Candy canes. I mean, they're EDIBLE TREE DECORATIONS. So if I have a hankering for peppermint, it's like, "Oh, look, let me choose from my CANDY TREE." (If only candy grew on trees, but for a couple weeks, I can pretend.)
A real Christmas tree, that makes my living room smell all pine-y, and pine-y is the scent of happiness. (Especially when I remember to water the tree.)Lights everywhere! But only the white kind that doesn't blink, because I am a purist, and colored lights and blinking lights and LED lights (and God forbid, blinking, colored, LED lights) are sacrilegious.
"Oh Holy Night." Specifically, the Mariah Carey version that makes me tear up every time.
Christmas candles. And the food-scented ones.
Secret Santas. Gifts are fun, but secret gifts are funner.
Appropriately-timed Christmas music. Like when you're decorating the tree. And prepping for holiday guests.Poinsettias, specifically when they wither in a cold car and then magically re-bloom to full gorgeousness in a warm house. (And they last FOREVER.)
Laughing about the horrendously ugly ornament you made when you were five, plus all the other ornament memories you think of as you hang them.
Sipping hot chocolate while snuggled in a cozy blanket. Ok, that's not Christmas-y all by itself, but oh wait, I'm swirling a candy cane in my hot chocolate. And wearing a Santa hat. So there.
Watching kids go nuts over mall Santas. Either they're super excited to sit on the lap of a sweaty, fat man dressed in a red suit, and you have to smile at the innocence of it.... or they're freaking out about sitting on the lap of a sweaty, fat man dressed in a red suit, and you have to laugh at the poor parents.Those gigantic tins of multi-flavored popcorn.
When you find strong tree branches for all your heavy ornaments.
That one gorgeously-wrapped present (with, like, a fancy fabric hand-tied bow and a sprig of holly), that's so pretty and perfect, you almost don't want to open it. Almost.
Celebrating other holidays with friends of different faiths. Spin that dreidel!
The house that decorates like it's in competition with the North Pole, complete with all 8 reindeer and a sleigh and accompanying Christmas music.
A full church for Christmas mass, all decked out with poinsettias and wreaths and lights and a giant manger scene.
Generosity. The real thing, the antithesis of Black Friday. Toys for Tots, the radio and TV stations that pay for servicemen and women to fly home to their families, the Christmas dinners donated for those in need, and everyone wishing each other happy holidays.
Finding the absolute perfect present for someone. (Bonus points if it's on sale.)
Classic Christmas movies. Home Alone, Frosty the Snowman, Christmas Vacation, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Story (marathon!), A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life...Special holiday stamps. Thanks, USPS!
Decorating my very own Christmas tree!!!! (The inspiration for this post.)
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What are your favorite Christmas things? And that Christmas song you could hear a million times and never get tired of? And your favorite Christmas--or other holiday--tradition? Leave them in the comments!
Christmas in the Northern hemisphere is so different. I'm looking forward to cocktails, BBQ lunches, and lounging by the pool!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I should really put my tree up.
Your tree is adorable! I like colored lights when they're the old fashioned fat ones. We used to have those, but they got sun-bleached. Haha.
ReplyDeleteI love many of the things on your list, especially APPROPIATELY TIMED Christmas music. Christmas music is awesome, but not when it's been playing on the radio for a month BEFORE Thanksgiving has even passed! :P
Other movies I associated with Christmas: Love actually! The early Harry Potter movies! :)
While I love Xmas music, the coffee shop where I write doesn't play any of it. I swear, I must've heard six different versions of Frosty yesterday, and NONE of them were good!
ReplyDeleteI'm one of those dreidel spinners, but definitely can enjoy the stories, music, and decorations of the holiday. So long as they leave out the blow-up roof Santa. That's just...creepy.
Smiles!
Lori
Love your tree! Is that your first one in your new house? That's a lovely star.
ReplyDeleteWe always cut our own tree, even now that the boys are grown. It's our tradition so we're sticking with it until we're too old to get down on the ground and saw away (which may be sooner rather than later!). But we won't get a tree until next week.
We have a really cheesy family tradition on Christmas Eve. We watch Christmas Every Day, which is a goofy old ABC Family movie (yeah, I know). Then we each open one present, turn off all the lights except the ones on the tree and we sit and talk about whatever we feel like talking about.
I'm kinda ashamed to admit this, but I actually love Mariah Carey singing All I Want for Christmas is You. And also the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Christmas Canon.
Fun post, Donna. And I agree with others here who've commented about the Christmas music way too early. I refuse to listen to it before Thanksgiving. Heck, we don't even decorate until now.
Oh, the classic Christmas movies! YES! Especially It's a Wonderful Life. And, somehow, Elf. Hah. And as for music, my husband and I love the Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas EPs. What gets me most is the midnight service at my parents' church, where we light candles and sing Silent Night, followed by Joy to the World, at the top of our lungs. And, of course, the season's never complete without some version of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. :)
ReplyDelete..Hello,
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