I'll be the first to admit that I HATE the winter weather. My parents always say that we wouldn't be upset if we never saw a snowflake ever again. However, I do love the holidays. Yes, I am that Jew that is obsessed and hops on the Christmas bandwagon all season long. There is just something to be said about the atmosphere, mood, and spirit that comes along with the holidays. So as much as I hate the cold weather probably more than anything else in the whole world, thinking about all this fun and excitement along with the holidays make the weather bearable...

1. Thanksgiving and Black Friday

In my opinion, Thanksgiving and Black Friday is the official kickoff to the holiday season. I love Thanksgiving because it gives me an excuse to show extra gratitude to the people and things I love the most, something that I wish people did more often honestly. And as one of the most frugal people you'll ever meet, I love a good Black Friday deal. My family is a little wack and we order in Lou Malnati's Pizza rather than eat traditional Thanksgiving food, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

2. Christmas Music

There is nothing that gets you more into the holiday spirit than some jolly ol' Christmas tunes. Of course, I love all the classics, like "Jingle Bell Rock," "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas m" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year," but I also can appreciate the more modern take on Christmas music, such as Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe," Ariana Grande's "Santa Tell Me" and of course Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You." Unfortunately, being at school means that I can't turn on the car radio to hear my local stations playing all the classics, so my Christmas Spotify playlist will have to do.

3. The city all lit up with Christmas lights

I'm a born and raised Chicago (suburbs) girl, and there is truly nothing like seeing my local neighborhood and the city itself all lit up for the holidays. My family has so many special traditions that revolved around going downtown and soaking up all the holiday spirit. Each year we go to the Macy's downtown, eat at the Walnut Room, and look at the windows that are always decorated with a fun theme/story. We also love driving down to Sauganash, a historic Chicago neighborhood that has traditionally their houses decorated for an amazing light show. This year I would also love to go to the Lincoln Park zoo lights at some point over the holidays, so catch me hitting up the city often over winter break.

4. Having no homework

After finals season, everyone is very much ready for a break. Going home for the holidays is such a nice way to decompress from all the stress that comes along with school. There is nothing better than coming home after a long semester, plopping yourself on the couch, grabbing some hot chocolate, and immersing into a deep binge of every Netflix series around. It's the only break (besides summer of course) that is truly a break, and it feels good. However, as someone who can't actually stand to do nothing for long periods of time, I still find other, more fun ways to keep busy. One of my favorite things to do over winter break is decompress with a good old puzzle or help out at my mom's office. It's a great way to feel as though I'm being productive without the pressure and stress that come with school and other things I'm involved in at college. However, I am a little worried because my winter break this year is nearly six weeks long, so please pray that I will not die of boredom (especially once the holidays are over and everything goes back to normal).

5. Christmas movies/T.V. specials

I'm also a HUGE fan of Christmas movies and think they are the perfect way to get even more immersed in all the holidays have to offer. "A Christmas Story" is one of my particular favorites, and I watch the movie typically two or three times on the date of actual Christmas because it runs on TBS for the whole 24 hours straight. "It's A Wonderful Life" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" are also some great classics. In addition, some of my all-time favorite T.V. shows have the best Christmas specials, such as "The Brady Bunch," "Full House," "How I Met Your Mother," "Friends," and "Glee." Seriously nothing better than cozying up on the couch and watching one of these.

6. Celebrating Hannukah

I would've felt bad but not including a little something about the holiday that I actually do celebrate. As much as I love the lead up to Christmas, I also am thankful that I kind of get to participate in two holidays. The 8 nights of presents are pretty great, but what makes Hannakah special to me is all of the fun traditions my family does. For example, I love doing "White Elephant" with my cousins each year, where we all wrap cheap items up, grab a number, and end up with some pretty wacky gifts. The best is when we all steal from each other and the people with the earlier numbers end up with some pretty shitty presents. What a great bonding moment.

7. Activities and outfits that are only acceptable at this time of the year

From constructing gingerbread houses, doing Secret Santa with your friends, decorating the Christmas tree, and wearing lots of ugly sweaters and fuzzy socks, the holiday season is definitely a silly time. There is something to be said about the fact that these activities are only done around this time of the year that makes it that much more fun to participate.

8. Planning for the New Year

I'm actually not the biggest fan of actual New Year's Eve (I think it's a little bit overhyped), but I do really like the new year. It's a great way to think about the past year, reprioritize and then set goals or things you want to maintain throughout the next year. For this job, I love to get out my handy dandy bullet journal and get to planning. Picking out a new journal for the year is a refreshing feeling and gets me reflecting on the past year and focused on what I want out of the new year.

9. Lots of family time

With Hannukah, Christmas, and New Years (on top of both my dad and grandma's birthdays) all within a few weeks span of each other, this time of year is filled with lots and lots of family time. Especially spending the majority of the year away from home, I love that during the holiday season I get to enjoy the extra time spent with family because there is truly nothing like it.

So I guess it's time for me to face the realities of the harsh winter to come because it's time for me to get into the holiday spirit. Tis' the freaking season.