We asked Rob Maver, Quinn Smith, Matt Walter, Tim Brown and Bryant Moniz their thoughts on everything Christmas! Here’s what they had to say about where they’ll be spending the holidays, their favourite carol and the ugliest Christmas decorations they’ve ever seen.
Where are you planning on spending Christmas this year?
Maver: I’ll be at my girlfriend’s house in Hamilton and from there we’ll be making visits to family in various locations in Ontario.
Q. Smith: The same place I have for the past 24 years – with my family in Scarborough, Ont.
Walter: In Calgary. I have a lot of family around and I just can’t escape this place. After Christmas, though, I’m heading down to Cabo.
Brown: In California with family and friends. Every year we go back to the house that we all grew up in, my brothers and sisters and nephews and nieces and cousins, and throw a big Christmas party and have gumbo and put on a fashion show with the kids and just hang out.
Moniz: In the beautiful islands of Hawaii. Christmas is a three-part event for me. We spend some time at home, we go to my girlfriend’s family’s place and we go to my girlfriend’s mom’s house.
Does your family have any Christmas traditions?
Maver: When I was a kid, my grandmother would buy my brother and I a pair of pajamas to sleep in on Christmas Eve and we could each get one present, which was an ornament for the tree.
Q. Smith: Like a lot of families, we have a big dinner on Christmas night. My mom makes the turkey. And four or five days before Christmas, my dad, who’s half-Italian, and my brother make about 300 raviolis. So we have this massive dinner and then, after we’re done eating, the men play poker.
Walter: My mom is Italian so on Christmas Eve, she serves this fish dish called baccala with garlic spaghetti. Then, on Christmas Day, we have the traditional Christmas dinner with turkey and all the rest. It’s the best of both worlds.
Brown: Actually we get together on Christmas Eve because my brothers and sisters are married and so if we get together on Christmas Eve then they can do their own things on Christmas Day with their own kids.
Moniz: I’m not sure about my family but I have a tradition. I watch Home Alone every year. 1 and 2.
What’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever given?
Maver: Wow, I don’t know about that. I’m a terrible Christmas gift giver. Let’s just say that the best Christmas gift I’ve given has yet to be received.
Q. Smith: Last year, I had a chance to give a pretty special gift. After we won the Grey Cup, we received the jersey we had worn during the game. So I got the jersey signed by all the players and I gave it to my dad.
Walter: Two years ago, my brother agreed to save our money and not get each other gifts. It’s the gift of laziness.
Brown: I’d probably say my mom. One year we bought her a flat-screen TV and an exercise bicycle and a treadmill. It was a whole bunch of stuff all at once.
Moniz: I can’t really pinpoint just one but anytime I give my kids something, it’s special. Just to see the looks on the faces, that makes my day.
What’s the best Christmas present you’ve ever received?
Maver: That would have to be a trip back to Ontario this Christmas from my grandmother so that I could see her and some relatives who I haven’t seen for a long time.
Q. Smith: When I was probably 11 or 12, I received a guitar. I had never had a musical instrument before but I had always wanted to play guitar so that gift was the beginning of my musical talents, I guess you could say. Now I’m playing live shows in Calgary.
Walter: A Ninentendo 64. That was epic at the time. We had this six-by-six box and there was another box inside and so on until we finally got to the Nintendo 64. It was pure pandemonium. I think my dad regretted it though because we played that thing every day for three years.
Brown: A bike. It was a NiteRider bike that I wanted. I remember Michael Knight when I was a kid and my mom and dad got me a NiteRider bike.
Moniz: A PS4. That came in really handy last year. I was able to watch Netflix and play Madden and beat Bo Levi Mitchell, Eric Rogers and Simon Charbonneau-Campeau all the time.
Hardest person to buy a present for?
Maver: I’ll have to say my lady friend. That’s because we’re the same in that when we need something, we just go out and get it for ourselves. I had to get her help to pick out a present.
Q. Smith: I don’t know if there’s anyone that’s really hard to buy for. Everyone in my family is pretty honest about what they want. My nephew is a big Stamps fan so I get him Stamps stuff. My girlfriend gave me a pretty big hint what she wanted, so that was easy, too.
Walter: My dad. He never lets us get him anything. We’ll buy him something and he just says, “No, take it back.” It’s not that he’s picky, he just won’t let me get him anything.
Brown: My wife because the gift changes every day, you know?
