10. Decorations.
Once upon a time, I didn't really decorate for the holidays. This was in 2006, but to be fair to me, I was so depressed that I didn't do a lot of things -- like smile. Or laugh. Or sleep. So my mother, completely outraged by my lack of a tree, went shopping and found the cutest, tiniest little artificial tree in a bucket and brought it to my crappy apartment and demanded "DECORATE THIS."
"I don't want to."
"Yes, you DO," she insisted. (If you've met my mum, you know that she's not a very big person? But don't cross her.)
So I decorated it. I plugged the lights in. And damn if she wasn't right -- the whole place was bathed in a warm glow. Like the Grinch, I think my heart grew a little bit -- or at the very least, allowed some of the light and warmth to sink in so the world seemed to suck a little less.
Also, antidepressants. Very helpful.
At any rate, a couple of years ago I was once again treeless (though not because I was depressed -- mostly because I had only recently moved here and couldn't get my act together to decorate) and I have to tell you -- it was not fun.
You know what is fun?
9. Holiday Music
Don't worry, I'm not going to make you sit through another video.
Wait. YES I AM.
Click here if the embed fails!
8. Mulled Wine
Do you want to know how to make the most delicious mulled wine ever? Oh, you do? Here you go:
1.5 litre bottle red wine (I like a cabernet, myself)
4 cups apple cider
1/4 to 1/2 cup honey
4 cinnamon sticks
6 cloves
5 pieces dried star anise
2 oranges, zested and juiced
Dump it all together in a pan. Heat through. DRINK AND BE MERRY, Y'ALL
7. Love, Actually
ALAN RICKMAN. That is all. Actually, his Alanness is not the only reason I love this movie. There are also exchanges like this:
(Broken link? Click here!)
6. Kindness
It used to bug me -- a LOT -- that people seemed to go out of their way to be kind and giving to others at Christmas, because I want us all to treat each other well ALL OF THE TIME. But you know what? I'll take the kindness where I can get it. Hugs all around.
5. Parties
You guys all know that going out to parties can make me ... anxious. In the "why am I no longer on medication for this" kind of way. Having said that? I love a Christmas party, because ... they're happy, as a rule, and danged if I don't think we could all use a little more happy. So I slog through the anxiety and the crippling sense that I'm about to die and the inability to breathe and I go, and once I get past all of that? Joy, plain and simple. (And to the concerned parties out there making uh-oh noises, YES, I'm considering going back on the meds. Thank you for caring.)
4. Love
Because, really, who doesn't love love? I love love. I love seeing it manifested in great big ways and in itty bitty ones, and screw Valentine's Day -- this time of year is really what love is all about.
3. Hope
The love and kindness and stuff that you see all over the place during the holidays? Those are about hope, my friends. Hope that we could, actually, make a better world. Hope that we can indeed love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Hope that if you light a candle in the darkness, someone else will too, and then there will be two. And then, three, and then more until the dark? Isn't so dark at all. Isn't that what A Christmas Carol is kind of about? Isn't that what life should be about anyway?
2. Christmas Episodes of NCIS
Every time I get to see Mark Harmon on screen is kind of like Christmas, now that I think about it ...
1. All of YOU
Actually, I love you guys all of the time. Every time you come here, it gives me a reason to keep doing this. And that? Is a HUGE gift to me. So thanks. And have a happy holiday season, y'all. You're the best.
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