Holidaying

Christmas is a time of love (actually), family (stone), and little women (turns out most people don't really gain that much weight during the holidays, it's in the suicide-inducing weeks following Christmas that people tend to stress eat, so no worries there). One of the best ways to get in the holiday/ Christmas spirit besides watching original movies on the Hallmark Channel is to decorate. And one of the best ways to decorate is to flip through a December issue of Martha, pour yourself a mug of Trader Joe's holiday ale, text your college weed dealer, head back to Trader Joes for another bottle of ale because your college weed dealer has a real job now, set up a Twitter account for your grandma, and wake up the next morning feeling guilty. Now you're ready to decorate.

Guilt is an integral part of the Christmas season. Without guilt there would be no reason for church, without church, there would be no reason for Jesus, and without Jesus there would be no reason for the season. It's all a part of the Christmas cycle of life. I'm not sure how it works for other religious winter holidays, but I'm guessing it's similar.

Let's start with the decorations your mom mailed you. Anything with an embroidered rocking horse or jack-in-the-box should go up first, to remind you of what this season is all about. Next, place any warm cinnamon, fiery pine, or burnt cookie scented candles in the kitchen, bathroom, and living room so your home smells like a sweet, elf cookie-factory cabin in the middle of the forest that is about to go up in flames. People love that.




Gift wrapping is another issue that we all have to deal with, some of us handle it better than others. I fall into The Others camp (obviously Nicole Kidman plays me in this 2001 horror-film version of my life). Wrapping has always been a struggle for me, and at special holiday times I don't want people to see me struggle. So I use gift bags that I save throughout the year. The only thing to remember here is to remove the name tag, and/or rewrite the name on the tag so it looks like the new gift recipient's name. For example, you can change "Kelly" to "Keviy" quite easily, and in the process your boyfriend gets a new nickname! It's two gifts in one.







I hope these little tips help send you on your way this holiday season. And, in the wise words of Sufjan Stevens, "No one can save you from Christmases past... if drinking makes it easy, the music's kinda cheesy." This was taken out of context, but I think we all understand what he means.
Merry Christmas/ holidays!