The Winter Wonderland Tag

Because I obviously don't have enough tags in my backlog *ahem* because it's almost Christmas, I've decided to steal a tag from Cordy @ Any Merry Little Thought, because I am faced with a dearth of Christmas tags, and so obviously piracy was my only option. (Kudos if you caught that reference. ;))

I also am not writing a super long introduction, because it's almost Christmas and I'm busy. XD Happy almost Christmas, and ladies & gentlemen, the Winter Wonderland tag! 

Praecepta:
Link back to The Storybook Journal (the creator of the tag)
Answer the questions; think Winter-y thoughts! Include pictures, if you like.
Tag at least 3 other bloggers, or more if you're feeling ambitious. :)

1. Name a few things you love about Winter, and a few things you don't love so much about it.
Things I love about Winter: how cozy it is, Advent, Christmas, watching snow fall, sweaters
Things I don't love as much: trying to get places after it snows, how cold it is outside, the wind (in Illinois at least), it gets dreary sometime in January/February

Image credit to owner

2. When you were a child, did you "believe" in Santa Claus?
Nope, never! We did joke about "St. Nicholas" filling our stockings (we still do), but we all knew that Mom and Dad were the ones who did so, just like we knew that they were the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. (This sometimes makes things difficult when my scrupulously honest younger brother is hanging out with our cousins who do believe in Santa...)

3. Is there a book or movie that you really love to read in the Winter as opposed to other times of year?
Well, my favorite MG book ever (so far) is Greenglass House by Kate Milford, a book which should most certainly be read in the wintertime (and no other time). It's INCREDIBLY cozy! And I'm reading the sequel (Ghosts of Greenglass House) to my two youngest siblings this break, which I'm enjoying very much (and so are they, as far as they'll tell me).

4. Is there a particular Christmas movie that you watch EVERY year as tradition?
We have a couple! White Christmas is a classic in both my immediate and extended family, of course. My immediate family often watches The Nativity Story (with Poe Dameron as Joseph) and has done so for probably ten years at this point. And my new favorite, which I think we've watched two or three years straight at this point, is The Grinch (the Butternut Crinklefries version)!

5. Do you usually get a real tree or a fake tree for Christmas? Who's in charge of decorating it at your house?
Fake tree! We put it up on the first Sunday of Advent, and don't put ornaments on it until Christmas Eve--usually everyone helps with decorating, although it depends on if others of us are helping decorate the church, too.

6. Does your family usually stay home or go visiting (relatives, friends, etc.) on Christmas Day?
We stay home in the morning, and then head over to our cousins' house for dinner! It's usually a wonderful family day.

7. What does your family usually do on New Years Eve? Any traditions? Do you ever stay up till midnight?
At the latest, we stay up for the ball drop in New York, which happens to be three hours ahead, so it happens at 9 pm. XD Last year, we hung out with the same cousins as we see for Christmas for that, and drank sparkling apple juice, but I'm not sure if that's a tradition yet...we'll see what happens this year. ;)

8. Do you get snow where you live? If so, have you ever built a snowman and named him Olaf?
We get a little bit of snow periodically here, and I think it's gotten more over the years. It used to be that we'd get maybe one day with one inch of snow per year, typically, but a couple years ago we had a white Christmas, we had a Snowpocalypse with several weeks of snow a couple of years ago, and this year, it's already snowed twice (including today!). It still usually melts quite quickly, though. (No Olafs, though! But my siblings and I did build a Loki snowman one year and sent him downhill on a sled. It was a good time.)

9. If it's snowing outside, would you prefer to go outside and build snowmen and enjoy it, or would you rather stay inside with a blanket and something hot to drink and maybe a movie or a book?
This actually was the situation on the day I'm working on this tag! I absolutely fall into the stay-inside-with-a-blanket camp (although there wasn't an actual blanket involved--but there were several books, several blog posts, a board game with my aunt, and a cup of hot chocolate with abundant whipped cream). I used to be more of a go-out-and-play-in-the-snow type, but as I've gotten older, putting on all those layers feels like a lot of work, and if I do go outside, I'm more likely to take a walk--often with my camera. 

10. When do you start looking forward to or getting excited about Spring?
When I'm at home, things start to bud in February! We definitely start getting excited about Spring then. At school, I start being ready for spring in February, but I don't get my hopes up until quite a bit later, if last year is any indication. But for now, winter is still new, and I'm enjoying it! :)

And I Tag:
Sarah @ In Cordibus Jesu et Mariae
Chloe @ Movies Meet Their Match
Hamlette @ Hamlette's Soliloquy

What's your favorite thing about winter? Do you have a favorite winter song? Did you ever believe in Santa Claus? If you had kids, would you keep up the legend of Santa for them?