2 Parties, Ugly Sweaters, and Holiday Fun

The ugly sweater has quickly become a pop culture phenomenon, and this year I finally got a chance to rock an ugly sweater of my own. Gabriel invited me to an ugly sweater party hosted by their mom's friend. So after going shopping in my grandma's wardrobe, Gabriel and I were headed to two different parties. The first was at Gabriel's (and mine occasionally, as I go there whenever I can) church, which was a choir party.  That party was pretty fun, and I got to talk to some cool people. The second was the ugly sweater party, which had amazing food, and some good people to talk to.
Going from party to party was tiring, however, it was great fun! I've never really had the chance to go to a holiday party, so it was pretty fun.

Overall, it was a fun little way to spend the Saturday evening. It was fun to spend some time with Gabriel, and although the sweater was a bit itchy, it was fun to wear.

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas will be here in three days, however, that doesn't mean that everyone's shopping is complete. With finals, and all else going on, college students such as myself often put Christmas shopping to the bottom of the to-do list. But now that it's almost here, one can begin to panic about the amount of gifts that you have to get. However, with these simple ideas, I can assure the procrastinators out there that you too can find the perfect gift.

1. Gift Cards: Everyone can use a gift card. Luckily, nowadays grocery stores often have them, so it's a one stop shop. And there's some pretty good ones--you can choose anywhere from Starbucks to iTunes. It's the easiest gift that you can get anybody. 
2. Candy: There's so many holiday themed chocolate gift baskets, and since mostly everyone you know likes chocolate, you can never go wrong. 
3. Jewelry: For your mom or best friend, picking up a simple little bauble will be sure to add some sparkle in her life. Plus, you can get some great jewelry at TJ Maxx, with some low prices. 
4. Power banks: Nearly everyone has run out of battery at one point or another. It's the perfect gift for pretty much everyone with a smartphone. Or a tablet.
5. Gift Books/CDs: Barnes and Noble has a great selection of gift books for the readers on your list, and a huge variety. If they love music, why not treat them a gift to their favorite band? Either or, and you'll be golden. 

Hopefully these will be perfect for anyone whose entering Santa's Toyshop a bit late this year. 

Decking the Halls

One of the key parts of Christmas is of course the Christmas tree. Every year around this time, you can see trees perched on rooftops, and trees in the windows of homes. For my mom and I, it's about digging out the ol' Christmas tree from the garage and making it pretty.
Since I am allergic to real Christmas trees, my mom and I often opt for fake ones. In recent years, we have gotten a white Christmas tree. Me, being the Peanuts fan that I am, have made sure that our Christmas tree has the proper amount of Snoopy ornaments. We also had Charlie Brown and Snoopy dolls that when you pressed their stomachs, Linus and Lucy would play.
Christmas tree!

Maggie is bonding with Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

Getting ready for Christmas is the sure-fire way to get me in the holiday spirit, however, any more holiday celebrations will have to wait. Finals are soon to come, and our semester won't end until a week from today. Until then, the closest thing that I'll have to celebrating Christmas is drinking out of a Snoopy Christmas mug.

Tis The Holiday Season...

Okay, so it's a little bit over a month before Christmas. And it's about that time of year when the trees come out, and the credit card debt goes up. But, there's some good things about Christmas! Here's my list of stuff that I'm looking forward to this holiday season.

• Cookies, and all other baked goods. I mean come on, it's not Christmas time when all of the fancy desserts are broken out. I'm Italian, so that means lots of cookies! My favorite is those round Pillsbury cookies shaped like reindeer, and the Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies. This year, I am looking forward to baking cupcakes to add to the mix. 

• The holiday specials that are on TV. It's obvious that Charlie Brown specials are on in my house. Also, there's those cliche Hallmark movies that my mother watches (Okay, fine some are good.) I also enjoy watching Rudolph, Eloise, The Santa Clause saga and of course Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. I'm recently getting into Elf, so that's going to be soon added onto my list. 

• This year I'm looking foreward to giving my mom pretty decent gifts. In the past, it's been a few gifts that were totaled to less than $50. This year,since I at last have a job that pays a good salary I can afford to shower my mom with gifts. So far, I got her a sweatshirt for my school, and a book. I hope to get her an Alex and Ani, and a couple of other odds and ends. 

• Getting Christmas cards. Granted they are not always sent to me. But still, getting a card in the mail always makes me smile. 

• Decorating the Christmas tree. Our tree's always white...yeah it's fake. But still, it's always exciting when we decorate it and put our ornaments on it. 

What are you looking forward to this holiday season?

Also: shoutout to Sam at Life is But A Stream of Thoughts. I got the idea for this from her entry: http://lifestreamthoughts.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-holiday-season.html

Happy Holidays!

I would like to take a moment to wish each and every one of you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah or Kwanza! (or whatever you celebrate) Hope you have a great holiday, and enjoy all of the time that you share with your family friends and loved ones, with whatever traditions you may share.
Merry Christmas, Internet!