Holiday Crisis

This past Monday, I realized we were in a bad spot. Not a single Christmas light, ornament, or wreath was anywhere to be found in our apartment. I hadn't put my Christmas mix on shuffle yet, and nobody's gift had been purchased. I had sent out our holiday cards, but the task was crossed off my list like an item I needed to get at the market, in the basket and out of mind. Then I looked at the calendar, realized Christmas was only a little more than two weeks away, and I officially panicked.

So, never one to linger in a state of panic for very long, I kicked things in to high gear!

Matt and I are so excited to head back to California for ten days over the holidays. It truly is our own little Christmas miracle the way everything has worked out for us to be able to afford the wickedly expensive flights, get the time off from work, and all the other details that go into being away from home for almost two weeks. Our cross-country trip would make traveling with gifts difficult, so I opted to online shop for everyone this year. Man, is it easy! I mean, I'm quite the online shopping enthusiast to begin with, but retailers really roll out the red carpet during the holidays. I signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime, bought gifts for almost everyone on my list, and had them all delivered with free two-day shipping. AMAZING! By Tuesday, I had every gift ordered and scheduled to be delivered to my parents' house by December 17th. My poor parents probably need a spare spare bedroom for all of the boxes.

The decorating thing was going to be more challenging. We didn't bring holiday decorations out to PA with us in the move, and planning to be gone for Christmas meant we didn't want to get a tree. I settled on two strings of white lights for the balcony of our apartment. Honestly, they are kind of like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of lighting displays, but they're better than nothing. :)

Friday around one o'clock I was sitting at my desk in the office when I noticed something floating in the air outside. Honestly I'm embarassed to admit that it took me a minute to realize that it was snowing! I sat there transfixed by the flakes swirling in the air. It slowly started to pile on the ground until a very thin layer of while covered everything. Our first snow! Such a cool experience. It melted almost immediately, but I learned two things: a) snow is not as scary as I've imagined it would be. Turns out it's just as cold outside whether or not there is snow on the ground. And b) it really is as beautiful as everyone says it is!

Friday night we enlisted the help of our friends, Jon and Jamie, to take us to Kitchen Kettle Village, a shopping village in Intercourse, PA (yep.. couldn't make that one up). It goes all out for the holidays with carolers, Santas, and hot chocolate, not to mention samples of everything. We avoided sampling the black raspberry jam after watching a five-year-old dip his finger straight into the jar and proceed to slurp it off his fingers. The jalepeno cheddar cheese, though, looked a little more sanitary... and it is to die for!

I like making people take pictures in awkward / cheesy / embarassing spots. :) This gingerbread man frame was perfect.

We had so much fun strolling, shopping and driving around to look at lights afterward, and really did feel more 'Christmasy' after the evening out.

The last step, and arguably the most important, occurred last night when I pressed play on the Christmas Time playlist on my iPod. I was so excited to hear all of my holiday favorites... Tony Bennett, the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack, Mariah Carey, and especially the Sara Bareilles/Ingrid Michaelson gem Winter Song.

When a kooky (non-MC) version of All I Want For Christmas Is You came on, Matt said, "What the hell is this?!" I was about to get up and change it, then I had second thoughts. Instead, I said, "Just embrace it, darlin'. It's Christmas!"

:)