With just about a month until Christmas (yaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!), I have been thinking a lot about what makes Christmas special to me. From taking time to celebrate the brith of my Savior all the way down to my winter wardrobe, I have so many reasons to be thankful for Christmas.

The first and most important reason is celebrating Jesus. Now, I recognize that Jesus was not really born on December 25th, but it is nice to have a day and a season specifically set aside to reflect on the time that the Author of Salvation came into the world as a baby. My life would be so empty and joyless if it were not for my loving Redeemer; I want to acknowledge, love and appreciate Him every single day, but I love that there is a season set aside just to reflect on His first coming.

Next, I have not been valuing my family as much as I should recently; they have remained caring, loving, and constant, yet I have grown to isolate myself, but I want to change that. I have let myself drift from them, and seeing as how Christmas should be a time of togetherness, I want to grow close to my family once again. And I am not saying all this because I am filled with all the warm and fuzzy Christmas feels; I want my love for my family to be genuine and shine out genuinely. And if I just happen to be correcting my familial relationship around Christmas time, then perfect! No better time to start then right now.

Goodness gracious, where would I be without my friends?! They are not blood family, but they are family by choice. My choice and their's. Each of my friends have helped me through so much in my life, and I am so thankful that they have been there to show me love and to speak life into some of my darkest moments. In the spirit of Christmas, I am filled to the brim with sentimental love for each and every one of my friends.

What about giving gifts? Okay, okay, okay! This is honestly the first thing I think about as Christmas draws nearer. I love spoiling those I love (within good reason). Finding things that make my family and friends happy and then gifting them all with said things . . . *sighs* little else brings me such happiness!

Although, getting gifts is just as fun. Alright, I am not gonna lie. I am a child around Christmas, and like I child, I love getting gifts. I am still always the first one up on Christmas morning, the first one by the tree, itching to get started! And it is not necessarily that I adore the gifts themselves (though I always do), but I value who gave the gift more! Just the feeling of, "Oh my goodness, the fact that you took time to search out something that brings me joy shows another facet of your love for me" is enough to put the biggest smile on my face!

\Oooooooohhhhhhh my goodness. Christmas music is just so wonderful!!! So happy, so innocent, so sweet. Yeah, there are those sad Christmas songs, but I personally don't listen to those songs in particular; not because there is anything bad about them, it is just that . . . this is suppossed to be such a joyful season, why listen to sadness? I don't know. To each his own, I guess. But, yeah, Christmas music in general makes me so happy (Chuck Berry's Run Run Rudolph is playing in my headphones at the moment and I am grinning ear to ear)!

Something that's just as good as the Christmas music are the Christmas movies. "It's A Wonderful Life" is my personal favorite, but they are mostly all spectacular. We have a tradition in our house that we can't really start celebrating Christmas till after dark on Thanksgiving night; we kick off the Christmas festivities by all gathering close and putting on the OG animated "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" that came out in 1966. Yeeessss, the Jim Carrey version is pretty awesome too, but, for me, the original animated featurette will always be more special.

The tree, the ornaments, the lights!!!! Oh, how I love decorating for Christmas. Every year, we get a tree the day after Thanksgiving, and we decorate it as a family the next day. Dad and I always decorate the outside of the house together, planning out where each and every strand of light will go; we have almost gotten it down to an exact science. I also have a miniture ceramic Christmas village that I put out on display every year with houses and trains and people and trees and snow! Of course, we have a manger scene that we display as well!

Next to the decorations, if and when we actually do get a decent snowfall, I will be extremely happy! There is just something innocent and childlike about snow, and I hope that I never grow to dislike it. Yes, as I became of driving age, I have become a bit frustrated when snow conflicts with my travel schedule, but I still love each and every snowfall dearly. So pure, so lovely. Hoping for lots of snow this year!!!

I'm not a huge fan of hot chocolate, but this is the one season where I find it acceptable to drink. Back in the last state I lived, there was this historical tourist district that was beautifully scenic and just utterly romantic to stroll around during Christmas time. I always enjoyed going down to walk around after dark with a warm cup of hot chocolate cradled in my hands. With marshmallows, of course.

Mittens, scarves, and coats, oh my! Last on my list is winter wardrobe! I have been blessed with some adorable coats, mittens, and scarves over the years, and I get really excited when it finally becomes cold enough for me to whip them out of storage and lovingly wear them for a few months out of the year.

In saying all of this, there is the realization that not everyone has the opportunity to be thankful for the things I have listed. Not everyone has family or friends. Not everyone has access to warm winter clothes. Not everyone has a house to decorate for Christmas. Not everyone finds joy in the Christmas season. This is a sad truth, but it is a truth that needs to be recognized. So, maybe this Christmas, find some time to take the focus off of you and onto those in need; maybe dontating warm clothes to a local organization or taking time to comfort someone who has perhaps lost a loved one. If this season is really to be about focusing on Christ, then perhaps we can follow His example by showing unconditional love to our fellow man.