Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to write a quick post wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and to thank you for being such wonderful readers of my blog. I absolutely love reading and responding to all of your comments and I enjoy reading the blogs of those of you who have your own! I originally started this blog just for myself. I had just graduated from college, I had no job, no friends, and was at a complete loss for what to do with myself. Well, I could never have predicted how fantastic it is to be a book blogger and it’s all because of you. The book blog community is a large but warm one and I am so glad I stumbled into it. Please have a relaxing, fun, and rejuvenating Christmas and I hope 2018 will be even better. 

Babbles, Rambles, and Nonsense #20

So what’s your favorite part of the holidays?

When I was a kid it used to be the approach of Christmas Eve. I’d try my best to stay up late to listen for reindeer but of course I’d end up falling asleep but my excitement would wake me in the early hours of the morning before anyone else and my brother and I would sneak out to the Christmas tree and check for presents. We weren’t allowed to open any until everyone else was awake but we’d grab our Christmas stockings and dump them out on the floor and go through all the candy and goodies in them! Of course as we’re adults now they’re generally filled with practical fare such as toothpaste and deodorant but I’m not complaining because I’m all about free necessities haha 😉

I also love watching Christmas movies! I have my favorites (White Christmas, Elf, Home Alone, The Snowman, etc.) but I’m going to share a secret, I also look forward to when Netflix uploads their pile of cheesy Christmas rom-coms. Yep! Oh they’re terrible to be sure but it’s so fun to snuggle under a blanket and watch them while sending Snapchats of my reactions or texts of my commentary to my friends who also partake in watching said terrible Holiday B-movies. Of course it’d be better if we could watch movies together in person but technology gives us the next best thing.

I also really enjoy attending the candlelight Christmas Eve service at church. It’s filled with lovely old carols, an inspiring message, and at the end we light candles, holding them as we sing “Silent Night.” Something about standing in a small sanctuary, standing in the utter dark with only candles as light, standing surrounded by others of all ages who share faith and hope and belief…something about it always strikes a chord within me. It’s a feeling hard to name or describe.

But  I have to say that I think my absolute favorite thing about winter in general is snow. It’s not necessarily what I look forward to most each year because where I live snow is a hit-or-miss event and even when it does snow it’s usually only fluffy for a day before it solidifies into horrible ice which our state is absolutely not well equipped for so you basically get stuck inside or risk a terrible car accident. But regardless I absolutely love snow. Whenever it snows it’s a surprise to me, but like a magical fairy godmother kind of surprise. I get all giddy like a kid and I bounce up and down and start singing Christmas songs and baking Christmas cookies. It’s what finally gets me into the proper holiday spirit.

And once it has snowed I like to just sit outside in it. Or walk my dog. But the world falls so quiet, so peaceful, so…I don’t know…but it’s a stillness that brings me tranquility and I could stay out there for hours until my fingers and toes go absolutely numb through my gloves and boots.

And I better not forget how much fun sledding in snow is! I don’t sled as much as when I was a kid mostly because it’s not nearly as much fun to do it by myself and I don’t live near any of my friends, so unless my brother is home visiting then it’s just me. But as I mentioned before the snow turns to ice so my brother and I would use the soft snowfall to carve out our path down the steep hills then the next day once it’s iced over, oh wow you really fly down those hills!

So, what’s your favorite part of winter? Or the holidays? Or are you a summer child at heart and absolutely loath the cold? 😉