Getting in the spirit.

Oh no late late late blog posts...my bad. This is one of six that should have been posted by the end of last week. :(

Oh my. It's that time of year. That time of year when chocolate and cookies are suddenly ten times more delicious, and you are expected to buy presents for people you may not particularly know or like all that much.

But don't be a Grinch. I'm sure you would be arrested if you broke into homes to steal Christmas trees. That's a little extreme. Don't be a Scrooge either, no one likes him. What you CAN be however, is a Stooge. Yes, that would certainly get some laughs at the extended family get-togethers. Don't be selfish, and don't let the lack of snow get you down. At least the driving conditions will be decent.

And oh goodness. The buying of the presents. If you are like me, and have a ton of friends you would love to give something to, you could do something like what I did last year. The weekend before break, I went shopping with my mother, and found a shelf at Michaels, filled with gooey snowmen balls. The kind you squeeze and squish, and if you throw it at a wall, and it will stick. I bought about 25 of them, considering they were fifty cents each, and gave them out on the last day of school. It was pretty satisfying, especially when my teachers started asking, "Where are all these snowmen from???"

But maybe you want to give something a little more special. So do that! Go for silly, or meaningful, or purposeful, or whatever, but don't bust your wallet. Pick a couple close friends and give them something. And here comes the cliche: "It's the thought that counts." But honestly, they will be glad that you simply went out of your way to do something for them.

And as for the weather, just DEAL WITH IT. Where I'm at, we have no snow, when we typically do. So many complaints are flying around. Yes, snow is fun, and yes, snow is absolutely necessary for Christmas to happen or Santa Claus won't come to your house (words from the mouth of my 6 year old cousin). But that doesn't mean you can't still get into the spirit. For goodness' sake, look on the bright side.  No snow means no awful driving conditions, most likely no flight cancellations, and you probably won't be snowed in for the holiday. What do I see as the bad side to this? It probably means a late starting Spring, which no sensible person would want.