It's that time of year again! I've been listening to Christmas music for the past two weeks (yes, since before Thanksgiving). I *love* Christmas. Wanna know why?
1. I love the warmth of the indoors because of the COLD out-of-doors.
2. I love buying presents that will make people happy.
3. I love wrapping presents.
4. I love Toys for Tots.
5. I love knowing that people all over the world are genuinely concerned about the well-being of strangers, if only for a short period of time. That short period of time is these next few weeks, and I love this holiday for it.
6. I love all the little kids running around desperate to get on their parents' (and Santa's) good side just in time for the parade of presents.
7. I love turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy and stuffing.
8. I love that people complain if they love their family's home-cooking but aren't able to have it. How often do you get to hear people saying nice things about being with their families?
9. I love White Elephant gift exchanges.
10. I love Christmas music.
11. I love shopping when the people around me are also shopping with the same goal -- to find the perfect gift for someone on their list. How often during the year do we have shared goals with virtually everyone around us? It's the great, invisible, Christmas bond!
12. I love sweaters and scarves and gloves. I love when they're printed with snowflakes and other cold-related symbols. Cozy!
13. I love Christmas generosity -- like when you're out with friends or family shopping, and one person volunteers to run out in the cold/rain/snow to fetch the car, while everyone else can huddle together for warmth. Or when people give money to those "annoying" bell-ringers outside of every grocery store, just because it's Christmas.
14. I love creating surprises!
15. I love overcoming a good mystery (like figuring out what my gift is before Christmas -- sorry, Bug).
16. I love the smell of pine needles and Winter spices.
17. I love to bake.
18. I love seeing a beautiful Christmas tree decked-out with candy canes and lights and presents, not to mention a star on top!
19. I love driving around neighborhoods to check out Christmas lights and decorations -- the outward, physical evidence of a community's celebration of a holiday is so special. No matter how they celebrate or why.
20. I love the simplicity of Christmas. People are generous and happy (or at least attempting to be both). And there are only so many symbols of Christmas, and yet they're re-interpreted every year and for each new generation. Santa, snowflakes, snowmen, the tree, stars, gifts, candy canes, sleighs, reindeer, lights, wreaths. Everyone knows the stories. Everyone knows the songs.
I love it! You can think it's cheesy. You can be cynical. But I plan to be happy. I plan to be generous. I plan to be refreshed by the season. You Summer-lovers have had your "day in the sun." I plan to enjoy my day by the fire. =) Happy Christmas!!!
1 comment:
I like this idea. : ) Okay, so here's my list of 20 reasons why I like Christmas:
1. I love snow, or at the very least the prospect of snow.
2. Corny as it may be, I love It's A Wonderful Life.
3. I love surprising my friends and family with presents that they enjoy.
4. I love the crisp cold Winter air.
5. I love how silent the world is when it's blanketed beneath a new layer of snow.
6. I love being the first person to break the surface of said snow with footprints.
7. I love that Christmas brings my family together into one location.
8. I love pumpkin pie.
9. I love egg nog.
10. I love listening to my favorite Christmas music as I'm curled up by a fire.
11. As much as I complain about it each year, I love the rituals my family has regarding putting up lights on the tree.
12. I love that at the age of 29, I still have trouble falling asleep on Christmas Eve.
13. I love the thought of wandering around through crowded mall parking lots with my keys in my hand, pretending that I can't remember where I parked just to piss off people looking for a space.
14. And I love that I'm not mean-spirited enough to have ever actually done that. (yet)
15. I love that my industry takes a Holiday Break and gives me a week of paid vacation time.
16. I love the increased importance placed on hot chocolate.
17. I love the "Year in Review" recaps that the News stations do every year.
18. I love the lights in the trees, the wreaths on the doors, and the doofy lawn decorations that people put up (even though I'd never put them up myself - I can enjoy them from afar).
19. I love that, for about a month, the entire country is just that little bit nicer to each other.
20. I love carolers, if I can find them. They seem to be more and more rare these days, but if I see them caroling anywhere I'll stop and watch for a long time.
So, there you go. ; )
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