It's beginning to smell/sound a lot of Chrissy's!!!

As an adult, I still get excited when the first Christmas ad comes on (although they seem to start up earlier each year, and yes, that's annoying) and I absolutely adore the holidays. I love putting up the tree, the house filling with the smell of baked goods.

I cannot help but ooh and aaah when outdoor lights go up and get switched on for the first time. I like buying boxes of Christmas cards; I even like writing them(although this year that may not be happening). I love the feeling of finding a good gift for someone, and I'm more interested in watching others open their gifts than what's under the tree for me. I look forward to getting together with friends, and getting plowed with baked goods and having a cuddle with their kids. I love spending time with family. Especially one's that I don't get to see very often.

I cannot wait until the year when Kayla will experience her first real excitement over Christmas, and later years when we can leave out snacks for Santa and the reindeer together.

Christmas has a distinct feel to me, that can only be described as a general feeling of excitement that's only just slightly less extreme than the excitement I felt as a kid. Very slightly. Very, very slightly. Minuscule, in fact.

I love Christmas. It's supposed to be a celebration, a spirit of giving and appreciation. It has always been the most significant holiday to me and I think that's the whole point. Christmas is whatever you want it to be, whether it involves prayer and hymns, or dressing the baby (or dog!) up in reindeer antlers and consuming mass quantities of candy cane ice cream and eggnog.

'Tis the season. YAY.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Kayla to celebrate the start of the season. Enjoy!