On October 15, I accidentally clicked on my favorite Spotify playlist, endearingly titled “THE ONLY HOLIDAY THAT MATTERS.”However, it occurred to me about six songs in that it, in fact, was not a mistake, but the beginning of a season near and dear to my heart: The Christmas Season. Sure, I still had Halloween to endure, and the leaves had still not completely changed colors, let alone fall off. I acquiesce that maybe, just maybe, it was not officially the season that I cherish in my heart of hearts. However, none of that mattered. As the sweet sound of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” resonated throughout my brain, I knew that for me at least, thus began my Christmas cheer. Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. The decorations, the food, the music, and the incredibly cheesy movies come together to create the most well-rounded, amazing joy-inducing holidays of them all. It is my favorite part of the entire year, and looking forward to the holiday is what hypes me up enough to make it through the most grueling part of the semester.

I have always been obsessed with Christmas, for as long as I can remember. Growing up with my grandparents being my best friends, ornament shopping and sweaters were an integral part of my childhood. I was (and still am) not a very outdoorsy person. Christmas meant (and still does) staying indoors, reading books, and curling up with a cup of hot chocolate without having to worry about bugs or the obligatory outdoor time that my family always tried to impose on me in the summertime. In winter, indoor activities are encouraged, which meant it was my time to shine. This season means I can go full-perfectionist, curl up with my scissors and paper, make ridiculously intricate paper snowflakes and obsess over the placement of my grandmother’s Christmas decorations.

More than the enabling of hermit-like behavior, Christmas is one of the few times a year I can spend more than a few days doing absolutely nothing. Outside of a few scattered dance rehearsals, winter break means I can just shop, sleep, and binge-eat my grandma’s sugar cookies. Like most high schoolers, it seems like my to-do list is never-ending during most of the school year. During Christmas break, I log out of snapchat, leave my surface at home, and become completely unproductive outside of baking and shopping. I can just recline in my favorite chair in the family room, watch some movies, play with my baby cousins, and be unconcerned with the same things that are constantly on my mind otherwise. It’s absolutely glorious.

Christmas is so much more than just new things for me. Of course, they don’t hurt, but it’s so much more than the gifts. It means being present (pun absolutely intended). Christmas was one of the few things that redeemed the mess that was 2016. After the election, the stress of my first finals, and the overall stress of high school, Christmas was something positive to keep my mind on. The holiday continues to be that for me. It means togetherness, and surviving on only cookies and peppermint-flavored things. It means that no matter how bad everything else is, I’ll always be able to count on my whole family coming together under a Christmas tree, binge-eating cookies and knowing that everything could get better. The Christmas season is the most comforting thing in the entire world for me, and that’s what makes it the most wonderful time of the year.