I have always been a fan of the holiday season. More specifically, I have always been a fan of my holiday season, which starts on Oct. 24 and goes until Jan. 13, which is my birthday.
But for Halloween, some of my favorite memories happened at my neighbor’s house, where many other families in my neighborhood would gather eat food. We’d all sit together and just talk. It’s been four years since I’ve been able to attend, either because I was working on Halloween my senior year and spent my last three Halloweens here on campus. And as much fun as campus Halloween is, I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to go home and spend it with my family and my neighbors.
For Thanksgiving, I’ve always enjoyed helping get dinner ready. I enjoyed – and still enjoy – waking up early to watch the Macy’s parade and prepare the turkey, stuffing and other Thanksgiving fixings with my grandma as we try to stop my mom from eating the stuffing before it can be cooked. And for the years my family goes to my other grandma’s house, I love hanging out with my two cousins. It’s a tradition that the three of us and my little brother make up goofy skits that no one ever sees.
At some point during Thanksgiving break, my best friend and I brave the mall crowds and go to one of the malls in the area we live. This year, there’s a new outdoor center that just opened in our town and the two of us have already made plans to do some shopping there.
And even though it may be a controversial choice of mine, I started listening to Christmas and holiday music Nov. 1. I may even be listening to it as I’m writing this. It’s my favorite way to get into the holiday spirit.
Of course, Christmas is one of the biggest holidays in my family. Even as a 20-year-old, I can’t sleep at night on Christmas Eve. I almost always wake up early Christmas morning (I once woke up at 6:30 in the morning and didn’t fall back asleep.). When my brother wakes up, we go downstairs and have a competition to find the pickle ornament. The one who finds it first gets an extra present (I’ve won almost every year we’ve done it).
Later, we have Christmas with my dad’s side of the family and will almost end up Apples to Apples at some point in the afternoon. While it may be a little unconventional, I love every moment of it.
My three cats even get into the Christmas spirit, though they’re mostly fascinated with our tree and they love climbing it, even though they know they’ll get in trouble.
New Years Eve tends to be a quieter event where my family goes over to a friend’s house and staying over.
Of course, then it’s my birthday, which is the official end to my holiday season.
The holidays, for me, have always been about seeing my friends and family, something that I don’t get to do as much since coming to Bowling Green. After my grandpa died towards the beginning of my freshman year at BG, I cherish spending time with my family even more than I used to. And sometimes I feel like that gets forgotten about as people seem more excited about getting free candy for Halloween or the best new tech gadget for Christmas.
Family is what makes the holidays worth it for me.
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