With finals coming up, and the impending doom of all-nighters, one thing to keep you going is the reminder of winter break. With winter break comes the temporary relief of school and the holiday season. Although I am definitely a summer type of girl, there's so much I love about the spirit that comes along with the winter holiday season. From Christmas movie marathons to ice skating with my friends, here are my top 20 reasons as to why I love the holiday season: 

1. Christmas Movie Marathons – Who doesn't love "Elf" or "A Christmas Story"? 
2. Ice Skating with Friends – Nothing better than seeing my best friends fall on their butt!
3. Presents galore – Everybody loves presents.
4. Seeing all my friends who are back home from college – Finally, a chance to hang out and catch up with everyone.
5. Gingerbread Houses – For those of you that love to get creative like me, building a gingerbread house during the season is a must.
6. Decorating the house for the Holidays – I love getting into the Christmas spirit and decking the house with stockings and various snowmen.
7. The smell of christmas trees – The trademark "smell" of the Christmas season in general.
8. Seeing "Santa" at every mall I go to – Hmm, not suspicious at all?
9. Basketball season is back! – Nothing better than watching my Lakers on Christmas Day.
10. Christmas music – I absolutely love hearing christmas music everywhere I go. Unlike most people, who get annoyed at the 100th time they've heard Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" walking through the grocery store.
11. Christmas lights everywhere – On my neighbors house, in my living room window and at the closest Starbucks. Christmas lights are everywhere and I'm absolutely loving it.
12. Red Starbucks holiday cups – Every #basic girl's favorite thing about getting their Starbucks during the holiday season.
13. Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties – I love going thrifting trying to find the "ugliest" Christmas sweater I can find just for this purpose. 
14. Sweater weather – With winter and the holiday season comes the time for me to finally break out all my sweaters, scarves and boots.
15. Snuggling up by the fireplace with some hot cocoa – self explanatory...
16. Annual Christmas pictures/cards – I've always loved taking christmas pictures with my  family every year, as well as receiving christmas cards in the mail from family and friends.
17. Eggnog – Even though eggnog isn't a personal favorite of mine and doesn't technically belong on the list, it is still a holiday season staple that many people love. This includes my younger brother who seems to consume gallons of it during the season.
18. Endless baking – I don't know about you, but my family always goes crazy with baking when it comes to the holiday season. From various types of christmas cookies to pumpkin bread, I can't deny any of these baked goods.
19. Counting down to the New Year – I remember always staying up until midnight with my family and getting so excited to watch the Ball Drop at Times Square on my TV. 
20. A chance for reflection – With the holiday season, comes the ending of yet another year. This leaves me time to reflect on everything, and to be thankful for the good things that occurred.