I have had a crazy year, especially within the past couple months and I wasn’t really feeling up to decorating and embracing the holidays like I usually do. My other Holiday fanatic friends were appalled and ganged up on me a bit. Their peer pressure convinced me that I should rally and get in the spirit.
So I did. Tree is up (almost done resting and ready to be trimmed) and the house is decorated. I have already finished a quart of nog this month and I am thinking of what Christmas baking I will do for what party. Mission accomplished, friends.
So in that vein, I thought I would share my favorite Holiday tasks that I do to get in the spirit.
1. Xmas Movies – Haven’t watched any yet this season, but just thinking of them makes me smile
- Elf – I LOVE THIS MOVIE. I get giddy thinking about it.
- Scrooged – I know this is a bit sacrilege to say, but Bill Murray’s Scrooge is the only way I can consume this classic, the story has gotten old for me otherwise.
- Christmas Story – One of my all time favorites. Sweet yet mildly dark in it’s story. This story, in contrast to Dickens’, never gets old for me.
- Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer – “I want to be a Dentist” and the island of misfit toys makes this my favorite Berl Ives classic
- Frosty the Snowman – Not my #1 Ives animation, but up there.
- As a side note: I did a search on Twitter the other day and accidentally found TONS of people lamenting and rejoicing in the sappy Christmas movies on Lifetime and Hallmark Channels 🙂
2. Xmas Music – I love it. I prefer cheesy, funny, silly or fun takes on traditional. And the more obscure the better. My friends Tom Deja and Theo each always make great mixes. And I have been exploring Pandora’s Christmas mixing abilities (try asking for an Ella Fitzgerald Christmas tune – hours of goodness will follow)
2. The lights “Downtown” – I think this is universal to all “Downtowns,” nowadays, but the lights on the major street(s) (I am partial to my Chi-town) during the season are so pretty, especially with a new snow on a milder evening.
3. Holiday Parties – I know they stress people out, but I love them. Probably because I rarely throw them. Love getting together with different friends groups and all my crazy family members. Especially love the traditional foods and treats I get to have only this time each year.
4. My Holiday decorations – I inherited half of mine from my mother, when she decided to class up her decorations, so, like most of my aesthetic, I have a hodge-podge of old and new, gaudy and pretty, decorations throughout my house. The best:
- Hand crocheted stockings made by my late grandmother
- 30+ years worth of hand made cartoon character wood ornaments from my grandfather and cross stitched ones from my mother.
- Not one, but two, 4-foot long latch hook rugs. One by my mom from the 70’s and one by me that took 7 years to finish.
- An altar’s worth of snowman figurines
- An obnoxious monster toy that sings Mahna Mahna when you press his foot.
🙂 Happy, Merry, and all that jazz to everyone. 🙂
Joi Podgorny 