During the month of December, we decided to join the festivity by having the Red Tie team answer questions related to Christmas. Out of a survey of 20 questions, our favorites are listed below.

Wrapping paper or gift bags?

• Travis Doucette (Travis) - Wrapping paper – it’s more fun to open
• Don Marsh (Don) - Gift bags because you can re-use them
• Adam Lancaster (Adam) - Gift bags
• Scott Bullman (Scott) - Wrapping paper
• Charles Billingsley (Charles) - Wrapping paper
• Lorie Marsh (Lorie) - Gift bags
• Erin Schroeder (Erin) – Wrapping paper

Real tree or artificial?

• Travis - Real
• Adam – Both – like the smell of real, but the size of the artificial
• Scott - Artificial
• Charles - Artificial
• Lorie - Artificial
• Erin - Real – I love the smell

Favorite gift received as a child?

• Travis - a Mickey Mouse record player
• Don - The 1st Wurlitzer electric piano with head phones from my dad when I was in college. I could write songs during the day or night and never had to leave my room. It really got me into arranging and helped make me who I am today.
• Adam - The drum set I got when I was 8 years old or my dog.
• Scott - a bike
• Charles - my first bike
• Lorie - Most Christmases, we got things my parents made. But one year, we got a barrel from the mission and, as a child, I remember thinking it was full of treasures. My favorite toy was a doll.
• Erin - my dog or when my dad took me to get my ears pierced on Christmas Eve as an early, surprise Christmas gift

Hardest person to buy for?

• Scott - Charles Billingsley

Easiest person to buy for?

• Adam - Does me count?

Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

• Don - fruitcake – I got it and re-gifted it

Favorite things to eat at Christmas?

• Travis - Turkey, mashed potatoes, turtle chocolates, Toffifee chocolates or Ferrero Rocher chocolates
• Adam - My mom makes round peanut butter balls that are incredible.
• Scott - Food…all of it!
• Charles - Frosted shortbread
• Lorie - Orange biscuits on Christmas morning and peppermint ice cream
• Erin - my mom’s homemade cinnamon roll biscuits and breakfast casserole we have for Christmas brunch and multiple flavors of hot chocolate

Clear lights or colored on the tree?

• Travis - colored
• Adam - clear
• Don - colored – particularly, the imitation candles from the 60s that used water bubbles
• Scott - clear
• Charles - clear
• Lorie - clear
• Erin - colored

Most annoying thing about this time of year?

• Don - white elephant gift exchanges
• Scott - the Visa bill
• Lorie - How about post-Christmas? Having to take the decorations down.

Gingerbread or sugar cookies?

• Travis - sugar, but could probably go either way
• Adam - sugar
• Don - gingerbread because I like the spice
• Scott - sugar…of course
• Charles - gingerbread
• Lorie - gingerbread
• Erin - sugar – made with cookie cutters, frosting and sprinkles

What do you look forward to the most at Christmas time?

• Travis - family
• Adam - probably the whole “festiveness” of December. It’s everywhere. The decorations are in every store.
• Scott – a change in pace and the 3 F’s – family, food, football!
• Charles - being home
• Lorie - spending time with family when work & school are done
• Erin - enjoying the coziness of home with all of the lights and decorations and family

What is your favorite family Christmas tradition?

• Travis - We always have nachos and cheese around the fireplace late on Christmas Eve.
• Adam - In recent years, we have enjoyed watching “White Christmas”.
• Scott - Providing food and gifts for a needy family and delivering it to them.
• Charles - Telling the Christmas story on Christmas Eve
• Lorie - We always have a special time together on Christmas Eve. Usually, we dress up and go to a traditional Christmas Eve service with a candlelight service and Christmas carols. We also have a special dinner. The whole evening is special.
• Erin - probably the whole schedule of Christmas morning that we’ve followed since I was little – my brothers and I aren’t allowed into the living room until we’re all awake, then we go in together to open our stockings as a family. Then, we eat this AWESOME brunch together while listening to Christmas music. Then, we open presents! It’s all sooo fun and good.

What would you do if you caught Santa Claus in your house on Christmas Eve?

• Travis - I would probably sit down with him, eat cookies, drink a glass of milk, and ask him to reveal all of his secrets.
• Don - I would try to bribe him for a new iPad or Kindle.
• Adam - I would ask him if I could go with him on the rest of his trip.
• Scott - Thank him and give him a generous tip!
• Charles - Get his autograph and ask for a ride in his sleigh
• Lorie – I’d kiss him because he would be my husband.
• Erin – I would probably be in shock and then watch him finish what he’s doing without being seen…ya know, see if he eats the sugar cookies and milk we left out and what not. I can’t decide if I wouldn’t want to risk being seen at all or if I would work up the courage to say hi and ask for a ride in the sleigh (and see the reindeer).

If you could be any person involved in the Christmas story, who would you be and why?

• Travis - I would want to be Jesus so I could better understand the humility he faced coming to earth.
• Don - One of the wise men – I identify with their camel riding skills. I’ve never ridden a camel, but I’m sure I have the riding skills.
• Scott - Gabriel. It would be so cool to be the one who delivered the news to Mary regarding what was about to happen…and then sit back and watch the reaction of everyone involved.
• Charles - A wise man. They were rich, powerful, and yet, got first hand experience in what it is like to be in the presence of a real king. Plus, they were 2 years late because they stopped at Jehovah Java for coffee.
• Lorie - I think I would want to be one of the shepherds who saw the hosts of angels singing and proclaiming Jesus’ birth. I would also get to go and worship Him and watch Him grow up, knowing what the angels had said and what had been foretold.