Christmas Questions!

Got this from Ang and Krysten! Enjoy some Christmas questions combined with photos from the posada at our house on Saturday. (Burgers and piñatas… good times!)

1. egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. I only had eggnog once and it was good, but nothing beats hot chocolate.

Jorge and the grill

2. does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Neither. The wrapped, under-the-tree presents are from cousins, grandparents, sisters and my parents. Santa fills our stockings and leaves our gifts out in the open for us to see when we go into the living room.

3. multi-colored or white lights on tree/house?
Any Christmas lights are good Christmas lights. (This year I found out Jorge dislikes multi-colored lights. Very disappointing.)

4. do you hang mistletoe? 
Not me or anyone in my family.

5. when do you put up decorations?
Beginning of December.

Thomas manning the grill

6. what is your favorite holiday dish?
My mom’s Christmas breakfast sausage and cheese casserole and venison sliders (thanks Jared!)

7. favorite holiday memory as a child.
Opening presents is always the best part. Not so much the presents, but watching everyone open theirs and laughing with the family.

8. when did you learn the truth about Santa?
What?

9. do you open a gift on Christmas eve?
Only at the occasional family get together with aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

It was a very Merry Christmas for all the guys present

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Jorge and I don’t have one because we’re never home on Christmas Day, but at my parents’ house it’s usually multi-colored lights and all of our family ornaments. Used to have an angel on top until it was destroyed by tree sap. Now they use a gold star.

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? 
Love. (Then again I don’t have to live in it, so I might be biased.)

12. Can you ice skate?
Barely, but yes.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Probably an iPod classic Santa brought me 5 years ago. I may be the only person left in the world with an iPod classic, but that baby is still going strong! My sister gave me a hand-made photo album years ago that I still have as well. Bottom line, there have been many.

Nothing says "Mexican Christmas" like a miniature deep fryer

14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?

Traditions and being with my family.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Chocolate fudge and Lord of the Rings-inspired Christmas cookies (courtesy of me and Sarah)

Me vs. Piñata

16. what is your favorite holiday tradition?

In our family we all open our gifts one at a time, taking turns. Christmas morning lasts hours, and it’s nice to see what everyone gets.

17. what tops your tree?
No tree

18. which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Both! Right now I’m more excited about seeing my family open their gifts from me, but once the gifts are opened I love playing with my new toys!

My brother-in-law vs Piñata

19. candy canes. yucky or yummy?
YUMMY! Especially traditional peppermint.

20. favorite Christmas show?
We used to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer every year.

21. saddest Christmas song?
Blue Christmas (Like Ang said) is the only sad one I can think of right now. Jorge thinks Carol of the Bells is very eerie.

22. favorite Christmas song?
All I Want For Christmas Is You (original Mariah Carey version), O Holy Night, Mary Did You Know

Aaaand grown-ups fighting over piñata candy, including Jhonny hitting his girlfriend. Nice, guys.

This will be my last pre-Christmas post because I’m leaving for home TOMORROW! With Jorge! So incredibly excited.

Feliz Navidad to all of my readers. Thanks so much for your love and support.

My Christmas Posada Parties in Cancun

I’ll be straight with you… I’ve lived in Mexico for 6 years and I still don’t know much about what a traditional Mexican posada entails. I know they’re parties held in December, kind of like our Christmas parties in the US, but with more traditional elements like star-shaped piñatas and bowls of ponche to drink. People also go from house-to-house singing a traditional song to pedir posada (or “lodging”, a la Mary and Joseph looking for an inn) until they reach the home of their party host, who lets them in.

And yet, I have seen none of this in Cancun. No ponche, no donkeys, no songs and no star-shaped piñatas for this gringa.

I have, however been to several Cancun posadas in my time. Young people in Cancun just do things a bit differently than the rest of Mexico. Why? Because who needs tradition? Bring on the dancing and the crazy house parties!

Here are some pictures from my first ever Cancun posada at a house party with my univeristy friends, circa December 2008… whoa.

That's my logistics professor in the background!!

Gotta love living in a city where you can wear spaghetti straps outdoors in December.

In 2010, I was a bit more tame and I only went to my office’s posada. It’s nice to see everyone dressed up and out of uniform.

2011 promises to be the best year yet for posadas and me! I’ve been to two already, including yet another work posada. For our first posada of 2011, Jorge and I went to Muellecito bar with a group of his friends from elementary school, then the group headed out to Alebrije nightclub, which I hadn’t been to yet.

Jorge with his friends from elementary school

Screen in back translates "Welcome to Mexico Jesus!!" I like to think they're referring to Jesus Christ and the posadas tradition, but since we're in Mexico it's probably just some guy named Jesus.

Tomorrow night we’re hosting a posada party at our house. Just as with all my other Cancun posadas, it’s looking to be very untraditional with no singing, no donkeys, no piñatas… because apparently our friends want to grill burgers.

BURGERS.

Whatever, that’s how we roll in Cancun.

 

This post is part of a Blog Hop on posadas! Want to read more about Mexican posadas from some of my friends, or add your own posada post to our Blog Hop? Check it out below…

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Disclosure:  I am being compensated for my work in creating and managing content as a Community Manager for the Mexico Today Program.  All stories, opinions and passion for all things Mexico shared here are completely my own.