Also, do I plant these in regular succulent soil, or should it be a little bit more water retaining than most of the succulents need? Do I plant my pieces as soon as I treat them, or should I let them dry out for a few days?

I don't want to mess these up, this is the first time I've ever had Christmas cactus pieces offered to me!

I'm not even going to give advise or care suggestions -- you'll start at big disadvantage using cuttings w/ mealy bugs. Not enough material there to bother saving. Sorry, but I'd suggest forget it & start from scratch w/ a new one.

I'd stick the cuttings in a small plastic pot, in a mix of bark and perlite and a little gravel for weight. Instead of making a more water-retentive mix, simply plan to water your mix more often. Lukewarm water helps saturate the bark, too.

Josh

Dilute with what, water?

And thanks very much for the advice, I'll be doing that tomorrow morning.

Yes.

I think cuttings from a friend or family makes them special and with small cuttings like this it shouldn't be to diffacult to treat.
I also use alcohol but I don't dilute mine I just switch the lid of a large bottle with a lid off a spray bottle.
I've been doing this for a couple years now with no problems.
I'd suggest keeping it to it's self for a while and treat every 8-10 days.

I always pot my christmas cactus cuttings up with the same soil mix that they will grow in and they always root with no problems.
I find the true christmas cactus very easy to root, even more so than the thanksgiving cactus found in the stores at this time of year.

Good Luck!