100 Days until Christmas

100 days from now we will wake up with a gleam in our eye, warmth in our heart, and a trail of cookie crumbs down the stairs from ol' Santy Clause.
If you are like me, every year you silently vow that you will be more prepared for the holiday season. And that's coming from someone whose a bit anal! This year is no different and I am ready to start my preparations.........

We've got 100 days until the big one. And several occasions before then that will demand our attention!

I am a list person, as far as I can remember, I always have been. I like sticky notes A LOT.
I've already started making my lists for the upcoming holiday events. My Thanksgiving dinner/day list is well underway...which will be modified several times in the next couple of months. I absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving - the atmosphere, the decor, the smells, the memories, and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade most of all.

But before that even, we've got Halloween.

Holidays in your twenties bring a whole new level of expectations, I think - mainly that you put on yourself. It's no longer just about dressing up and going door to door for candy while mom and dad have to put up with your sugar high, you can't just show up on Turkey Day without having spent at least half a day making the dish you now have to contribute to dinner, and now on Christmas eve...you kinda want to sleep in!
Nope, now there's that feeling that maybe its your turn to host something, anything; the fact that you have to plan everything around your J-O-B, 'Christmas break' is no longer weeks long, and there's the added stress of budgeting. Wasn't it just too easy when we were younger!?
Easy, yes. Exciting, definitely. At least we can keep one of the two in the mix.
A lot of our family members live in different towns now, so it's getting harder to get everyone together for these events. Celebrating early is always an option! We can basically come up with any excuse for a party in my family. Oh, what's that you say, Halloween is in 5 weeks, better have a pre-all-hallows-eve get together!
We have managed nicely the past few years, and it's awesome to have us all in the same state finally! With my sisters and I working our way through college the past 10 years combined or so, it seemed like one of all was always gone. All of us finally living in the same city again...now that's exciting! What are your plans for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas? Are you hosting parties, are you attending parties, are you avoiding all of it at any cost??

My mom was and is a very artistic, artsy crafty kind of gal - and growing up we were always making things and decorating the house and I love her for exposing us to that! I also appreciate my dad for amusing us four gals year after year, saying "oooh" "ahhhh" "nice" "looks good" "can I have some egg nog?"
All three of us sisters still enjoy decorating our houses and dare I say go overboard sometimes?? (is that possible?)
I feel sorry for our husbands sometimes, although I think they secretly enjoy setting up the tree we just spent $100 on and took two hours picking out, and then finding pine needles the next four weeks in places that just aren't right. Who am I kidding, they love us, and therefore they do what we ask them to (so that we will feel inclined to let them watch football all hours of every Sunday and Monday for the next five months.) So, I take it back, I don't feel sorry for them. In fact, they are lucky that they have such enthusiastic wives/girlfriends who make the holiday season fun and enjoyable! and LET THEM watch football! right?! :)
Okay, that's a bit much. We like watching football too. In fact, decorating for the holidays wouldn't be the same without the game on in the background. <Insert husband's comment here> such as "See, you should actually be thanking ME!"
puuuuulease.
ANYways...
So the countdown has begun....'but it's only mid-September' you say... well I say, this beautiful, wonderful time of year will only last a few months! Because realistically, if you try listening to Christmas music in January, you start getting weird looks.

And, if you haven't noticed, there is everything from Fall/Halloween to Christmas up in the stores right now...so I'm not the only one off my rocker.
We've got 100 days. 100 days to prepare, to enjoy this magical season, to bounce from one awesome holiday to the next, to stress out a little bit for good reason, and best of all we've got several things to celebrate and excuses to get together! So start making those lists and get into the spirit!

*Oh, PS...I started writing this yesterday, so...99 days! And the photos posted are from years past...
Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend!