Nine Christmas questions

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Santa Bubby ... unrelated to the post but too darn cute to pass up.I have this festive little book called The Christmas Conversation Piece: Creative Questions to Illuminate the Holidays. It's what sparks or provides many of the "Holiday Question of the Day" questions I've been posting all month.

I usually post ones that require a little thought, a fair amount of commentary, as I like to hear what's on the minds of my readers, in your words and stories. Today, though, for my post, I'm going to shoot out nine quick questions from the book that require short answers, questions that don't require a whole heckuva lot of thought ... yet still provide a good glimpse into the minds of my readers. And I'm going to provide my answers to each, too, just because I feel like being Christmas-y that way.

So read through the questions and my answers. Then comment with your answers to the questions -- all nine or just a few -- if you feel like being Christmas-y that way, too.

Here goes:

1. What Christmas song drives you nuts? My answer: Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time." Hate it!

2. Which of the following four events would you most enjoy attending during the holiday season: a stage production of Dickens's A Christmas Carol, a choral concert of Handel's Messiah, a performance of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker ... or (my addition to the actual question) a performance of David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries? My answer: Santaland Diaries!

3. Do you prefer blinking or non-blinking lights on a Christmas tree? My answer: Non-blinking

4. At Christmastime, which do you honestly enjoy more -- giving or receiving? My answer: Giving. Honest.

5. This year, would you rather spend Christmas at a penthouse in the city or at a cottage in the country? My answer: Cottage in the country

6. If snow could fall in any flavor, what flavor would you choose? My answer: Lemon ice (or lemon drop martinis but that wouldn't be good for the kids ... or the alcoholics ... in the crowd so I'll stick with lemon ice).

7. Given the choice, would you rather host people at your place for Christmas or spend the holiday at someone else's home? My answer: My place

8. If someone wanted to give you a $100 gift certificate for Christmas, what store would you want it to be from? My answer: Amazon.com

9. On a scale of one to ten (with one being very relaxing and ten being very stressful), how stressful is THIS holiday season for you? (My emphasis on THIS; the real question is THE.) My answer: Six

Holiday question of the day:

What are your answers to the nine Christmas questions?

Telephone line, give me some time

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Wednesday night I had my first real telephone conversation with Bubby. I say real because although I've talked to Bubby on the phone many times in the past, this was the first time he asked to talk to me on the phone, the first time he requested the phone from Mommy so he could talk to Gramma. And the first time we maintained a steady volley of remarks back and forth, just like real conversations work.

After getting the phone from Mommy, Bubby kicked off our conversation with a drum solo just for me, played on the kitchen garbage can, aka his "big drum." After applause and praise from Gramma, we discussed Mommy's birthday on Tuesday, the Christmas presents under the tree, his Elf on the Shelf (whom he named Jackson), and Santa Claus.

"Sometimes ... sometimes ... sometimes ... SOMEtimes," Bubby said, very carefully considering what came next, "sometimes ... sometimes Santa takes my presents away."

He shared the truth as he knew it, no tattling involved, just a tinge of remorse over the state of his current standing with Santa. Present removal is Megan's method for keeping an obstinate toddler from "losing his mind" throughout the day. When Bubby acts up, he's given the warning that if he doesn't start making good choices, presents will be removed from under the tree, to be replaced only when Bubby displays proper behavior. It seems to be working, for the most part.

I mentioned to Bubby that if he makes good choices, all the presents will stay under the tree. He responded by saying, "I can't close my eyes" and that he's "scared" of "something white up there" above his bed.

Of course, being a fan of Ghost Hunters and a believer in scary white things since I have scary things that happen occasionally in my own house, I worried that Bubby might be seeing ghosts. But according to Megan, at this point in the conversation, Bubby held the phone up for me to "see" the scary white thing in his bedroom. The scary white thing that is his smoke detector. It has a blinking light that scares him at night when he's been told to "close your eyes and go to sleep." Which he has trouble doing, no matter the number of nightlights and books that accompany him to bed.

Because Megan hadn't yet explained the inability to close his eyes in the face of scary white things, I attempted a diversion tactic by talking to Bubby about what Santa may be bringing him, which he says is "lots of cars and trucks." So with visions of cars and trucks dancing in his head, Bubby said, "I gotta play. Buh-bye, Gramma! Love you!" and the phone went back to Megan.

