Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time where malls are crazy, radio stations play Christmas music incessantly and bratty children can be heard begging for toys from miles away. This may seem like a cynical way to look at the most marketed holiday known to the western world, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing Christmas in any way. I love it as much as the next person, but the weeks leading up to that one special day that truly annoy me. Perhaps it’s just anticipation. However, there are some holiday traditions that I just love.
Baking
Ah, the smell of cookies and squares fresh from the oven is just… mmm. I love trying out different recipes, and of course, baking treasured family favourites.
Carolling
As much as I dislike Christmas music as a whole, I really like hearing carollers and choirs singing. It’s not those overplayed recordings that you hear year after year and it just has a way of putting you in the Christmas spirit and making you feel all warm and fuzzy.
Decorating the tree
This is a big one. It’s that one time during the year where you get to pull out all of those special ornaments that have been sitting in storage for the last year, reminisce and create your home’s holiday ambiance. I just love going through boxes of decorations and just trying to remember where they came from and figuring out where they’d look best.
Christmas TV specials
I’m a sucker for Christmas shows. Sigh. Don’t you just love the cartoons that you used to watch year after year? I have a soft spot for Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, A Charlie Brown Christmas and Home Alone. It’s sad to say that I have never seen A Christmas Story, so I intend to fix that this year.