i can smell it...

Okay everybody. The Christmas season is in sight, and I'm itching to get started on.. well, everything! Making my gift-giving lists, my own wishlists, playing Christmas music, shopping for sales and deals, planning cute desserts to make, picking out cute outfits, and of course, decorating!

There are signs of holidays everywhere. I'm one of those obnoxious excitable people who have the exact reaction that advertisers are looking for - instant need to indulge in the holiday season. I can't help it! I'm addicted. I think a large part of it is that holidays create such a nostalgic feeling, especially with commercials like this:



I remember that commercial being around for a good chunk of my childhood, and I just saw it again on TV. And it just gives you that... really good feeling. It triggers memories about all the past Christmases, particularly those when I was little. The same excitement stirs in my stomach as it did when I was a child.

We always celebrated Christmas Eve in addition to Christmas day, which not only meant two fun-packed days of hanging out with my cousins, but um.. more presents, duh. I'm not ashamed; I was a greedy little brat. Ahem. Anyway. Christmas was always this amazing time in my life, and I know I'm very lucky because not everyone experiences it like that. But I have memories of wearing footie pajamas on Christmas Eve and watching as Santa rode by on the fire truck; waking up way too early in the morning and annoying the crap out of my parents until we got our presents; putting on a pretty dress and fancy tights and shoes, and getting my hair curled by my mom; sitting at the kids table and being silly; unwrapping presents and begging my parents to open, of course, the most complicated gift; actually being surprised by the gifts under the tree.

I enjoy Christmas in a whole new way now that I'm older. Now that the gifts I get are ones I've asked for and, in some cases, purchased myself and given to my parents, that part of the season is missing. The carefree days of being so full of excitement that you couldn't sleep on Christmas Eve.. they're gone. But I've replaced those traditions with new ones that I enjoy in very different ways. Being a shopping fiend and a Martha Stewart wanna-be, I happily dive into the holidays. I was out shopping on Sunday at JC Penny's, and just the fact that they were having a really awesome sale and playing Christmas music got me in a really giddy mood. There's this rush I get when I search through stores and find really great gifts, especially when they're on sale. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who actually enjoys going into a crowded mall during the full-blown Christmas season, hot chocolate in hand, stopping to admire all the Christmas displays (especially in Fortuneoff!), finding the perfect gifts for really good prices, and leaving with sore feet and multiple shopping bags.

Perhaps I'm naïve, but the spirit of giving and love just pulses through me when I'm at the mall or shopping online, or when I experience any part of the holiday season. I don't find it to be a drag or a nuisance; when I'm out shopping, I look around and don't think "oh hey look at all the money these stores are trying to rip from my wallet." I think, "look at all these awesome gifts and all these people buying things for other people." I play Christmas music 24/7. Decorating the tree at home is now pretty much solely my job, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Every year, I scour online recipe websites for unique but easy desserts. I decorate a gingerbread house (using a kit, of course). I tear through my closet, picking outfits for Christmas Eve and Day and any other parties I'm attending. My new tradition is to hand-make some sort of snack to give as gifts to my friends at college, since I don't have a lot of money. I think this year I might try to accomplish this completely on campus, meaning buying all the supplies at the conveinence store here. We'll see how that goes.

I'm just really excited and I can't help myself. I'm trying my hardest to put off most things Christmas until after Thanksgiving, because it really irks me that it gets written off as a holiday. It's like Halloween's over, then WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM time for Christmas. Um, no. Give Thanksgiving it's due credit, plz. Besides, unless you have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with Santa at the end, it's not offically the Christmas season. So there.