Well, it's seasonal, anyway

As requested by Bareheaded in Biloxi:

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
   No preference, really, although I have noticed that the people who do wrap for me do a bang-up job of it, preserving this presumably-lost art.

2. Real or artificial tree?
   My current tree is a genuine fake, but it looks vaguely real if you don't look too closely.

3. When do you put up the tree?
   First weekend in December.

4. When do you take the tree down?
   26th of December at 12:01 am.

5. Do you like eggnog?
   Not particularly.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
   Hard to say. There weren't that many, but pretty much everything I got, even a pair of socks, was appreciated — because there were times when we were lucky to get that.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
   No. I think I was ruined on these by the parental units scolding me for not closing the door properly: "Jesus! Were you born in a barn or something?"

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
   Not applicable. See #6.

9. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards?
   No preference: it's the thought that counts, not whether you spent 41 cents on postage. (Although I did appreciate the photo of Jay and Deb's brood.)

10. Favorite Christmas movie?
    Miracle on 34th Street.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
    About three minutes after the tree goes up (see #3).

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
    I'm okay with just about anything, actually. Regular reader and old friend wamprat sends over the World's Finest Fruitcake this time of year: that's not a slogan, that's an assessment of quality.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
    This year it's clear; last year it was colored. Next year, who knows?

14. Favorite Christmas song?
    I'm going with "Silent Night," simply because I like the idea of peacefulness, especially given the nasty, frenetic winters we've had here. (It's snowing as I type.)

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
    I'm at an age now where I'd just as soon stay home, and should anyone come to visit, well, that's just dandy.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
    Including Bruce and Marvin, too.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
    Having once precipitated a crisis with an angel and a mischievous elf on a corporate tree, I stick to stars.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
    I wait until the morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
    "This time of year" now begins around the 26th of October.

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
    No specific theme; it's whatever I can find from last year plus any new stuff.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
    Coca-Cola and polar-bear repellent.

22. Least favorite holiday song?
    José Feliciano's "Felix Navidad," not because of any intrinsic faults but because it's so horribly overplayed.

23. Favorite ornament?
    The one I get next year.
    

And now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hang up a pair of these and see if Santa will fill them up with something suitable.