1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper. Gift bags are less exciting.
2. Real tree or Artificial? We used to have real ones when I was really little — always a pine tree, which I loved the smell of. Then we had an artificial one from when I was about 6 onwards. I still love real trees, but they're more trouble and arguably less environmentally friendly unless you have one planted in a pot and bring it in every year — or have one growing in your garden, if you've got enough space. There was a family in our town years ago who used to decorate the HUGE Norfolk Island pine on their front lawn every year!
3. When do you put up the tree?Start of December.
4. When do you take the tree down? After the 5th of January, i.e. Twelfth Night. That said, I don't have a tree of my own this year — I live on site at the care home where I work and we have a lovely tree downstairs (artificial, but very realistic looking).
5. Favorite gift received as a child?Not quite sure there's one in particular that stands out. We used to often get Roald Dahl books (one of my favourite authors as a child) — and Lego. LOTS of Lego. I think Lego was always the most exciting.
6. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can't think of one.
7. Hardest person to buy for?
8. Easiest person to buy for? I'll combine these in one because I normally only buy major gifts for my immediate family and closest friends, and I know them all well enough that they're not too hard to buy for. Anyone other than that on the gift list usually just gets chocolate.
9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail (or hand-delivered) for family, close friends and work colleagues. Email for anyone further away. Actually, my family always get both paper and email cards (I subscribe to Jacquie Lawson e-cards and everyone loves them).
10. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Any time during the year if I stumble upon something that I know someone special to me will like!
11. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yep.
Quite often. Normally just things like chocolates, biscuits, cakes, drinks etc. if I'm given more of them than I need or want for myself (or ones I don't like).
12. Favorite thing to eat during the Christmas season?Hmmm. Back in Australia, Dad's barbecue lunch with Mum's salads. Over here in the UK, I enjoy turkey with cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets (little sausages wrapped in bacon, if you didn't know). For sweet things, I love Bramley apple pies (another British specialty) and Lebkuchen (German Christmas gingerbread). And hot mulled apple juice to drink!
13. Lights on the tree? Ooh yes. Multi-coloured ones when we were little, but I think all gold or all silver look more sophisticated.
14. Favorite ornament theme or color?I love ornaments in the shape of birds or animals, or anything with a Nativity theme especially. Colours — red and green and gold and silver in particular.
15. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, definitely. My sister and I, when we were decorating the tree as children, used to put the star on together, each holding a point on either side, so we would never squabble over who got to put it on each year!
16. Do you have a nativity? Yes, one I bought a few years ago with Bible verses written on each of the figures. I've just found a picture of the same one
here.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? When we were little, nearly always at home for Christmas Day and then visit relatives in the weeks following (it's our summer holiday then). Where I am now, I always work over Christmas and take a break another time. (I'm on my pre-Christmas holiday now, actually!)
18. Gifts in the stockings?Never had stockings.
19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. The rule in our house always was that we had to get dressed and eat breakfast BEFORE opening any presents, just to keep us from going into a wrapper-ripping frenzy too early!!
20. Favorite part of Christmas dinner? Not sure! I like it all.
21. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it.
22. Favorite Christmas song?Almost anything sung by a really good choir — hard to choose an absolute favourite, but THE most breathtaking I can think of is
O Magnum Mysterium as set by Morton Lauridsen. (And yes, I do like more light-hearted carols too.
)
23. Favorite Christmas movie?Don't really have one.
24. Favorite Christmas book?A Christmas Carol, definitely.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year?Peace on Earth
(And for myself, just to enjoy a very special time of year and more deeply appreciate the holiness of it.)
Partially because I would have a child in tow that is the recipient of one of those items. 
