It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas...Oh Wait...

If you're like me, life in the desert is definitely not conducive to the general feeling of Christmas. The temperature stays in the 60s with sunshine, clouds and Palm trees. But that sounds wonderful, you say. Not when all you want is Jack Frost nipping at your nose and days spent trying to decide if you should wear another long sleeve under your sweater or maybe just two sweaters. The majority of the northern states are being sucker punched by old man winter right now--1 to 2 feet of snow in some places...Happy Thanksgiving. I would gladly trade places right now. Yes, I'm aware of what entails: shoveling, scraping, slipping, salting, snow tires, delays. But as Freddy Mercury once sang, I want it all. It would be worth it to have an actual winter and the other three seasons. I was built for the cold, I'm certain of it, not for roasting in 110 degrees (Fahrenheit) during the Arizona summer. Our four seasons consist of: Fall-ish, Summer, Burning Inferno. If you're lucky enough to escape the valley and head up north on a regular basis, you'll actually get winter. At least there's that.

So next week of course, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. After the tryptophan coma wears off and pants are re-buttoned, we will usually set about starting with Christmas decorations. Then it's full steam ahead into December and the most wonderful time of the year. But it's not easy getting into the Christmas spirit when there are snow birds walking around wearing shorts and t-shirts. They've escaped the snowy clutches of their winter prone habitats to come here and cause traffic delays during rush hour. You're visiting, why do you need to be on the road at 7:00am in the morning when people are trying to get to work?! Huh? Why? Ahem, sorry, rant over. But it doesn't really make sense to me. There are a few things that help, but...they seem to be starting earlier and earlier every year. I'm pretty sure it was still the first week if November when I saw the first Christmas related commercial on TV. Of course, stores were already pulling out the Christmas gear in October. But this was the first commercial of the holiday season. That was followed by Christmas music on the radio (non-stop) during the second weekend of November, this was even earlier than the station that holds the claim of being the Christmas Music Station of Phoenix. The other station started last week. I love Christmas music, one of my favorite things about the holiday season along with tasty holiday treats.I know just about every song by heart and will not be ashamed to be caught singing in the car (which is usually where I do most of my singing anyway). But even I was astonished, when my sister came across a cousin's Facebook post about The Oasis 95.1 playing Christmas music. My first comment was: They're playing Christmas Music this early? BEFORE KEZ?! (99.9 KEZ is the station where for them playing X-mas music is a big deal, the former is a brand new station this year). I had every intention of waiting longer before tuning to the channel permanently. The plan lasted about as long as it took me to get ready to go out and run some errands, because as soon as I got in the car, I caved. Nearly two weeks later and I've barely listened to anything else, except for podcasts, there will always be time for those. Then we have Christmas cards. I'm a big fan of Christmas cards, sending them and receiving them. Sending holiday wishes across the country and the world can be a lot of fun.

But the main thing, that really helps get me in the Holly Jolly mood--rather than scrooge-y and grinch-y. The Christmas specials, from holiday movies to Rankin & Bass cartoons. There's nothing that says Christmas more for me, than snuggling up in front of the electric fireplace (yeah, we can't burn stuff here) with a cup of tea or hot cocoa and watching the favorites: Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snow Man, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, The Little Drummer Boy, The Snow Queen, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, The Last Holiday, Miracle on 34th Street, White Christmas, Muppet's Christmas Carol...the list goes on and on. Starting Dec.1st, there is a permanent stack of VHS tapes (video cassettes that came before DVD and Bluray for you young folks) and DVDs sitting on the floor by the living room TV, constantly being cycled through. My own 25 Days of Christmas countdown movie marathon. They usually sit next to the stack of Christmas CDs that gets cycled through the CD player. I think I might go out and actually buy some Christmas vinyl this year to play on the record player--that would be cool and different for a change. We'll see what money will allow.

Suffice to say, it's getting to the point where I can hardly wait to get started. I think it's important to never lose that child-like sense of excitement and wonderment. Because Christmas isn't just about the presents, the food, the music...it's about family and together-ness. The spirit of helping someone less fortunate to have a happy holiday as well. I know, I'm sounding like a hallmark card. But, it's truly my favorite time of year. Everyone tries to be a little bit nicer, a little bit more generous--a whole lot of fun if you throw in some egg nog. But while surprising a loved one with a gift on Christmas Eve or Day (depending on how you celebrate it) can be fulfilling, just being together with loved ones you may not see for the most of the year...is sometimes all you need.