It is time to confess something. I have said it so many times behind closed doors, to trusted friends, and now it is time for me to be vulnerable about this with the general population.

Here is goes...

I am the Grinch (or Scrooge if you prefer that character, but you get the picture)

There was nothing traumatic that caused this disdain, rather over time I found myself slowly becoming disenchanted with the events of December. For example, Christmas music is sometimes quite annoying. I do not enjoy the shopping or the decorating of the Christmas tree. The season themed parties often can turn into awkward affairs, and it is often entirely too cold outside. The pressure surrounding the holiday can be suffocating, and as someone that works with holiday shoppers, Christmas time becomes a blur, and also a testament to a hard work ethic and the often collapsing at the end of the night.

Prior to working with holiday shoppers, I even remember being a tinier human and not feeling the Christmas spirit. I liked Christmas, but it did not color my entire outlook on life with excitement. There was one year that I heard the song "Not This Year" by Aly and Aj and found myself feeling a solidarity to their sentiments that spoke of how "It's not snow, it's rain coming down" and that they “can't pull off the cheer. Not this year." Christmas has always been fun, but it has never been my favorite thing. It is not something that my heart looks forward to.

For the past few years, I have allowed myself to be the Grinch, to rather dislike the holidays and be a bit passive about it. This mode of operation worked, until this year when I realized that I needed to make a change. I promised myself that I would attempt to become a bit more excited about Christmas, not only for my sake, but also because I live with, work with, and engage in conversation with so many Christmas fanatics. In my heart, I believe there is a spirit of holiday cheer, buried beneath the stress and frustration. Knowing this project would take effort, I decided to create a plan of action. Therefore, may I introduce you to the Christmas Bucket List 2016.

• Listen to A Very She & Him Christmas (Aka the best Christmas album)
• Go see the candy cane decorated house
• Give out Christmas cards
• Buy mistletoe and a Star Wars Christmas sweater
• Rogue One (Self-explanatory)
• Make s’mores that includes peppermint
• Christmas cookies
• When it becomes stressful, light a candle and chill out
• Watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas (You know, for solidarity’s sake)
• Christmas Traditions (To see those that I love living their dream)
• Do not go shopping alone (Because I know it will drive me insane to do it by myself)

I figure if I can find the things that I can enjoy about the season and do them, then perhaps I can discover why people love Christmas. With less than a month to discover the magic in this Christmas season, I am ready to embrace this project wholeheartedly. That being said, if you cannot find me, look for me under the Christmas tree, earbuds playing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside," learning to fall in love with Christmas.