Baby, it's cold outside.

In the past few years I've noticed a significant decrease in my Christmas Spirit. The decorating has gone by the wayside, there have been more sighs than carols, and I find that I don't get excited for Christmas until the day before - and then it's over as quickly as it began.

This year I was determined to be better.

Hubs and I planned an Ugly Sweater Party for early December, complete with a tacky Yankee Swap. What a success! I took a couple of photos but haven't had time to upload them, and no one else has sent me any (ahem, people) but once I get a couple up, I'll try to post them. There were some seriously hideous looks going on. And I was also fantastically impressed with my friends' ability to choose truly tacky gifts. I gave a Sea Monsters science set (think sea monkeys, but weirder-looking)- this was luckily able to be re-gifted by the recipient!

I'm not going to say what I got. I'll just say that my friend the President sure does know how to be tacky AND helpful at the same time. Thanks, buddy!

No really, thanks.

The party actually had the desired effect, which was not only to have a good time, but to get me in the mood to celebrate the holidays. It got me to decorate the apartment, make a Christmas playlist for the Pod, and generally get excited about this stressful and joyful time of year. The Spirit has been waning in the last few weeks with all the nonsense going on at work, but I'm successfully fighting the urge to throw in the towel.

The presents are all bought and mostly wrapped. The plans have been made. I've watched a few Christmas movies, including the Grinch, Charlie Brown, and A Christmas Carol (the Patrick Stewart version won out this year.... mmm Jean Luc Picard.)

I will be getting out of work earlier than usual tomorrow. I'll go to Mass with Hubs and then up to my aunt's for an Italian seafood feast (LOBSTERS! YES!) and too much wine. We'll come home and probably exchange presents at midnight, which has been our tradition the last few years. We'll get up early the next morning, make a sweet potato casserole, and see the immediate families before heading up to his aunt's for more feasting and laughing.

I'm pretty excited.

Happy Holidays to everyone. Hopefully when you celebrate this year, you won't have to deal with this:


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