Throughout this first real telephone conversation, Megan told me, Bubby walked around the living room while chatting away, the phone to his ear as he stopped in front of the Christmas tree, headed over to gaze out the window, then off to his room to discuss the scary white thing. I can just imagine his big-boy attitude while on the phone, doing exactly as he did during a conversation with Mommy on the phone while we visited during Thanksgiving (of which the post photos are from).

It warms my heart to see that, like everything else with my grandson, the phone conversations are progressing, becoming more mature. It used to be that Megan would hold the phone to his ear for me to babble to baby Bubby, just so he'd know my voice. Then he started babbling back while Mommy held the phone for him. Soon he wanted to hold the phone himself each time, enjoying the notes of pressed buttons more than the sound of Gramma telling him how much she loves him -- which often resulted in disconnected calls. Now Bubby holds the phone himself and walks around, just like Mommy does while deep in conversation with Gramma.

I look forward to the next step in the progression of Bubby's telephone skills: when he picks up the phone and calls me himself -- on speed dial, of course -- to tell me about anything that scares him, excites him, or makes his day. And to babble the sweetest long-distance babbling this grandma's heart has ever heard, including somewhere along the line, an "I love you, Gramma!"

All prefaced, of course, with a drum solo performed just for Gramma on Bubby's "big drum."

(Curious about the post title? Here's the song it's from, an old fave of mine.)

Holiday question of the day:

If you could write a sequel to be produced for any holiday movie or program, which one would you choose and what would the plot highlights be?

Does a collection a collector make?

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I don't fancy myself a collector. I used to collect bells, but haven't gotten a new one in years and consider that collection closed. And I sort of collect books. Well, not so much collect as accumulate. I'd never consider myself a true book collector, by any means.

Despite not seeing myself as a collector, those who view my holiday decor may very well think otherwise, may possibly consider me a collector. Of Santas.

Somehow I've ended up with quite a few Santas. A collection of Santas. Something I never intended to happen. After recently watching a news story of one grandma -- an old grandma, as in 97 years old -- and her collection of hundreds of Santas, my collection has me worried I've entered territory typically reserved for collectors of Avon fragrance bottles and salt-and-pepper shakers.* And that makes me feel old.

I must admit though that, age be cussed, I do enjoy putting out for the holiday season all the festive fellas I've collected accumulated.

There's these ...

And these ...

And these ...

Plus these merry men on the tree ...

(Okay, I admit those tree guys don't look so merry.)

I even have a Santa cutting board ...

I bought a few of the Santas above myself ... I'd say three, maybe. The rest have been given to me -- by friends, family, former employers. As you can see, their gifts have created quite a display, quite a collection.

So does my collection of Santas make me a Santa collector? You be the judge. But in your assessment of me and my Santas, you better be nice ... because Santa's watching!

*Nothing against collecting such things, they're just not for me. At all.

Holiday question of the day:

What theme figures most prominently in your holiday decor collection? Angels? Snowmen? Santas? Something unique and unexpected?

Non-blogging grandmas like comments, too!

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Here in the blogosphere, it's sometimes easy to forget that not all grandparents have blogs, that there are more grandparents out in the real world than the relative few represented online. Many of the grandmas I feature as grilled grandmas have websites of one sort or another, and I do love showcasing them and their sites, doing my little bit to promote the grandparenting presence on the web.

Yet Grilled Grandmas isn't only about grandmas who blog and tweet and Digg and Stumble. It's about all grandmas, whether they have a blog or not, all the fine women who make a difference in the lives of those around them, especially the lives of their grandchildren.

This week's Grilled Grandma, Sandy, is one of the latter, making a huge and happy difference in the lives of two wee ones named Liam and Mary. In describing her experience with her grandkids, Sandy also makes a difference in our lives, with the bits of wisdom she shared in thoughtful responses such as this:

"Grandkids are for having fun. Don’t sweat the small stuff like stains on your carpet or marks on your table. Those things are temporary but love is forever."

Read Grilled Grandma: Sandy for more words of wisdom from this week's featured grandma. Don't hesitate to leave her a comment while you're there, too. Even though comment love pales in comparison to the love she gets from Mary and Liam, sweet words from the Grandma's Briefs gang will surely warm Sandy's heart -- something folks in most parts of the country can certainly appreciate during our recent cold snap.

Holiday question of the day:

During the rush of the holiday season, which regular chore, activity, or discipline do you tend to neglect the most?