"I stand in the middle of my worn down living room examining the scene around me. To my right, my aqua colored sofa is covered in the belongings of my siblings. Their toys, dirty socks, crayons and Christmas wish lists lay scattered about the couch as well as on the small wooden table behind me. In front of me my TV stands, black and silent if only for a moment. Behind the TV on our cold, hard granite fireplace, stockings are taped all along the center. They hang empty, ready to be filled with little gifts and goodies in just a few days. As I look up, the lights are off but the room is still bright. My family’s gorgeous Christmas tree is shining, sparkling, bursting with color all around from its lights, flowers, and multicolored ornaments to the left of me. At my feet are just a few of the neatly wrapped gifts from the large pile I’ll be seeing soon on one of my favorite days of the year. The carpet is soft and the air is warm and sweet around me, filled with the aroma of cinnamon-scented pine cones my mother placed around the tree just yesterday. Christmas is just around the corner, and I am happy."
That little piece, written as the intro to an essay I wrote recently for my A.P. Language and Composition class, pretty much sums up my life right now. Today is the official start of my Winter Vacation, and life is good. I'm exhausted, but my exhaustion was worth my night of fun. After staying up until 2am Thursday night, I finished everything I needed to do to prepare myself for my last school day of the holiday season. My necessary tasks? Baking holiday cupcakes!
..And baking cookies!
...And wrapping them!
...And making 60 candy grams!
...And wrapping gifts!
..And packing it all up in a Victoria's Secret Bag, because I like the Victoria's Secret bags.
("One Gift, A Thousand Fantasies." So classy.)
There was also the task of picking out my outfit for Friday. I mean, after dressing in Holiday colors the entire week, I needed a superb outfit to outshine all the others. And what a better way to do that than with red tights, an over sized Santa hat, red lipstick, and a fluffy green sweater?
No better way obviously.
Unless you add in a Christmas lights necklace.
But that's far too ridiculous. Who in their right mind would do that?
Regardless, the candy grams were gratefully received, the cupcakes were happily eaten, and the gifts were gladly taken and (hastily) opened. People got smiles and laughs out of my outfit, hugs were given galore, and the people I cared about most were happy. Duty as an official Helper-Elf completed. ☺
In addition to it being the beginning of my winter break, it is also Day 17 of my 28 Days of Holiday Cheer!
...
(Then the crowd pipes in and goes, "What's the 28 Days of Holiday Cheer?")
I came to a conclusion this year: Christmas is not the best day of the year. I celebrate it and yes, I enjoy it greatly, but it is not the actual day of Christmas that I enjoy the most. It is the buildup to the day that gets me all fuzzy and jovial and alive on the inside. Christmas is the measly 24 hours you're given each year to fit in everything that "Christmas" means to you: 24 hours to open presents, spend time with family, sing and dance to amazing Christmas music (read: Glee Christmas Soundtrack), pray or be thankful for everything you have, bake tons and tons of Christmas cookies, watch Christmas specials, etc., etc. No one has ever stated, however, that there is a law demanding these activities only take place on Christmas. Therefore, I'll enjoy the holidays before the actual day.
24 days before.
And 3 days after.
But not really after. The "holiday season" is called that for a reason: it is made up of more than one holiday, therefore I extend these days of cheer to the end of Hanukkah as well. Moreover, a handful of my dear friends are Jewish, so why not try and celebrate to see what all the fun is really about? (I may not be Jewish, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy freshly fried, crispy latkes. Or the sweet, silky taste of milk chocolate coins. Or hearing my Jewish friends sing Hanukkah songs loudly in the cafeteria while clapping their hands and dancing around. Or, even watching the Rugrats Hanukkah special [while in my pajamas and drinking hot chocolate. But that's just me.])
(The same also applies to Kwanzaa and the Proud Family Kwanzaa special as well. I know, I'm rather mature, aren't I?)
So in these 28 days, I celebrate the heck out of every fun experience of the season. In fact, I've even got a checklist for all of them.
Now that school is over, I've got much more time to focus on what really matters: becoming one with my Inner-Elf and getting all my elf duties done! This list of tasks includes, of course, a plethora of baking projects which probably won't be done by the holidays. But hey; I've got nothing else to do after the holidays either, so I don't see a problem.In addition to all my baking I've got to do (ahem: snickerdoodles, fudge, gingerbread, sugar cookies, challah, shortbread, apple pie; that's not even half!), this elf has lots of gift-buying and -making to do too! This process is actually one of the best parts. Between seeing all the beautiful decorations around the malls, looking through all the holiday merchandise in the stores, and seeing all the busy people doing their holiday shopping too, nothing gets me more in my cheery mood.
But actually, I'll even go as far as to say that I actually enjoy giving rather than getting. There is honestly no better feeling than when you give a gift, and besides: I've got everything a teenage girl needs anyway. With my crazy family, my even crazier friends, my beyond crazy boyfriend, my demonic-but-adorable Maltese dog, and my pink Kitchen-Aid mixer...what else would I honestly need?
Well...besides a pink Kitchen-Aid food processor.
..And maybe a new apron.
...And maybe a few art supplies.
But really. I don't need anything else.
I'm serious. I really don't want anything.
Regardless of every single little (or big) material item I'd love to receive this year, I'm going to be as happy as can be this holiday season. This time of year only comes once, and instead of spending this time making ridiculous lists or staring in awe at my computer screen as I browse through gorgeous necklaces and beautiful scarves and shiny new food processors, er... I'll be going through my list, task by task, smiling as I go through and complete each one.
And hopefully, in the midst of doing all of this, I'll manage to spread a little bit more holiday cheer to everyone else too.
..And maybe a new apron.
...And maybe a few art supplies.
But really. I don't need anything else.
Regardless of every single little (or big) material item I'd love to receive this year, I'm going to be as happy as can be this holiday season. This time of year only comes once, and instead of spending this time making ridiculous lists or staring in awe at my computer screen as I browse through gorgeous necklaces and beautiful scarves and shiny new food processors, er... I'll be going through my list, task by task, smiling as I go through and complete each one.
And hopefully, in the midst of doing all of this, I'll manage to spread a little bit more holiday cheer to everyone else too.
Happy Holiday-Cheering! ♥
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