i love Christmas. it’s downright magical, gosh darn it.
i still believe in santa claus, and i believe any self-respecting homeskillet still believes in his jolly ol’ soul just as much as i do.
if you don’t– well, we can still be peeps.
for Christmas at my house to be complete certain things — both good and bad– must occur.
i thought i’d share a simple list of the moments that both make the season bright and make me want to stuff down tinsel ’til i choke (’cause the holidays are stress–FULL, yo).
1. my face must break out to the point i am unrecognizable around the beginning of november and last through the entire holiday season– shredding any chance a good family photo can be taken. i believe the spots come like clockwork each year to keep me humble and not fixed on outer beauty. in fact, i’m soooooooo cool and humble-like– i’m actually grateful for the spots and soooooo glad i’m not cursed with perfect skin.
(any skillet out there buying this??)
2. i must first look forward to decorating the Christmas tree and dream of lovingly guiding thing 1 and thing 2 in the process– only to have those precious dreams mocked and pointed at– as i grow more and more anxious when little hands become too eager and start grabbing ornaments willy-nilly and placing them 3 deep on the bottom branches which just looks crazy-– gaaaaaaaah! DON’T THEY KNOW I HAVE SYSTEM!!!
(see why the skin stays spotty)
3. i must have a minimum of 2 extra adults in our 900 sq. ft. apartment for at least a 3 day visit up to 5 times between the end of october and the beginning of january– don’t get me wrong, LOVE the ‘rents to pieces, LOVE sharing Christmas morning with them– just not too crazy about sharing a bathroom.
4. i must watch our “fireplace” dvd while drinking hot chocolate– if you are unfamiliar with this amazing piece of visual genius allow me to explain– it’s a dvd that plays a crackling fire for those of us too broke to own a real fireplace OR real wood. it’s genius. it really crackles and stuff. did i mention it’s genius?!
5. i must watch “it’s a wonderful life” and cry every time mr. gower hits george in his bad ear and yell at the screen every time uncle billy loses the building and loan deposit–
George Bailey: My mouth’s bleeding, Bert! My mouth’s bleeding! Zuzu’s petals… Zuzu…
[checking his pocket] There they are! Bert, what do you know about that! Merry Christmas!
yep, that’s Christmas to me– stress spots, tree anxiety, extra skillets crammed together in a tight space, a fake fire, hot chocolate, and george bailey getting his life back.
add to this list the awesome fact a SAVIOR was born on Christmas day, and everything i eat during the month of december tastes like gingerbread– well, then i get pretty pumped AND queasy thinking about it!
it’s MOST DEFINITELY a special time– can’t wait for every fantastically awful minute of it!!!!
HO HO HO- HOLLA!!!
this homeskillet life 
Awesome blog!
Not only am I 100% certain Santa exists, I have him on speed dial! That photo currently on my profile for fb? That’s the big guy…treats me like one of his own kids, I mean elves!
And, just so you know you are NOT alone:
1. I currently look like Rudolf’s cousin, with a big red bump on the SIDE of my nose and another one on my CHIN! (I am not even going into the constellation that has taken over my left cheek.)
2. This was the first year I’ve really, really decorated a tree since I lived at home…so that’s what, at least 15 years. I’ve had the tiny dorm-room trees for most of my adult life, and some years I didn’t even put it up. I am so happy to have decorated a regular-sized tree with JR this year. I haven’t even rearranged the ornaments that he clumped together…tee hee.
3. I am generally the one imposing…at my sister’s or my mom’s…but this year, we are staying in Chicago at our house. We will go to JR’s parents’ house on Christmas Eve to celebrate with them, then wake up on Christmas morn with the pup and it will just be the three of us.
4. I love the fireplace screensaver for the tv. I also like the lightly-falling-snow-in-the-woods screensaver…it’s warm on the couch, but I can still watch snow! And cocoa-I’m drinking some now!
5. Um, yes. to the entire section.
Good one! I still believe in Santa, too.