True Confessions: I'm not really a holiday season type of girl. Don't get me wrong, Winter Candy Apple is a great scent and I love pretty lights as much as the next person, but overall it gets a meh from me.
Maybe this will change if we have children but for now, Jon and I are on the same page: yes, we'll use it as an excuse to throw a party and sure, we'll buy gifts and exchange happily, but at the end of the day, we'd also be just fine cheersing you from afar.
That having been said, we do still participate in a few established traditions.
Christmas Tree: Do
As you guys may know, we usually do a Christmas tree - a small one, a fake one, a white one, but it's still a tree. We improvised this year but typically this gets a Yes from us.
Christmas Cards: Do
This is a first for us! We are sending Christmas cards this year and I'm pretty excited about it. We were fortunate enough to receive so many that this year I can't imagine not. Plus, we took a really cute picture in, like, July and I've had the idea for our card since then. I took care of the ordering and addressing, Jon took care of the licking and stamping. Team effort, you guys. This one was mostly me, but he's a good sport.
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| via a HILARIOUS Buzzfeed article, My Sister-in-Law's Lonely Christmas Cards |
Cookie Exchange: Do Not
I am not a baker. Point blank period. I burn things while somehow not cooking them all the way through and they crumble and. . .it just never ends well. There is one item I can miraculously bake, and it's an infamous chocolate chip cookie that Jon's grandma gave me the recipe for as a shower gift. That shit is sacred.
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| a very sad pile of wannabe Gingerbread Man cookies |
Christmas Carols: Do Not
This is one I was never really on board with or could fully grasp: why are people showing up to my door singing? Do I join in? Do I let them finish their song and move on? Strange. Furthermore, I can barely take Christmas songs for the month (don't even get me started on Christmas songs before Thanksgiving) that they're played on the radio and on TV, I don't need the reinforcements.
Giving Back: Do
Yeah, it'd be a dick move to 'do not' this one but I promise, that's not why I do it. I am full believer in giving back at any time during the year, but holidays bring it out of me in spades. You can say it's not about material things and love and peace and hope and all of that, but try being the kid who doesn't have a gift to open on Christmas Day, you know? At one of my previous jobs, I organized an Angel Tree exchange for our company. At my current job, it was already organized and I happily participated. I'm also big on any of the food drives as well as dropping a dollar or two into every red bucket I see. Again: yes, giving throughout the year is important, but the loss and the need is more apparent during the holidays.
Secret Santa/White Elephant: Do
I love gifts. I love giving them, I love receiving them, I love shopping for them, I love wrapping them. Everything about gifts excites me. I particularly enjoy Secret Santa gift exchanges, but this year, both of the exchanges I'm involved in are White Elephant-style. Regardless of the theme, it's bound to bring laughter and joy.
Christmas Movies: Do. . .kind of
Another True Confessions: I cannot stand those claymation movies of yesteryear. I just can't. I'm also not big on the Hallmark specials or made-for-TV-movies. I am, however, super into It's A Wonderful Life and A Christmas Story. I have seen both a gazillion times, I own the former and although I've watched it not-at-Christmas-time, there is nothing like settling in to watch it during the season. It's very special to me (my kitty, Zuzu, is named after the daughter with the ear infection in IAWL).
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| via IMDB.com |
I guess for being so meh, I'm still pretty big on all of the fixings. Maybe it's ingrained in me from childhood?
What are some of your Do and Do Nots? Any different traditions that you've grown up with and/or invoked?
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