Why Kelsey Loves Christmas

So here's the dealio- I went to this guy's junior drum recital (I actually don't know him. I'm just good friends with a girl who's been dating him a bit. But I told her she needs to get serious with him because he's an amazing drummer and looks like Joseph Smith. Oh and the pianist who accompanied him looked like a Mexican Frodo Baggins. Like dead on. But I digress....) and when I came home, I had dinner, made my schedule for finals week, and crashed. Yeah I fell asleep at 7. So I woke up about an hour ago and of course, cannot get back to sleep. SO I decided to blog to pass the time (studying for my 5 finals next week? Ha. You're funny) and all I can think about is Christmas.

I know everyone says this but I LOVE Christmas time. It's my favorite time of the year. And yeah, like everyone else, I like getting presents, but I decided to make a list of what I love about Christmas. This is in no particular order.

1. Going back to Vegas- Now ever since I left for college, my trips down to Vegas are the best vacations I've ever had. Pulling up to the house and having two little kids jumping up and down in the driveway waiting for you is kind of a great feeling.
2. Spending time with family- This is kind of implied with #1, but I have to make it clear that the older I get, the closer I am with my family. I'd rather hang out with them than my friends any day of the week.
3. NO HOMEWORK- What's great about being in college is that the semester ends before the winter break. So unlike high school where you have projects and papers to do, I literally have NOTHING as far as school work. It's the most liberating feeling.
4. Christmas movies- And here they are in order of greatness (this is my list and I'm sticking to it. I'm sure my father and I will have a debate about it once he reads this:
    #1- The Christmas Story
    #2- The Muppet Christmas Carol
    #3- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
    #4- A Charlie Brown Christmas
    #5- The Grinch
    #6- The Santa Clause
    #7- The Year Without a Santa Claus
    #8- Santa Claus is Coming to Town
    #9- Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer
    #10- Elf
5. Christmas music- there are very few things in the world that put me in a better mood than the Josh Groban Chritmas CD from years ago.
6. FOOD. I cannot emphasize this point enough. I will always love grilled cheese sandwiches but I'm pretty sure that's been my dinner for the last 4 weeks. And turkey & mashed potatoes are simply the best foods in the world.
7. Fires- Yeah that's kinda weird to write but I didn't know how else to write the topic for this one. I LOVE sitting in front of the fireplace next to the Christmas tree and reading a good book with a cup of hot chocolate.
8. Presents- Ok yeah I had to write it down. Let's be real, who DOESN'T like getting presents? And honestly, it's not even about the actual present. It's about diving into the cornucopia, grabbing the first present and guessing what it could be. I love giving presents as much as I love getting them. No really, I'm not just saying that. When I'm not a poor college student with $76 to my name, I'm going to be the best present giver ever.
9. Christmas jammas- It doesn't matter if I'm at my mom's or dad's, I always get a pair of Christmas pj's on Christmas Eve.

10. "YAY!! TWO CHRISTMASES!!!" (If you don't get it, you don't get it.)- While I would love to have every member of my family together on Christmas, it's great to have the Christmas experience twice in one day. They're two very different affairs however. When I'm at my mom's, I get woken up at 6 am by two screaming children running downstairs. We have to have a "Santa" who distributes the presents according to age and we have to WAIT for them to be done. It can be excruciating... for the kids *cough cough.* My sweet mom just sits there with a smile on her face, taking pictures of everyone opening each present. And you can tell how good your gift is by how excited she gets as you're opening it. And there really isn't anything that compares to having little kids in the house on Christmas morning. At my dad's however, it's just the three of us- myself, my dad, and my almost 18 year old brother. So Michael and I pretend to be cool and casually walk downstairs and try to stop ourselves from yelling "A ZEPPELIN! That's MINE!!" (if you don't get it, you don't get it) and ripping our stockings off the wall. And while my dad may not be the most expert of wrappers, he's the king of tags. What I mean is, I've never gotten a present addressed "To Kelsey, From Dad." Oh no, it's usually "To Kboo, Love Tanta Kringle" or "To Kelsey, Love Zeus" (our bulldog is very giving). I guess what I'm trying to say is that Christmas is such a special time for me because I'm surrounded by the people I love most in the world.

So there you have it audience of avid readers that I make up in my head. Among many other factors, those are some of my favorite things about the Christmas holidays. I'm still not tired. Now all I want to do is watch the Christmas movies on my list. But I'll be home in a week for the most wonderful time of the year with the most wonderful people in the world. Not even the thought of finals can dim my excitement.

I'm gonna go watch How I Met Your Mother. Kelsey out.