The 12th Day of Patmas!

From 2010...

On the 12th Day of Patmas, I give to you…12 Reasons Why Christmas is Great!

While I may come across sometimes as a cynical asshole about Christmas, I really do enjoy the holiday. This whole time of year brings me great joy and happiness! And in that vein…here are 12 reasons (in no particular order) why Christmas is so great.

1. Lights! Christmas Lights are awesome. They just are. They’re so festive, and bright. They bring whole rooms, houses, and/or neighborhoods alive. I remember as a kid, we’d all pile into the old 1957 Ford Fairlane in our pajamas one night before Christmas and drive around the neighborhood just looking at Christmas lights. It really was one of my favorite things to do over the holidays. Of course, that tradition has gone by the wayside as my sister and I have gotten older and moved on in life, but I still remember it fondly. I still decorate my bedroom with Christmas lights and decorations every year.

2. Snicker Doodles! Snicker Doodles are my favorite cookie of all time, and I only seem to get them when my mother makes them for Christmas. They are delicious…beyond delicious. I mean, they are heaven in cookie form. I look forward to them every holiday season. Hell, I’m probably eating one right now!

3. Presents! OK, OK, I know! This seems hypocritical, and to an extent it is. I bemoan the fact that Christmas has become so commercial, and I still hate it. But the idea of swapping gifts with the people you love is pretty cool. Finding just the right present for the right person that is either really useful, or really loved, or whatever…it’s a cool feeling. Also, nothing better than tearing through wrapping paper trying to find out what is inside! And the kitties love playing in the wrapping paper, so life is good all around!

4. Trans Siberian Orchestra! For the most part, I loathe Christmas music. However, there are some select songs that I do enjoy…and then there’s the Trans Siberian Orchestra. It’s Christmas in Rock n Roll form! I love it. Go back and look at the 3rd Day of Patmas post. Such great music! It’s pretty much all I listen to between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I desperately want to go to a TSO concert, but they keep coming to San Jose before Thanksgiving, and I just can’t listen to Christmas Music that early…just on principle.

5. Time Off Work! I always take at least a week off work between Christmas and New Years. Usually a little more. This year I’m taking 6 work days off, which, with weekends, is 10 straight days without work. That’s awesome! I rarely get that much time off in a row. And its always busy, between being with the family for Christmas, going somewhere for New Years, or hanging out…it’s always a good time.

6. It’s Almost New Years Eve! Yes, this one is a cop out, a bit. But Christmas is the beginning of the best week of the year, which culminates in the best holiday of the year…New Years Eve! New Years Eve is awesome because I usually go somewhere awesome for it…so it’s for personal reasons. Still, as soon as Christmas hits, and sometimes even before, I start counting down the days until New Years Eve. This year I’ll be in Las Vegas!

7. Fire! Whether it’s sitting around the fireplace, watching the glow of the fire mix with the sparkle of the Christmas Lights from the tree…or if it’s the flicker of candles as they line the table, fire is very prevalent at Christmas time. And as you all know, I’m kind of a pyro. Fire is beautiful, and at Christmas, it is on display in its best form.

8. Friends! Christmas is a time for friends to come together and celebrate. Sometimes its old high school friends, home from college, all getting together again. Sometimes its old college friends, home to visit their families. Sometimes its longtime friends who are all too busy to get together regularly, but set aside time every year at this time of year to see each other and reconnect. I have two traditions of catching up with friends at this time of year. Every year, Sean and I do our Christmas shopping together. We pick one Saturday and brave the malls together. It’s always a good time. And seemingly every Christmas Eve, we get together with the Piccardo Family and enjoy each others’ company. I enjoy both of these traditions tremendously.

9. Food! The Christmas Feast, while not really comparing to the Thanksgiving Feast, is still good in its own right. Sometimes its Turkey, I usually clamor for ham. This year I’m trying to build a case for crab, but I’m not sure how well that’s going. In any case, it is always delicious. Add to that the Christmas cookies and whatnot, and food around this time of year is definitely a highlight!

10. Family! Christmas is a time for family. It is a time for kids to come home to their parents, for parents to go see their kids, for grandchildren to see their grandparents, etc. Christmas for my family has always been in two parts. The morning of is the immediate family Christmas Present opening. So me, Baby Sister, mom, dad, and all the cats and dogs will be around the tree, opening presents while the kitties and Titan play in the wrapping paper left behind. It’s a nice morning. Then we load up the car and go spend the day with my mom’s side of the family, which now is just my grandma and my aunt, in Pebble Beach. It’s always nice to see the family, and something I can count on always being there for me. Sadly, this year my sis won’t be around on Christmas Day as she has a boyfriend. Last year they were with us for Christmas Day, so this year they are with his family. Such is life when we all grow up (except for me, who seems to stay quite single year after year).

11. Traditions! As you could probably tell from many of the things listed above, I’m a sucker for traditions. And I have a few of them this time of year. From the Christmas Day ritual, to the yearly traditions with my friends, I have plenty of annual Christmas Traditions. Christmas just wouldn’t feel the same without them!

12. A Sense of Anticipation! This one harkens back to my childhood, and I think it is the best part of Christmas. I don’t know if any of you experienced this the same way as I did, but I remember going to bed Christmas Eve, seeing some presents around the tree, and knowing in just one short sleep, I’d be opening them, and the festivities would begin. I wouldn’t get a wink of sleep, I’d be too excited for the next day! The next morning, my sister would usually wake me up, and we’d sit at the top of the stairs, while my dad went down and set up the video camera. That wait was the worst, because we were awake. The Christmas presents were RIGHT DOWN STAIRS waiting to be devoured. But we had to wait. So we waited, and finally, the ok would come, and it was a mad dash to the tree to see what Santa (and in later years our parents, still referred to as Santa) had brought us! Yes, the actual opening of the presents, and the revealing of what we had received was great, but it was that sense of anticipation, of something special that was just about to happen, that made is amazing, memorable, unique! As I get older and look back on my childhood, that is what I remember the most clearly…that sense of anticipation, waiting at the top of the stairs, my imagination running wild with what I would find when I finally descended the staircase and ran to the Christmas tree.




So for all my complaining about Christmas, it really is a wonderful holiday. And while it may not be at the top of my list of favorite holidays, it is definitely a time of year that I really enjoy. So to all of my readers out there, whether you’re a regular commenter, or just a lurker, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday!