Christmas is my very favorite holiday. Why?
There are many reasons.
I love the feeling you get when the first snow comes. You're excited and filled with adrenaline and you just want to get out there and make a snow fort or sled down your neighbor's hill. And when you do, you make snow angels and try to catch the first snowflake on your tongue.
The day after Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days. We get bundled up, grab a saw and go down to get our Christmas tree. We spend a long time deciding which one is the perfect one, but finally we see it and we wonder why we didn't consider this tree in the first place. We snap a couple pictures, chop it down and head home. Then we spend a couple tiring hours unwraveling the lights and stringing them on the tree, but then, it's done. And it's time for the ornaments. We unpack the delicate decorations and hang them on the tree, each kid getting their own turn. When the tree is done, we sit back and stare. The Christmas season has started.
The first day of December. When you flip the page on your calender, something comes over you. It's here. 25 days. Finally. You feel that Christmas is right around the corner. Anything can happen now. It's like Christmas spirit is just whizzing around in the air, just waiting until Christmas so it can explode in to thousands of tiny little Christmas filled fireworks.
Surprises. Every December Mom and Dad have unexpected surprises tucked up their sleeves. An extra movie night, special snacks, and fun extra little surprises for us to get us in the Christmas spirit.
Christmas Eve gets us ecstatic. We get on our dresses, do our hair, and pose in front of the Christmas tree for a family picture. Then we set off to Uncle Mark and Aunt Mary's so we can attend their Christmas Eve service at their church. We listen to Uncle Mark preach and then we head to their house for meatball sandwiches and maybe some hot tubbing. Then we sit in their living room as Uncle Mark reads us a story and we open our Christmas Eve gifts. When it is nearing 10:00, we jump in the van, wave goodbye, and hit the gas to head home. We put on our pajamas and lay out the cookies for Santa. Then we make the beds in my room and get cozy under the covers. We end up staying up till about midnight because we can't sleep.
When Christmas is finally here, Christmas spirit exploded right above our heads. We wake up at 7 and talk excitedly. Mom comes up and brings us cinnamon rolls to eat while they put the final touches on their presents. We jump out of bed and do our hair so we look good for pictures. Then we grab the candy on the steps and Mom takes a picture. Then we step off the steps and gasp. The tree is beautiful. Presents surrounding it, the cookies gone, a note in their place. Our stockings are filled to the brim, things spilling out of them. We read the note from Santa, then go and get our stockings. We take everything out, and then it's time for presents. Christmas lasts till about 1 and we spend the rest of the day playing with our toys or packing for the lodge.
The lodge is another story. We pack and head off to Somerset. Then we unpack and head to Room Two while Mom and Dad head to Room Four. About an hour later, everyone else comes trickling in. We help them with their bags and then we start playing. Beth, Sophie, and I head straight to Room Two and start practicing our talent. For that week, we hang out, play Just Dance, have parties in Room Two, and go ice skating and sledding. We have feasts, talk, and just get filled in on each other's lives. We play board games, make movies, sneak food off to Room Two, and even get in a couple fights. But we make up because we're family.
Now you see why I can't wait for Christmas.
