Christmas!

I am the kind of person who, despite being a begrudging believer in consumerism, does not believe in decorating or preparing for any holiday before its time. It irks me beyond belief when stores put up Valentine's Day hearts in January, or Halloween cobwebs on the first day of October, or Thanksgiving paper turkeys before Halloween has even happened. Yet my one exception is that, as soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers are finished, I dive straight into Christmas mode. Because I LOVE Christmas, almost too much: often by the time December 25th rolls around, I have already out-Christmased myself and everyone around me. I have to work to contain myself.

It's impossible for me not to associate December with Christmas. After all, tree-putting-up and ornament-ing and gift-buying aside, my family celebrates Advent. The Advent calendar (chocolates!) and wreath/candles appear in my house like clockwork every year on the first Sunday of December (officially, the first Sunday of Advent; I suppose depending on the year it could be in late November? Don't make me do the math). So, all month, we are in Christmas mode, especially me.

Union Square, San Francisco

At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to trick you into thinking I'm a selfless angel...I love giving gifts more than receiving them. I'll tell you why that's not "selfless": because seeing the look on the receiver's face when they open your awesome present, that triumphant, loving feeling that you get, is one of the best feelings you can have. Giving a great gift is self-validation: I am thoughtful! I succeeded! They love it!

So I am already hard at work making gifts for my loved ones. Yes, making, not buying, because as a college student, I have two options: cheap and storebought, or cheap and handmade. The latter is INFINITELY better than the first. Also, I try really hard to gift things that are useful and needed, often topping off the useful present with a not-so-useful one. Exhibit A: I'm making my parents personalized wine charms(DIY post to come), because whenever they have people over, everyone gets their wine glasses confused. That's the useful part. Then on top of that, I'm getting them a Michael Buble CD (yet another post coming for why). Part useful, part superfluous (with a positive connotation), all awesome. Forgive me for tooting my own horn to no end.

Other things I love about the holidays:
- Ghirardelli peppermint hot chocolate
- Union Square in San Francisco
- Holiday jazz
- The culturally rich variety of holidays this time of year
- Big, cozy sweaters
- Fireplaces
- Still believing in Santa Claus (I always will!)
- Eggnog
- Christmas movies
- The Nutcracker
- Snow, or at least knowing it's snowing somewhere (no snow here in Cali)
- My sparkly pink Santa hat (thank you Victoria's Secret...0:))
- Winter wonderlands set up on neighborhood lawns
- Of course...winter break from school
- And best of all: the Christmas tree in the living room. Waking up in the middle of the night, expecting darkness, and instead being greeted by twinkling lights; constructing toy train tracks around the base of the tree; filling its branches with ornaments, each one with a memory of its own.


Trust me, this is only the introduction to a LOT of Christmas posts to come. Happy holidays! ♥