TT Traditions

With Christmas around the corner, decorations everywhere, holiday music playing at the local Starbucks, and desserts popping up every where you look, you must have guessed a holiday post was eminent.

This week's topic: What do you love/hate about Christmas? I happen to LOVE Christmas, it's my favorite holiday. Here's a short? list of everything I love about it.

• Friends and Family
• Drinking
• Baking/eating baked treats
• Christmas trees
• Christmas movies, like Scrooged, A Christmas Story, A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street, and It's A Wonderful Life
• Shopping with the people I love in mind or not, some years we haven't exchanged gifts.
• Time off from work
• People *trying* to be nice
• Christmas decorations
• Reconnecting with friends

What I love best though, are traditions. Not just mine and my families, but every one's. I love that everyone has traditions. 

I love the nostalgia I get when my mom puts up the manger. 


I love decorating our tree, with only ornaments that are special. One for each year we have been together, one for each of our kitties, hand made and store bought ones from friends and students, one, now two for each of my sons Christmas's, one that's just the hubby's (it's a special BEARS one) and one that's just mine (a cocktail glass). As I take them out of the box I can remember the years, and all the special people in our lives. It's never going to make a picture perfect tree but it will always be unique to us.

I love knowing that in early December the hubby and I will be taking our niece and now my son to see Christmas lights at the county park. 

The holiday dinner I'll share with my co-workers, I especially love the drink we'll share and the laughs we'll have not having to sensor our conversation. 

I love knowing Christmas eve I'll spend the day at my mom's house preparing tamales, with her, my dad and siblings. Maybe an aunt or cousin will stop by and we'll laugh and talk and enjoy each other. I love eating those tamales and savoring the hard work and good times we shared on that day and all the years that have already been.

I love opening a gift just the hubby and I at midnight on Christmas eve. I love Christmas morning just the two of us, our cats and our son. I love knowing that we will do this every year and that as time goes on and Animal grows up, we will add new traditions that our just ours. 

I grew up in a Santa free home and so will Animal. I know some people think that takes away from the fun, but I think it opens you up to the real spirit of Christmas. I'm excited to teach my son that, if not year round, this is a time to give of yourself.

NOW, just so you know even though Christmas is my favorite holiday that doesn't mean I don't hate things about it. Here's a short list of things I hate:

• Commercialism (I know, I know this holiday is saturated and deep fried in the shit)
• Christmas decorations in October, before Halloween. (WTF!)
• Not having enough time, or money to bake everything I want.
• Not having enough money to donate to everything I want to. Or for my family, and people I appreciate.

That's basically it. What can I say, "It's the most wonderful time of the year".

This post is part of a multi blogger collaboration to view what other bloggers love/hate about Christmas click the Theme Thursday button.