Decembrrrrrrr!

For the second year in a row (and YES, I am counting!) the Mid-Atlantic region is experiencing extra-cold weather, extra-early. It's freezy, it's breezy, it's snow-showery...I'd embellish some more, but I can't feel my fingers too well right now. This leads me to my topic for the day: in an effort to continue the grateful and joyful spirit of the Holiday Season--even while shivering--I'm going to focus on a few things I really do love about this dark, frigid month...

--A nice big mug of hot tea: (which is why I am now typing with ease--you didn't even notice me going to the microwave to zap some herbal-lemon-ginger green tea, did you?) Steam wafts up my nose, clearing my sinuses temporarily. Heat radiates to my numb digits, wrapped completely around the ceramic cup. I can track the warmth as it spreads down my throat, to my stomach, and eventually all the way to my toes. Aaahhh.

--Related topic: hot chocolate: (made with real milk, not water). Smothered in mini-marshmallows (the soft kind, NOT the crunchy little balls of petrified sugar that come in the hot chocolate mix).  Who says this stuff is just for kids? Mmmm...

--Festive music on the radio: Bing Crosby crooning White Christmas, Bruce Springsteen rocking Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Josh Groban caroling O Holy Night, Johnny Mathis warbling Winter Wonderland. Old favorites, new classics--they set the proper celebratory mood for the holiday season. (I do draw the line, however, at I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas, and other such atrocities--I have my standards!)

--Lights, lights, lights! Whether driving around after dark (easy to do, in this minimal-daylight month), or venturing out for a walk before dinner (more like "a waddle" after layering on all the necessary wind-and-chill-blocking items one needs to enjoy the Great Outdoors these days), I revel in the sparkly, twinkly displays all around me. Wreaths, inflatable snowglobes, colored lights hanging from the roof, candles in the windows, I love them all.  Even the houses that are SO bright they blind you--like a camera flash--or the Nativity sets with personal touches...like penguins or polar bears peacefully planted alongside the Magi, greeting the baby Jesus! Whether I ooh and aah, stop and stare, or just giggle, they all make me happy.

--Treats: explanation needed? Cookies, candy canes, red-and-green-wrapped chocolates (they do taste better when dressed up that way, am I right?)...and the implicit permission to eat them all, in keeping with the true meaning of...oh, nevermind, it's just a fun indulgence!

--Christmas shows: although my kids are at that awkward stage, where they're "too old" for the animated shows, and too young to get all nostalgic about it. That's okay, I'll watch them myself! Who can resist "in Whoville they say, that the Grinch's small heart grew 3 sizes that day"? Or the campy fun of the Miser Brothers ("I'm Mr. White Christmas; I'm Mr. Snow")? Or the heartwarming cuddliness of A Muppet Christmas ("Oh, Ker-my?) Or Charlie Brown's scraggly pine tree, that blossomed when fed with hope and love? A warm blanket, a soft couch, and a collection of classic DVDs makes for a very merry December night!

--Secrets: of the very best kind! Picking out gifts, snatching the boxes when they show up on the porch (and while we're at it: thank GOODNESS for Amazon! I just can't imagine what I'd do without everyone's favorite Internet Elves!), stashing bags in closets and under beds, wrapping in the dark of night. All for the huge reward of seeing eyes light up and mouths drop open when they unveil their surprises on Christmas morning.

So, my friends, to quote yet another classic, "These are a few of my favorite things" (go ahead, sing along, you know you want to : ) I hope this wintry time of year is chock-full of smiles and joy for you, too!