Merry Christmas to all, and to all, sugar cookies

I'm really excited for Christmas. I mean really excited. I've been bugging Jessie for the past week. He says I'm like a little kid in the car who asks if we're there yet every five seconds. Oh well. I can't help it-there are many very good reasons to like Christmas. I'm not normally one for making lists, but I think I'll make an exception today in order to favor you with all the things I love about Christmas. Lucky you.

1. Food. Christmas means a lot of chocolate, cookies, especially maple bells, which are the most addictive little buggers on the face of the planet. They aren't diet friendly, but I don't care, because they are that good. There's also fudge and divinity, which is aptly named, as well as Christmas dinner. Frankly, even if there was nothing else to love about Christmas, I would celebrate it for the food. In fact, maybe I'll just invent a holiday to celebrate food. With none of this facade about gratitude you have at Thanksgiving. Just an all-out food fest.

2. Presents. And of course, I like getting presents myself, because who doesn't love free stuff? But mostly, this category is the presents I give away, because I get to think about those a lot longer and wrap them and shop for them and keep secrets from my family. Don't get the idea that I'm selfless or anything; it's purely a function of time. I open my presents in five minutes. One of these years I'm going to get Jessie something he won't be able to guess before Christmas ever gets here. The punk.

3. Family. I like to bug the heck out of them, and this is one more opportunity to do it when they can't run away because: Christmas is family time. So they have to tolerate me.

4. Christmas music. Once I get over my intense hatred for Christmas music in November, and realize around December 5th that it's actually okay to listen to Christmas music now, I remember how much I love Christmas music. And caroling.

5. Snow. For some freaky reason, there always seems to be snow on Christmas, even if there wasn't any for two months before and after. Which is how it should be. I don't think I could ever be one of those people who go celebrate Christmas in a tropical climate. It's just not natural. (Excluding the time we spent Christmas on the cruise ship a few years ago. That doesn't count. Because...I don't know why. But it doesn't count.)

6. Shopping. I don't normally like long shopping trips, because I don't have near the stamina of my mom and sister, who I am convinced could shop 24 hours a day from November 1st to New Year's and still think of some store they missed. But around Christmas, I like to be out a lot more. Maybe it's the long lines. That must be it.

7. Parties. Enough said.

8. Okay, I'll be serious for just long enough to say that I really enjoy the spirit you can feel during Christmas time. I love that everyone is thinking of other people and trying to be a little more Christlike. I love that we take some time away from all the things we have to do and focus on the important things.

Well, that about wraps things up. I hope all of you are enjoying the Christmas season as well, and gorging yourself on things that are bad for you, and having snowball fights, and driving your families up the wall. Because that's what Christmas is all about.