There are a few things that rival my pure, childlike excitement at this time of the year. I love the Holiday season with a passion – ask anyone who knows me. My parents did a great job of making Christmas special for me as a child, and I think that has a lot to do with my excitement and desire to pass that on to my own child. So, I thought I’d make a short list of the things that make me so very excited about Christmas:

1. Christmas Music! I don’t mind it when the radio stations and stores start playing it on November 1st. Actually, I love it because it makes me so excited about the fun time ahead. Anticipation is key! This year my favorite is “This Christmas” by Harry Connick Jr. – I actually love all of his Christmas music, but that song just makes me want to drink hot cocoa and curl up by the fireplace. It doesn’t hurt that he is a New Orleans native, either. Just sayin’.

2. Wrapping Presents! I won’t lie and say that I don’t like getting presents, but I can honestly say that I love giving them just as much. Finding the perfect gift, and wrapping it up perfectly (I’m notorious for using way too much tape and choosing oddly shaped boxes so that the recipient can’t guess what’s inside!) is just delightful to me. Plus, I love to see all of the different boxes under the tree, which brings me to…

3. Choosing the Christmas Tree! I have memories of going to what seemed like a gazillion different tree lots when I was little, all in search of the “perfect” tree. Now I’m content to choose one at Home Depot, because it seems there are a lot of perfect trees out there now. Either way, I start asking hubby on Thanksgiving “Can we get our tree tomorrow? How about this weekend?” and he playfully pretends like I’m dragging him to get the tree, but he loves it too. He also loves standing there and twirling the tree as I thoughtfully decide if it’s “the one” or not. :)

4. Christmas Lights! I have a tendency to overdo it with the lights, and if I’m not careful, my tastefully planned out light display can quickly turn into something you’d see at the Griswalds. However, I’ve started to learn how to keep my craziness in check, and this year we have a few less lights than last year, but, um, still a lot of them. As a matter of fact, you can see the lights on our house before you even turn onto our street and we are, um, the last house at the cul-de-sac. Moving on…

5. Christmas Shopping! Yes, I prefer online shopping because of the convenience and ease of it, but I have to venture out at least once to get the feel of that Christmas Buzz. I don’t even mind standing in line if it’s to purchase a Christmas present – though my screaming toddler might disagree… I even love the crazy parking lots and not being able to find a parking space.

6. Christmas Baking! I always tend to go on some unfortunate kick that demands that I bake things that I don’t know how to bake. I had a successful year in 2006 when I used the Cookie Press to make cookies, but my Buche de Noel last year took much longer than I had anticipated. It was one of those things that, when I tried to cut corners, it totally messed with the chemistry of the recipe. I learned a lot of valuable lessons from last year, and still haven’t decided if I am going to attempt to make those again this year. They were so yummy…but it took me all day on Christmas Eve. Either way, it makes me happy.

7. Christmas Movies! I know, I know. Most of you watch things like A Christmas Story every year — however, my must-see movie every year at Christmas? Love Actually. I LOVE it and could watch it over and over. It makes me very happy, and I don’t know, all mushy-feeling. It also makes me want to be in London at Christmas Time. Even hubby humors me and watches it with me. This year I also saw “The Holiday” for the first time, and we actually got to see “Four Christmases” in theaters — it was hilarious.

8. Christmas Decorations! We have an attic full of Christmas Decorations, and poor hubby practically has to spend half of a day getting it all down. I love to decorate for Christmas (see “Christmas Lights” above!) and I usually can’t resist a few amazing decorations. I actually have tons of decorations and not enough space to put them all. I am also super-protective of all of our ornaments, and I love upwrapping each one every year and getting to remember where it came from and why. We love to find ornaments in each new place that we visit — we have quite the international tree with ornaments from around the globe!

9. Christmas Food! Call me a fattie all you want, but the food on Christmas Day is food that has the ability to make my mouth water all year long. Yum! Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Artichoke and Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, Green Bean Casserole — I’m a big fan of the casseroles! Nothing says Christmas like being so full that I can’t breathe! :)

10. Christmas Gatherings! What Christmas is complete without getting together with friends and family. Everyone is nice at Christmas it seems and we get to see people and family members that we wish that we could see more often. The whole season just feels warms and fuzzy, and well, I like warm and fuzzy. Apart celebrating with our families on Christmas Day, I really love the special Christmas Service that our Church does on Christmas Eve – lots of candles, poinsettias, angels, and amazing music to celebrate the birth of Jesus!

Thanks for sticking with me through that list! What is your favorite part of the Holiday Season, and how do you celebrate?