I don't care how much you all hate the holidays and the crass commercialism that they inevitably bring. I love them. Maybe it's because I had an idyllic childhood and a huge, happy family. Christmas? Love it.
Giving gifts to people? It makes me happy. I love taking time to pick out something that I think will make someone else happy, that might bring them some kind of pleasure. Something that could possibly show them that I care and that I did listen when they said they had a particular hobby or interest or need that year. As Michael Scott says, it's like saying "I love you an iPod worth." Granted, I'm not bringing anything nearly that expensive to the table...OK, we did get my dad one, but he had it coming. He's an awesome dad and totally deserved a really great gift from a kid that he gives everything to.
I also love all of the trimmings that come with the Holiday season. I'm not particularly religious, but I do celebrate Christmas as a gathering of friends and family that sometimes trades gifts but more often than not is happy to share good times and tons of great food. Maybe I should just say that I celebrate the holidays, because there's no church involved.
I love all of the food. My dad gets tons of food from coworkers every year and always brought home some really great stuff, so besides my mom's cooking, there's always another reason to visit during the holidays. But when she does cook, oh man. She makes her own fudge, there's always three or four tins of chex mix hidden throughout the house. The roasts, the mashed potatoes, the gravy, it's truly a wonderful time of the year.
The decorations are fun, too. I don't care how tacky they may seem to some people. I love the pine boughs, the bright ribbons, the richly textured fabrics, the plaids. I love putting up my decorations every year. It always feels kind of bare when I have to store them afterwards. I love a simple strand of white lights. I'm not huge on ornaments, but this year I did buy myself a glass one shaped like a red, double-decker bus from London. You know why? It made me happy.
And the music. I love it. I can't take it year-round like my mom, but I do like it for about a week before Christmas. I love the traditional carols, the singing, the classical music, the instrumentals, the newer, Beatles version of things. Pants, an admitted Christmas music hater, even said he liked Elvis' "Blue Christmas" the other day. Gets me in the spirit and excited about the holiday. I think we all need a little excitement, something to look forward to.
And Christmas eve, I still get excited. I know there's no Santa, no one's leaving any surprises in my stocking (Pants already filled it up), and it's not nearly what it was when I was a kid, but I still get goosebumps. Something's coming, something fun. People all over the world are thinking the same thing, it's fun and exciting to be part of something that big. (I also get a little teary whenever I see a live parade. I know, I'm weird. I blame marching band and my grandmother.)
I'm not huge on Christmas sweaters, but my theory is that if wearing something that others consider to be a holiday monstrosity makes you happy and doesn't harm any small children or animals in the process, go for it. Life is too short to worry about others, wear the thing and don't care about anyone else.
Shopping. I do enjoy a task, especially one that allows me to shop. I love shopping. Duh. It's not retail therapy, but the challenge that I adore. I have a set amount of money and time, so I have to find the best sales in my city. Granted, I try to do my shopping throughout the year. If there's a sale at JCREW during the summer, well I'll stock up and put them in the guest closet and forget about them until it's time to wrap them and send them on their way. This method worked especially good this year. I was able to get hints from people throughout the year on what they wanted/liked and catch three or four unbelievable sales and got almost all my shopping done way early.
I'm thinking about a career in personal shopping. My mother just couldn't find anything for one of my cousins, but she had a ballpark on what she wanted to spend and a general idea of what to get. So Monday I went to work. Within two hours I'd returned videos to Blockbuster, tried to swap a fullscreen edition of Road to Perdition for a widescreen one at BestBuy (they didn't have it), picked up lunch at Wendy's, gotten the rest of my supplies for my Christmas cards at Hobby Lobby and gone to two other stores that had exactly what I needed, on clearance, for my cousin's gift. It was a good day.
I guess what I'm saying is that I'm going to have a great holiday season, eat wonderful food, be thankful for a fantastic family and husband and just enjoy the hell out of everything despite all you holiday haters.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)