*****CLOSED & WINNER ANNOUNCED*****GAME: The Great December Debate | DYD 2025

Elf on the Shelf: Visits every day or Why would I do that to myself?
1) Share your answer.
Why would I do that to myself?
2) Express your reason(s) why this is your tradition.
I have hated the effort the elf requires. It is never coming back.
3) Tell us how you would document your selection.
The great disappearing act lol actually elf photos are some of my favorites to scrap!
 
Elf on the Shelf: Visits every day or Why would I do that to myself?
1) Share your answer.
Why would I do that to myself?
2) Express your reason(s) why this is your tradition.
I have hated the effort the elf requires. It is never coming back.
3) Tell us how you would document your selection.
The great disappearing act lol actually elf photos are some of my favorites to scrap!
The Elf enters a time machine never to appear again because they're stuck in 1535
 
I think I would have to go with wooden. Like a really crafty homemade one. Don't think I've ever even seen one in real life, but I have seen them online and some are so pretty! Right now, this is the only dreidel I have:

dreidel.jpg


Taking half the pot (and it better be chocolate gelt!)
 
I vote for white lights. We had the coloured ones when the kids were small, but I like the classic beauty of warm white. again we have to wait til after 8pm for the sun to set, so it's less magical that the early dark and twinkly-ness of the Northern Hemisphere.
I loved hiding Elf. To be fair, Rosie and I took alternate days so it was only half the effort. It isn't fun for me, myself and I. Although I did hear that folk enjoyed seeing what Elf was getting up to on my whatsapp status updates. Maybe Elf wants to visit England and Ireland this year?
With regards the dreidel, the only time I saw them and played with one was at a friend and they were made of wood.
 
1. Artificial....I would love the real deal, but alas, I'm allergic to pine trees. My hands would get all red and itchy.
2. Hot cocoa with toppings like mini marshmallows, nougatined whipped cream
 
I love Eggnog but don't have it much as it is very heavy and sometimes bothers me, but Starbucks Eggnog Latte will be back on Dec 2 and I am making a beeline! :)
 
Twinkle Lights: I prefer pure white inside. I'm ok with the colored lights outside. I have to compromise, though, because my kids and husband love the colored lights, so their tree with the ornaments we buy them every year has colored lights and the larger tree in the livingroom has white lights. This year, all my lights were burned out when I tried them, so I had to use all new white lights that don't see quite as brights, but still pretty! I think I have always prefered the white lights in the house, I like the way they look with the shiny ornaments. I would document with pictures of the finished trees and of course, the light display my son puts up outside which has colored and white lights!
 
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Elf on the Shelf: I never did that. Too much work and I would definitely forget. Ironically, my grandmother loved the old elves and she would decorate with them in her house. I'm talking some pretty vintage ones, years before Elf on the Shelf. One year, I even bought her a cute on that she would sit on a chair in her bathroom. I don't think I have any pictures of them, but she might.
 
Dreidel: I would go with wooden. I think they would be prettier that plastic, I guess. I don't have one, though. I would document with a cute little picture on a pretty tablecloth if I had one.
 
Elf: we’ve outgrown the elf now. I did it for a few years but was never very consistent about moving him around. My son cut his finger on the box bringing him home so he was named Bloody Buddy. :giggle

On the beverage question, I’m so surprised at the number of people saying they just aren’t hot drink people. I didn’t know that was a thing. :)
 
Christmas Tree: Real or Artificial?
Always been artificial... growing up we had a little tree with pinecones on it. I eventual go the tree when my Mom moved after my Dad died. The tree eventually collapsed but I salvaged the pinecones to put on our new artificial tree.
 
Winter Beverage: Hot Cocoa or Eggnog?
Well if it's winter it would be hot cocoa...(actually hot chocolate is what I call it!) but as we have a summer Christmas... neither.
 
Twinkle Lights: Pure White or All the Colors of the Rainbow?
I have all the colours of the rainbow... in lights and ornaments. love it! I can never do just one colour as I have so many ornaments already and can't afford to change. And the string of lights works so why change it too.
 
Elf on the Shelf: Visits every day or Why would I do that to myself?
Why on earth would I do that.... hehehe. I do love watching the antics a few of my friends have posted but nope not doing that... plus my son is all grown up so no need!
 
Dreidel: Wooden or Plastic?
Sorry what's that? Definitely not something we have a Christmas. I would have to look up what it is and how it works. I've only ever seen pics of it in scrapbooking kits. I presume it's a hannukah thing?
 
Dreidel: Wooden or Plastic?
Sorry what's that? Definitely not something we have a Christmas. I would have to look up what it is and how it works. I've only ever seen pics of it in scrapbooking kits. I presume it's a hannukah thing?
Yep, a Hanukkah thing! It's a game with a spinning 4-sided top. Each side has a Hebrew letter on it, and whichever side lands up when you spin indicates the action you take. Maybe @Brendazzle has one she can show us!
 
SIXTH QUESTION--NOVEMBER 15TH

Opening Presents: Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
 
Okay, this is another BIG GUN question if you ask me! I grew up in a Christmas morning house. The stockings were a big deal and then the rest of the fun ensued. We'd have our big meal at noonish (depending on what shift my dad had as police officer). But my husband's family always did a huge family gathering at the grandparents' house on Christmas Eve. In a way, I guess it worked out for both of our traditions after we got married, because we would go to his parents on Christmas Eve and have the big meal and the chaos and then have a quieter time Christmas morning. My mother-in-law literally took the tree down on Christmas day....everything put away. My mom always felt like she got the short end of the stick, though, because my MIL got "first dibs" on the festivities. These days, my roommates and I do a little gift exchange on Christmas morning and then we go our separate ways. I usually see my kids on a random day in December because they have different cities and in-laws to visit. Gifts have definitely scaled back quantity-wise, and I'm thinking of maybe doing gifts to charities in their names now that they are all adults and have all they need or want.

Glad to see I'm not the only one who didn't do the Elf thing! @StefanieS I do love the idea of an Elf travelogue from England and Ireland, though!

@dawnmarch Why do people want to burn their tongue every day? I don't get it! LOL Maybe us cold beverage folks have super sensitive tongues. I wonder if that's ever been researched!?
 
FIRST QUESTION--NOVEMBER 14th

Christmas Tree: Real or Artificial?

Growing up, it was definitely real. Then my parents and grandparents (lived in the flat below us) went with some sparkly metal tinsel tree. It was a thing, apparently. When John & I got together, we did real trees. That also morphed into artificial. The large artificial gradually got smaller, so at the end it was pretty much a table-top tree. I still have several of them, but the main one, which was decorated all-year round, depending on the season, got tossed just a few weeks ago. Too brittle, too faded.
 
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