It's that time of year again...

It snowed in Toronto last weekend, and I woke up suddenly feeling quite festive. I haven't been in the Christmas mood yet, and while that's partially because of my father's training (any pre-December mention of the holidays is anathema to him), I think the weather was a major factor. However, it is now officially December, and officially white, and so my list of things I must do STAT has come due. This includes:

• Watching Love Actually repeatedly. And Holiday Inn. And White Christmas. Well, really anything Bing Crosby/ Danny Kaye gets me in the Christmas spirit
• Listening to the Mariah Carey Christmas album. Well, really only "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Yucky, yes, but it's a Melissa & Hayley Christmas tradition
• Decorating my parents' house. Happening this afternoon, actually
• Buying a tree. Tomorrow after work, likely. It'll be a bitty one this year (pas de room in our little apartment), but we need a tree
  
• Decorating said tree. Apparently my mother has been saving ornaments for this day for many a year, so it will be interesting to see what's in Heather's box of goodies
• Baking cookies. First, must buy pounds of butter and kilos of brown sugar for shortbread, and everything else is gravy
• Buying stockings. As our first Christmas in our own house (for although the hubby and I lived together last year, we celebrated Christmas with our respective families), we need stockings of our own. It's fun to be starting our own Christmas traditions
• Buying stocking stuffers. This is a big deal in my world. My mom & the hubby's Auntie Carol do THE BEST stockings, and I need to bring my A-game
• Christmas shopping. I have a feeling that this is going to be a big book year, as there's a massive employee book sale happening at work, with deals like you've never seen. I'm taking a suitcase, and it's going to be coming home full. I'm so spoiled
  
• Drinking of apple cider. Nothing beats curling up in front of the telly with a mug of hot cider, a warm blanket, and White Christmas on. I'm so looking forward to that

I adore the holiday season, mostly because my family is big into Christmas tradition, and making the house look fabulous, and having great family dinners. A ton of my favourite family memories are of Christmas, like the year we did an interpretive dance of my Nanny's life, including my cousin Jeff re-enacting her birth. And our traditional post-dinner walks to the park to play on the swings while my Uncle Doug smokes a cigar. We still do it, even though we're all in our 20s now. And the insanity of all 20+ of us (who are all very tall people) crammed into Nan's living room attempting to distribute and open presents in some kind of orderly fashion. This year, it's going to be happening at Mom & Dad's house, as their place is big enough now, and Nan is due for a rest after hosting family Christmas for 60 years. I can't wait!