what i love most about the holidays

I was all set to write about this co-worker of mine who, while normally a bit difficult, has truly been outdoing herself recently, leading me to spend an above average amount of time daydreaming of my nefarious  revenge (sample plots include: turning everything in her classroom upside down, hiding the soap in the bathroom so she can't obsessive-compulsively wash her hands for exactly thirty seconds before and after eating and using the toilet, and convincing all her students that they should collectively be five minutes tardy to her class every day until the end of the semester).  

But then I chucked it.  After all, it's Christmas.

And in the spirit of both that and the fact that I only have one more "get up" until after the New Year, here are the things I love most about the Holidays:

1.  The Christmas Movies I Know by Heart

My all-time favorite is probably still How the Grinch Stole Christmas, but Scrooged, A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, A Charlie Brown Christmas and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation definitely make the list.  

2.  Sitting in a Dark, Christmas Tree-Lit Room

In a fit of bah humbug I very nearly didn't put my sad little tree up this year, but I'm happy that I did.  It might not be much, but it's pretty and it's mine.

3. A White Christmas

They're rare, but it looks like we'll probably have one this year!  (And I'll do my best to turn a blind eye to the giant blanket of black dirt covering most of the street-side snow drifts.)

4. Spending Too Much Money on the People I Love

Obviously a visit is the best gift, but it's still nice to be forced to think about what I could buy the people I love - people who I would gladly endure a annoyingly interminable string of dark, loud and cologne-soaked Hollister, Ruehl No 925, Abercrombie and Fitch and Victoria's Secret Pink stores for any day.

5.  Christmas Cookies

Although baking them isn't a yearly tradition for me, eating them most certainly is.  However, I'm thinking about skipping the yearly after-work trip to the bar this year in favor of making some cookies with my mom.  Simple sugar cookies are a given, but I'm also toying with trying out some new ones like these orange drop cookies, Shazam's lemon pixies and Martha's lime meltaways. (What can I say? I'm a gal who'd take fruity over chocolaty any day.)

6.  Coming up with Weak Justifications for Skipping the Gym Until After the New Year

Because I have a headache!  Because I banged my knee!  Because it's so windy outside! Because I really quite prefer it when my pants fit tight!

7.  Getting Random Surprises in both my Work and Home Mailboxes

The bills and junk mail have been pleasantly supplemented by an avalanche of Christmas cards and random sweet things, and that's perfectly awesome.

8.  And Finally, Friends and Family

It's all great, but I'm most looking forward to planes arriving from NYC, wassail-infused conversations that turn into make-shift instrument jam sessions, and newborn nieces.

And with all this, who really needs nefarious revenge schemes after all? Certainly not me, anyway! 

*Wink!*