December

December is my favorite month of the year.

It would be nice if it was colder here this December, but there’s still hope the temperature might drop later this week.

Christmas, of course, has a whole lot to do with why I love December so much.

The lights, the smells, the meaning of it all, those are things I love best. And trying to avoid some of the major pitfalls this time of year can bring is a good way to enjoy this month. 

For one thing, I don't plan or cook massive meals at Christmas. For the most part, we’ll enjoy the cooking of others this holiday season. Hats off to anyone who makes an elaborate, picture-perfect meal with low stress levels. I have too many meltdowns to make this feat enjoyable. 

We'll stick to the basics like baking cookies, and maybe some sausage balls and spicy Ro-Tel dip (if I can get the recipe of the version we tried yesterday) for Christmas Eve. There will also be evening cups of hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows.

Not getting into a shopping frenzy is another way I try keeping it simple and enjoyable. Online Santa shopping is my personal favorite.

  

There’s also the reading.

If you visit this blog often, you know we’ll be devouring some books around here! I saw a great post a few days ago that suggested buying one Christmas book a year. When I mentioned this to Jack last night he thought it would be a good idea to buy a book at Halloween and Thanksgiving each year too.

I can definitely agree with that! 

Tomorrow we might make a quick stop by a local bookstore to see if we can find an old copy of “The Night Before Christmas” and then to some downtown stores to look for a nativity scene. I want an unusual/artsy one, and I’m hoping to come across something here in town before scouring Internet sites.

There’s another thing about December I love; it’s a good time to watch TV.

I’m not ashamed to say we are TV and movie people. I have a hard time going along with all the parenting books and magazines that swear TV is one of the worst things for kids. Sure, there is a lot of stuff on TV they don’t need to watch, but I’m not talking about Jersey Shore here. I also know it’s not a good thing for a child to sit in front of a television all day long. Having given these disclaimers, I do think there are a lot of great things on television these days, especially for kids. The trick is finding what’s good and avoiding what’s bad.

Now that I’ve sworn an allegiance to TV, I must say I don’t actually get to watch a lot of it. Instead, I buy DVDs of series that I’ve heard good things about and then watch them in marathon runs. There was Downton Abbey last year (can’t wait until January), and it’s the Big Bang Theory right now. Once I finish the “Game of Thrones” books - which might take an entire year at the rate I’m going - it’s likely I’ll buy the DVDs of the HBO show. Some friends mentioned last weekend that The Walking Dead is fantastic, so it's probably going to be added to the list.

Last year we spent the day after Christmas laughing at ourselves while watching the home movies we’ve filmed since Jack was born. I plan on doing that again this year and, who knows, it just might become one of our Christmas traditions. 

Happy December!