Christmas
Christmas Is The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
It doesn’t take much to make Christmas merry for me! In fact, I start playing Christmas songs starting around September- and sometimes even August! I glue myself to the TV when QVC runs their Christmas in July special every year, and hubs and I both pass up watching our favorite shows when they start airing their holiday shows in earnest (but why, WHY do they insist on putting on jewelry and clothing shows when we sit down specifically to watch? Show us the gifts and Christmas decorations for jingle’s sake!).
My husband, my mother in law, my brother in law, and I all love looking at Christmas lights. Every single year we hit at least two local displays just before Christmas. Sometimes it’s the Christmas lights display at Mt Wolf (in York, PA), sometimes we drive all the way out to Longwood Gardens for their displays, sometimes we head out to Candylane at Hershey Park, and sometimes out to the Reading, PA area for Koziar’s Christmas Village (the view as you come down the hill is absolutely stunning, though up close it’s rather cheesy and cheerful). One year, we even managed a trip to Walt Disney World for Christmas. Main St. USA was beautiful, as was EPCOT, but the the display that absolutely took the Christmas cake was the Osbourne Lights in Disney’s Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM). And, of course, we always ooh and ahh as we drive by decorated homes throughout the season.
I listen to Christmas music on Live365 (my favorite station is Christmas Broadband, though they’re playing entirely too much Elvis Christmas music at the moment). Naturally, I also have Bare Naked for the Holidays (those of you who are not familiar with the Bare Naked Ladies, don’t fret- they’re an excellent band who have some creative twists to their songs, nothing dirty), Big Bad Voodoo Daddies Christmas album, and, of course, Casey Kasem’s All Time Christmas Favorites, as well as a number of other mixes, How The Grinch Stole Christmas on CD, and the Nutcracker Suite. My husband is a Christmas geek too, but even he gets annoyed that I’m playing Christmas songs for 3-4 months straight! Our Christmas tree usually stays up until Valentines day, too.
I also tend to start watching Christmas movies almost as early as I start listening to Christmas cds and internet radio stations. I often start out with something like How The Grinch Stole Christmas and The Grinch with Jim Carey. Holiday Inn and White Christmas can put in an appearance at any point, as can A Muppet Christmas Carol, Scrooged, Mickey’s Twice Upon A Christmas (I do like Mickey’s Once Upon A Christmas, but I prefer the second one), Mickey’s A Christmas Carol, and a few others here and there. Anyone else remember Ernest Saves Christmas? I LOVED that as a kid!
I always play How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Rankin & Bass Christmas specials and sometimes Charlie Brown’s Christmas specials while decorating, and always during the week leading up to Christmas. I also have a tendency to watch Rudolph’s Shiny New Year and other classics even though they’re technically the wrong holiday. I can’t help it- it’s a seasonal thing. Besides, it’s RUDOLPH! I even watch The Bishop’s Wife most years, but I’ve never been able to get into It’s A Wonderful Life. And would you believe that I’ve never seen A Christmas Story?
As a kid, I used to go out with my dad and my brother every year to pick out the best of the Christmas trees. Unfortunately, my dad had a rule that we couldn’t have a tree taller than I was, and I’ve always been short! There’s a tree farm not far from where I grew up, and we’d pull up on the gravel road. The ground was usually covered in snow, and the air absolutely frigid. Guaranteed I’d have to pee by the time we got there, and, of course, no indoor plumbing! So I’d be freezing, desperate for a toilet, and being told that the gorgeous tree my brother and I were in love with was too fat and too tall.
Eventually, we’d settle on a tree that wasn’t too tall, too round, or have too many bald spots. Dad and my brother would pull out the saw and take that sucker down, strap it into the car trunk, and off we’d go! I’d be all ready to start decorating, but dad always insisted on trimming the tree (I didn’t know until I was grown that trimming the tree meant decorating it- to me, it meant cutting off the top and flattening the bottom!), which he’d put off for about a week. He’d only relent and set it up a few days before Christmas, and then throw it out on the day after!
Granted, I love real Christmas trees, but I also like being able to keep my tree up for two or three months and enjoy the lights and decorations. So, for us, we bought an inexpensive pre-lit Christmas tree. It’s not the most realistic, but it’s not the worst that I’ve seen, either! Some day I intend to get a Bethlehem Lights tree (can you tell I’m a QVC fan?), but for now, our cheapie does the trick.
It’s funny, for people who start buying Christmas gifts before Halloween and who put up the tree before Thanksgiving, we’re not very good about sending Christmas cards. First, we can’t agree on a design. We always end up getting a multi-pack to satisfy the both of us, yet neither of us is ever actually happy with any of the multi-pack designs. We really only send cards to immediate family, anyway, so I’m not sure why we do it, actually.
Despite the fact that I’m not a huge fan of wreaths, we ended up with two Christmas wreaths! We put one on the front door, and one on the back, and still fight the urge to buy more when we see a particularly attractive one. I even have pre-lit garland that I wind around the banisters. I’ve also started making Christmas stockings and Santa hats since I’m not too keen on the generic things I’ve seen in the stores. I love interesting fabrics, textures, and designs, and so I’ve come up with some really great handmade Christmas stockings.
Of course, one of the best parts about celebrating Christmas is the food. Am I right? I’m right. The funny thing is, it’s not the cookies that spell out Christmas to me- it’s the turkey dinner with all the trimmings (most of which are starchy), and the pea salad. I kid you not, pea salad says Christmas to me. Well, that, and the cookies.
Merry Christmas!