List #112: 'Tis the Season

I don't know where we go to the point that the day after Thanksgiving is bigger than the day itself. It feels to me, somewhere between 2001 and 2009. Because I laughed when my Greek students told me that Thanksgiving was just a day in which Americans prepared their stomachs for Christmas. And now I'm not so sure.

And sometimes, it feels like you have to completely disown Christmas anymore. That there is no middle ground between the love and hate. But here is a confession: I actually really like Christmas in general. I like buying gifts for others. I like wrapping presents. I like sending Christmas cards. And I don't want to hide it.

In the year that I have so wholeheartedly dreaded the holidays. In the year that I so very much anticipate laying to rest and starting fresh, I'm going to take pleasure in what I enjoy. Because now that they are here, they don't seem so frightening. Sure, look closely and you'll see the cracks of bittersweet. But I am, afterall, still trying to kick the sh*t out of life.

Top 3 Holiday Things I will Enjoy:

Emmett Otter's Jugband Christmas: My ultimate favorite Christmas movie. A sucker for Jim Henson and his Muppets. A sucker for sad stories. This has everything I could ever hope for in a Christmas movie. I remember, before DVDs and the wonder of Amazon, trying to scour the list of holiday programs to see when this would be on. A holiday tradition between myself and my mother. Oh, and I will judge any potential man on his knowledge and opinion of this film.

Christmas Cards: Sending Christmas cards in the mail will never be an dying art in my world. Perhaps it's the fact that my dad works for the Postal Service, or that I worked part-time at a Hallmark store for years, or that I've been writing letters to various pen pals, camp friends and foreign-country living pals for years. Either way, I just love writing cards. I love penning personal messages, I love coordinating stickers and I love seasonal stamps. 

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: I remember Mrs. Fiori, my fifth grade and possibly favorite Catholic school teacher, reading this book aloud to us between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But flash forward a few years and I find myself a junior at Allegheny College and Barbara Robinson is speaking to my class. Turns out she's an Allegheny Alum and I just want to burst and let her know how much this book  entertained me as a child. And so this Christmas season, I'm going to take my autographed copy and get friendly with the Herdmans once again.

So dear readers, what holiday activities are you going to seek out? Is there something special you treat yourself with every year that you keep a bit secret? Share in the comments!