As soon as October 1st rolls around, the coveted Pumpkin Spice Latte season begins. This signifies the beginning of fall, which also means it's time for everything pumpkin and everything spooky. Halloween is right around the corner. It's a time for fun with friends and cute fall pictures with your significant other.
As much as I love the fall, the real holiday season for me begins on November 1st. Halloween is fun and all, but the holidays have always been more about family than friends. Every Thanksgiving when I was growing up, we would go over to one of my aunt's houses and my whole dad's side of the family would get together and have a potluck dinner. I have a huge extended family and there is something special about cramming us all into one house. It's such a relaxed environment where we would catch up with people who we haven't seen all year (or at least since the family reunion in July). Cousins would come home from college and others would drive hours just to come see family. The little kids would play together and everyone would take pictures. I'm blessed to have a huge extended family that can laugh and love together.
Before I could even digest my pumpkin pie, it would be time to go Black Friday shopping, thus beginning the Christmas season. I loved hearing Christmas songs on the radio and just constantly feeling love and happiness the whole month long. I would go to church every Sunday and just soak up the happy vibes everyone gives off around the holidays. My mom, dad, sister and I would put up the fake Christmas tree together one weekend. There were obviously some arguments about where to place the ornaments, but the tree always looked awesome. My mom and dad would bake cookies and my sister and I would decorate them. We would make up boxes for our family, friends, and even our school bus driver.
Christmas morning was always an exercise in patience. My sister and I had to wait until our parents had woken up, showered and ate breakfast before we could so much as touch our presents. We would sort them out into piles, make sure the camera was ready, and begin ripping off the paper and bows. The rest of the day would be spent playing with the presents we got and just spending time together.
The weekend either right before or right after Christmas we would get together with my mom's side of the family at my grandma's house and have a traditional Christmas dinner. We would exchange gifts and spend the evening enjoying each other's company. It was about an hour drive home and I would always fall asleep in the back seat. There's just something about a good meal and spending time with those you love that makes you sleepy.
The holidays have always been centered around family for me. As happy as I was to receive gifts on Christmas, I was equally as excited to give them. I was extremely lucky to have grown up with a very large extended family who taught me not to value material belongings, but rather the relationships you have in your life. So thank you, all my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, for molding me into a good person and providing me with wonderful memories of past holidays spent together. I look forward to many more to come.
