Ten on Tuesday (Vol. 24)

Thanks for all your helpful advice on Sunday's post. I've decided to take the weekend trip to Orlando because why not? It'll give me something to look forward to and I'm pretty sure I can have one paper finished before the trip. Now my big decision is whether I want to go to Disney, Universal Studios, or Islands of Adventure on Sunday. I haven't been to Disney since I was 10, and haven't been to the other two theme parks in almost three years. I'm so excited, though!

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1. What are your plans for the holidays? Do you travel at Thanksgiving? If you celebrate Christmas, do you travel then, too?

I am lucky and blessed enough to have the majority of my family living in the same area as me. My grandparents live five minutes away, my brother and his family live about 20 minutes away, and we have other scattered relatives close by. I've never traveled during Thanksgiving or Christmas.

On Thanksgiving, my mom and I generally wake up at the crack of dawn to take on the Turkey Trot, then stuff ourselves with breakfast, shower and get ready for dinner, and head on over to my grandparents house around 2. From there, it's a lot of family time, football, and eating. I just love being around my family and I'm especially excited since one of my uncles will be eating with us this year! And since my birthday usually falls a few days after, it's always a fun time.

Christmas is a little different. My mom and I wake up around 7am to open presents and my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew come over around 10am to open their presents. And from there, we head over to someone's house for dinner. I'm really not a big fan of Christmas Day. I feel like all the magic is gone as presents are unwrapped, stockings are torn apart, and there's not much to look forward to. I love the anticipation of Christmas!

2. How do you make the plans for the holidays? If you have a significant other, how do you decide which family to visit?

These have been long-standing plans for a while now. We don't really make any decisions, it's just the way things are.

3. Do you have your Thanksgiving meal at lunch or later in the day?

Thanksgiving dinner is usually served around 3pm.

4. Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving tradition?

Not really. I just love the tradition of going to my grandma's house and the hustle and bustle of getting the dinner ready, sitting down to eat, and enjoying my family. I know it's possible I'll be living in a different city or state during the next holiday season (if not then, in the future), and I'm trying to enjoy this while I can.

5. After a big meal, do you lounge around or get up and take a walk?

I'm definitely a lounger, thanks to doing exercise early in the day. I watch football and eat for the majority of Thanksgiving. It's really the best holiday.

6. Do you shop on "Black Friday" or do you avoid it?

I never have and I don't think I ever will. I just don't see the point to it, aside from scoring some really great deals. It just doesn't seem worth it. I hate crowds and rude people, so I tend to stay away. Cyber Monday, though? Oh, I'm all over that!

7. When do you usually finish your Christmas shopping?

When my money runs out? Typically, I'm finished by the weekend before Christmas, though. Right now, I'm just about finished shopping for my nephew and brother, which has to be a new record! Although, I haven't even begun shopping for my mom, so there's that.

8. Do you and your significant other exchange gifts? If there a budget?

Sigh. Let's move on before I become too depressed.

9. When do you decorate for the holidays?

Usually, it's the weekend following Thanksgiving. We buy a real tree, because artificial trees make me gag. And we spend the night snapping at each other as we try to get it to stand up, string the lights, and find spots for our many ornaments. And then we drag out the rest of our decorations. I love decorating the house for Christmas! Taking everything down, though, is such a bummer.

10. Do you go "all out" with the decor or keep it simple?

It's pretty simple. Just the tree and some knickknacks. We do not have the ability to put up lights outside and make them look good, so we keep everything indoors.