Christmastime has traditionally been one of my favorite times of the year... getting together with family, eating great food, and relaxing and having good conversation with pretty decorations all around.

Our family has been doing a white elephant in lieu of traditional gifting for the past couple years- basically, everyone buys a gift around a certain amount, say $20-30. It's wrapped and put in a pile. Everyone takes a number and picks a gift in order. When it's your turn, you can either choose an unwrapped present from the pile, or 'steal' an already opened gift you'd like from someone else in the circle (then that person has to choose an unwrapped gift to replace it). When one round is done, and all gifts are opened, you go back around in reverse order and either keep or trade the gift you have! It's a lot of fun, takes less time to shop for, doesn't cost too much, and if you end up with something somewhat useless, it's not a big deal! haha

However you celebrate your holidays, enjoy the time with family and/or friends- or be thankful you only need to see certain ones once a year! *chuckles* Being agnostic and not very religious at all, this holiday is more about spending time with the people I care about and enjoying the traditions I've grown up with, and the new ones that I've grown into!

When I think of Christmas Eve, I imagine snuggling up in a comfortable chair, warm and cozy, with only the soft glow of Christmas lights all around... I hope you all have the most wonderful holidays! And have a mug of hot chocolate for me- one of my favorite things around this time of year. And a candy cane- I am red and white, after all. ;)

Taka <3