December!

It’s getting close! The air is chilly and the advent calendars have been opened…only 23 days until Christmas!

With the new house comes a whole new way of decorating for the holidays. This past few days we put up not one, but two trees…an amazing white one in the living room, and our traditional one in the rec room. Some things we didn’t bother with, like the garland, which just doesn’t have the same effect on our new stairway (and Finn would have it in shreds within a day or two).

The next few weeks are bound to be chaotic. Many shopping dates are planned. Christmas parties, work get togethers…lots of planning, baking and to-do list writing going on. But I can’t complain….this is, after all, the BEST time of year.

Here is just a bit of my extensive to-do list.

1. Watch my favourite Christmas movies (already started, but includes White Christmas, it’s a Wonderful Life, The Family Stone, Merry Christmas Charlie Brown, and National Lampoon’s Christmas vacation, to name a few)
2. Bake. A lot. December is not the time to go easy on calories.
3. Take Cohen to the Peir. Normally a summer place, yes, but I love it when it’s cold. Hot chocolates and mittens are a must.
4. Plan the dishes to bring to various potluck parties. Most importantly, the work one. Note: very important not to give any colleagues, or my boss, food poisoning.
5. Try not to buy every holiday dress I see. I’m really taken with sequins, they get me every time.
6. Finish my Christmas shopping one week before Christmas. Ever since I worked in retail, the mall the week before Christmas makes me a little nauseous.
7. Work on my resolution list for next month. (Yes, I have added ‘make a list’ to this list).
8. Buy some special treats for the pets for Christmas. I never really do this, and I guess this makes me a terrible pet owner.
9. Download all of the 80’s Christmas music I can find. I heart the 80’s.
10. Find a day, somewhere in the next 23, to relax. Or sleep in. Or a combination of both.