Many people enjoy the holidays. After all, it’s a time of bustle, and light. I like this time of year in general. I like the months that encompass September 1 through December 31. I love autumn, and I love it as the weather gets cold, and I love the first snow. This time of year is hot chocolate, and fires, and sweaters, and crispness in the air.
During the weeks leading up to Christmas, I think it’s fun to look out for gifts for others, and I like the tree and the colored lights. I also enjoy the thought of getting cozy in a blanket and curling up with a book. While I read any time of the year, of course, there is something different about reading during the holidays.
Additionally, I love Christmas because it’s a day that is simple and relaxed in my home. It’s day that sees each person in my little family doing exactly what he or she likes best. It’s a day of indulgence, unlike most other days of the year — at least for us.
What Our Christmas Looks Like
First of all, leading up to Christmas, we try to get things squared away as early as possible. My husband tends to shop year-round for presents, so we aren’t trying to pay for everything all at once.
We also make efforts to give. We usually choose a child of a local angel tree. This year, my son’s new school held a teddy bear drive for the children’s hospital. My son helped choose a teddy bear, and even used some of his own money t help pay for it. We make extra food bank donations leading up to Christmas as well.
While we try to give all year, as a rule, but it makes sense to be even more generous during the holidays, especially since we are so fortunate in our circumstances.
For the most part, though, things are pretty laid back. On Christmas Eve we make our big dinner. There are only three of us in our family, so we usually get something we particularly enjoy for Christmas Eve dinner. Our main stipulation is that we make a big enough meal that there are leftovers for the next day. We often drive around to look at lights, but I don’t know that we will do that this year, since moving to the outside of Philadelphia means a lot more traffic than we are used to.
On Christmas day we usually don’t even get up until eight or nine. We open presents, but since there aren’t very many of us, and we try not to go overboard, this doesn’t take very long. Then we pretty much relax the rest of the day. My husband goes back to bed, my son builds his LEGO presents or plays a video game, and I read. We don’t worry too much about food. We usually have fruit and veggie trays set out all day, and there’s always plenty of candy.
When we’re ready for dinner, we eat leftovers, and usually watch one last family Christmas movie before my son goes to bed.
What do you do for the holidays? How do you spend your Christmas or your Hanukkah or other holiday that you celebrate? What do you like about this time of year?