at Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade

1. Have you been naughty or nice this year?
   on the whole, I've been more nice, which is not terribly rewarding. Here's why: I just took the BBC 'How Dark Is Your Personality?' test (take it here), and was moderately pleased to discover that I am...moderately nefarious.
   
   
   
2. What do you want most for Christmas?
   socks. And a kiss. And some books. And a mortgage payment.
   
   And boots.
3. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
   ehhh, not a big fan. I recently watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, though, and even saw part of It's a Wonderful Life (for the first time).
4. How many Christmas cards do you normally send out?
   the number is decreasing year by year. It peaked around a hundred in maybe 2013, but will be half or less than that this year. I'm pretty tired of sending them out and getting absolutely nothing back.
5. Do you still get a stocking?
   I have one, but living alone means that the magic is somewhat contrived
6. What is your favorite Christmas song?
   Dona Nobis Pacem, and Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984)
7. What is your favorite Christmas TV special?
   A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
8. What is your favorite way to wrap gifts?
   on the floor
9. What do you look forward to most at Christmas?
   a couple of days off, some good food, and seeing people that I haven't seen in too long
10. What [will] you do for Christmas this year?
    I work Thursday, and afterward am commanded to attend the family thing at my brother's. My niece and her kids will be there, which is always sort of noisy and awkward. The kids are 4 and 7 this year, old enough for some of it but still young enough to not know who the heck all the grown ups are, particularly when they see some of us once a year. So, yay for that.
    Friday will be very, very quiet at Mom & Dad's. Probably a noon-to-dinnertime deal.
    I think that Saturday I will be on my own.
    Sunday, I'm having my cousin and his boyfriend over for dinner (meaning, middle-of-the-day food. More food than "lunch" but we're eating at 1:00. Call it what you will).
    The wrench in all this is Chris' birthday on Christmas Eve. Thoughts of him muddy my feelings about life in general, but this season is really hard to figure.
11. Who do you want to kiss under the mistletoe?
    He knows who he is.
12. What kind of Christmas tree do you have?
    there's a 6 1/2-foot Douglas fir, a 4-foot something kind of similar (maybe Fraser fir?) in a basket, a 5-foot dowel, and a 3-foot slat.
13. Did you take part in a Secret Santa?
    I do not
14. Did you go to any Christmas parties?
    at work there was a pizza party for lunch last Wednesday, and a holiday potluck last Friday. Apart from the family stuff, that's it (other than whatever D&R have in mind for us).
15. How early do you wake up on Christmas morning?
    with any luck, I will sleep sound and long until I wake of my own accord at about 10:AM

[from The Cat, who got it here; the title quotation is from "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band-Aid]