.  In the living room, I love to decorate in a vintage French theme.  This tree is always covered in lots of vintage silver balls, white, glittery birds and burlap/jute ribbon.  It has a European feel to it.The dining room tree is also a vintage theme filled with old German glass ornaments that belonged to my grandfather.  We used these same ornaments on our tree when I was growing up too.

What has been your favorite gift to give?  to receive?

My favorite gift to give was when we were expecting our first baby.  We decided to announce the good news at Christmas so we had coffee mugs and ornaments made for all of the grandparents.  They said  "World's Best Grandma" and "World's Best Grandpa"  As soon as they read the words, they knew our big secret.  That was a great memory! 

My favorite gift to receive?  My husband proposed to me on the day after Christmas 15 years ago.  This has to be my best Christmas gift ever!