Tree of Lights

I love the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree every year. We always had fake ones growing up, but it always looked so festive and really got me in the mood for the holidays. I couldn't wait to see presents under the tree. Even as an adult just seeing other people's presents under a tree gets me in a joyous mood. I love seeing just a glimpse of trees through people's windows, it can be so beautiful.

I love the tradition of hanging all the ornaments on the tree. I remember doing this with my mom as a kid and just loving unwrapping all the old ornaments and delicately placing them on the tree until the whole thing was covered with colorful memories and lights.

Jason and I agreed that this year will not be a year of big gift buying, but instead I'm hoping to get a real tree for the first time, just a small one. This small tree will give the house a little taste of holiday magic. That's all I'm asking for this year. I'll buy a string of lights and a few cheap ornaments. This and seeing my family for the holidays is all I want for Christmas.

Christmas Lights

I think one of my first entries into this blog had to do with Christmas music. Now, as the holiday season descends on us I find myself plumbing back into that topic for ideas. And again, being the good Jew that I am, I'm going to focus on Christmas.

It's only because Hanukkah has no flash. No glitz. No mascot. It's just not sexy. Christmas, on the other hand, screams "holiday season!" For me the holidays are not about any sort of religious significance. They're about family and friends and generosity of spirit. And anything that reminds me of that makes me smile. That's why I love Christmas lights. They're an ostentatious outward display of inner happiness. And that happiness is contagious.

Plus they can be really beautiful. I remember loving driving around neighborhoods as a kid with my family looking at the decorated houses. I was awe-struck. Back then I'm sure I was also suffering from religion-envy. The most light we had at our house was nine candles that burned for 45 minutes. Nice, but not the same. I used to wonder why we couldn't put up Hanukkah lights, sticking with white and blue for the season. Not a common practice, I guess.

I'm over that, of course. But I'd still drive out of my way to see a particularly beautiful house display. One day I'd like to decorate our house, I think. A nice pastafarian display to really light up the holidays!