Deck the Halls
It's Christmastime, and I'm not fooling around.
Ok, you guys. Bustle insists that I blog about this. Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday. I love it the most, and the holiday season brings on a kind of strange mania in me, where I can't rest until all of my many and wondrous holiday tasks are complete.
The only other time I get this kind of weird OCD is when I pack for a trip. But I don't enjoy my packing panic. I DO enjoy my holiday...um, I feel a responsibility to alliteration here. Holiday....haze? No, that's no good. Christmas craze! Holiday hysteria! Falalala fever! I'm sorry. I'm done now, (and I'm ashamed). But I'm not ashamed of this:
Deck the Halls? Done and done.
Trim the tree? BEHOLD.
Wreaths? I have two.
Stockings hung by the chimney with care? You better believe it.
Think I forgot Hanukkah? Think again. These are my annual Hannukah cookies that I make for Dave's family (see this post for the recipe), and they dropped in the post on Friday. They may even make it in time for the final night of Hannukah! (It would be a miracle).
Behold this yuletide plenty!
Yeah, so today I accomplished wrapping all the presents. What I did NOT accomplish was putting on real pants or eating before 7pm. Holiday hysteria has its price. Bustle thinks I'm a very fancy wrapper, but I learned from my mom, who is a master gift-wrapper. Every nice, handmade bow you see under this tree will be nothing compared to her profusion of ribbon, top-quality paper, and probably like...sprays of fruit, or birds, or maybe angels? There's no telling what's going to be topping those packages. It's a lot of pressure. Anyway, I try to get as much done as I can before I land in the exhausted land of "UGH, I don't care anymore, just put it in a bag". You have to know your limits.
All this bravado, but I still don't have my outdoor lights completely up, and only one of my two nativity sets up. (Um...I have a rustic, more casual nativity and another, more formal one. Is that weird? If it is, my mom's in trouble, because she has, like, five.) I also, in what is an annual tradition, have failed to send out holiday cards yet again, and am now holding on to the sweet, possibly mythical idea that I will send out New Year's cards. It's a possibility.
But seriously, I love all of it. I love how every ornament on the tree reminds me of a special person, place, or time in my life. I love picking out the perfect presents for my loved ones. I love getting cards from family and far-flung friends, I love the parties (although, alas, I could only attend one this year), I love the spirit as everyone tries to let love and light into their homes and their lives, and extends that light to help others. I try to give throughout the year, but for Christmas I chose the International Rescue Committee for my holiday donation.
So I'm Christmas Crazy, but it's a good kind of crazy. Here's hoping this crazy time of year is the good kind of crazy for you too. (And post pictures of your Christmas trees and menorahs on our FB page, because that is, clearly, my jam.)
Happy Holidays!