Moniz: That would be a tie between my mother and my girlfriend. Neither of them ever wants anything so I never know what to get them. They’re not a lot of help.
Do you use wrapping paper or gift bags?
Maver: Whatever happens to be handy. I can’t remember the last time I bought wrapping paper or gift bags and I’ve lived alone the past few years, so it’s not like that kind of stuff is lying around. I don’t think it matters too much anyway because it just winds up getting ripped.
Q. Smith: Definitely wrapping paper. I’m a terrible gift wrapper so when someone gets a gift from me and they see what an atrocious job I did, they know I must have put in a lot of time and effort to make such a huge mess.
Walter: Neither. I’ve just accepted the fact that wrapping gifts is not in my skill set and so out of respect for the other person, I won’t give them something that just looks like a pile of junk. I just present the item as is.
Brown: Wrapping paper. And I’m the worst wrapper ever.
Moniz: Wrapping paper. Wrapped presents under the tree look way better than gift bags.
Real tree or artificial?
Maver: It’s got to be a real tree, just because of the smell.
Q. Smith: A real tree because it smells so good.
Walter: Artificial. Real ones are nice and all, but there’s no mess with an artificial tree. Plus, I personally don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be cutting down trees for entertainment, but that’s just my thoughts on it.
Brown: Artificial. Definitely artificial. We’ve used the same one for like the last 10 years. The real ones they shed and my brothers that have real ones I have to go over there and help them take it out of the house and clean it all. It’s terrible.
Moniz: Real tree because it smells so good. They actually have real Christmas trees here in Hawaii. They ship them in.
Angel or star on top of your tree?
Maver: A star. I don’t believe in angels.
Q. Smith: A star. When I was younger, I was the one who put the star up on the tree. Lately, I’ve lifted my nephew up so that he could put the star up although he might be tall enough to do it by himself this year.
Walter: My mom grew up Roman Catholic so we always had an angel on top of the tree. In my own place, my tree is only six inches tall so there’s nothing on top of it. I doubt it would support anything.
Brown: An angel.
Moniz: Star.
What’s your favorite thing to eat on Christmas?
Maver: That would have to be my grandmother’s stuffing. It’s a recipe that’s been in the family for five generations. It’s a bread-and-sausage stuffing with parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Q. Smith: There are so many good things. Who doesn’t love stuffing or a good Christmas ham? But I would have to say my absolute favourite thing is a tie between my mom’s turkey and my dad’s raviolis.
Walter: Treats. Baked goods. It’s Christmas, so none of those things have any calories, right? My mom makes these Venetians. It’s tri-coloured cakes with chocolate on top. They’re unreal.
Brown: Gumbo made by my mom and my sisters.
Moniz: My mom makes a delicious breakfast at Christmas with Spam, bacon, eggs and pancakes. It’s a nice little buffet at home. It makes me hungry just thinking about it.
What’s your favorite Christmas song?
Maver: Michael Buble – Cold December Night.
Q. Smith: It’s not one song, but back in 1957 or so, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby did a Christmas special with a lot of great songs. Those guys were just great singers and I just love that special. It’s 25 or 27 minutes long and every year, I watch it.
Walter: Little Drummer Boy.
Brown: “On the 1st Day of Christmas my true love gave to me…” What’s that song called? The Twelve Days of Christmas. (Note: Watch him sing the 4th Day of Stampsmas)
Moniz: I don’t really have a favourite. I just put Pandora on “Christmas music” and that’s it. I listen to them all.
Ugliest Christmas decoration ever invented?
Maver: Tinsel. I grew up with cats and when you have tinsel on the tree, the cats eat it and you wind up with shiny things in the litter box.
Q. Smith: I’ll say a Saskatchewan Roughriders ornament with Chris Jones’ face on it. I’m sure someone has invented that by now.
Walter: I’ll say those big inflatables that people put on their lawns. Those are a bit aggressive. I’m OK with Christmas lights but if someone has one of those huge inflatable snowmen with back lighting and everything, that’s a bit too much for me.
Brown: The wreath. The one that hangs on the door. Oh it’s terrible. They just look awful outside on people’s doors sometimes. We used to have one and my dog barked at it all day and night. So my mom took it down and would never put it back up again.
Moniz: I don’t have an answer for that one. Are guys actually answering that one? Not me. I’m all about Christmas decorations. All of them.