Christmas is one of the best holidays ever (and no, it’s not just because of gifts). Everything in the universe just seems to get a little bit better: the music seems jollier, the cookies taste sweeter, and prices get cheaper (gotta love a good sale). The Christmas spirit is just overall an uplifting feeling to have, especially when the stress of exams start to catch up on you. But let’s not talk about exams and such, because Christmas is way more fun.
Christmas traditions are some of my favorite parts of the holidays. For example, we have a little manager above the TV, but we don’t put baby Jesus in the cradle until we have read the “’’Twas the Night Before Christmas” and “The Story of Bethlehem” on Christmas Eve. My family will gather around our living room and watch “It’s Christmas Charlie Brown” while eating super buttery popcorn and hot chocolate, and even though we’ve seen the movie about a hundred times, the company never gets old. Of course, we always pull out the old Christmas movies (who could forget about Jimmy Carrey in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”???) and we spend a whole evening decorating the very fake Christmas tree we have with the thousands of ornaments that we have collected over the years. My grandma never fails to bring each of her grandchildren a new ornament for the tree, usually representing that grandchild’s hobbies or enjoyments (you KNOW I got an ornament involving music). Traditions are such a fun way to celebrate the season, because even though change can be good, those constant memories that you make each year really put me in the Christmas spirit.
The kitchen is always busy around Christmas time: the oven is always hot and the eggnog is nice and cold. Although Thanksgiving provides the big turkeys and mountains of mashed potatoes, I don’t think anything can top the amount of food I eat on Christmas Eve. We have the family come over to celebrate the evening and bring plate-full after plate-full of food and sweets to eat. Holy cow. I gain at least ten pounds it’s insane. But hey, as long as I get some peanut butter balls, I’m not complaining.
Christmas morning is always exciting, but I’ve realized that the older I’ve gotten, the harder it is to wake up early and be excited (because let’s face it, without coffee it is too early). But we have our little system of who opens presents and stockings, then we usually put on some Christmas music and enjoy a nice breakfast. And of course, there is grandma’s house (literally the best place to be on Christmas). More time with the family, more food…I mean it only gets better.
Christmas is such an amazing, wonderful time of the year, and because it’s so close and I’m so excited, I just had to write about it. Hopefully, Christmas this year will bring joy to not only my friends and family, but to anyone needing a little Christmas spirit this year. May your Christmas be Merry and Bright!
Happy Holidays!
