The greatest time of the year is finally upon us. That's right folks, it is finally October, which means...

Hallo-thanks-mas is HERE!

The last three months of the calendar year have got to be some of the most wonderful consecutive weeks we have the pleasure of experiencing. Now, I love spring and I also love the 4th of July (or Independence Day if you want to be really correct), but there is nothing quite like the excitement that the end of the year brings. It is just one holiday after another, and the weeks are loaded with good, happy things.

First of all, October means fall. Fall means cozy sweaters and scarves, pumpkin/apple/caramel everything, and leaves changing colors. I mean, how can you not be happy when you're walking outside, breathing in the crisp air, bundled up in a floppy sweater with a warm apple cider, and stepping on crunchy leaves? How can you resist all of the delicious opportunities to make and/or devour yummy treats like pumpkin pie, caramel apples, or some amazing combination of the two? And you have the chance to do some really fun things with all your friends like corn mazes or pumpkin carving or haunted houses (if that's your kind of thing). Plus, if you're a "basic white girl" like me, think of all the cute photo ops you have! This includes beautiful pictures of the leaves changing colors because nature likes to spoil us with things like that, and when something that gorgeous is presented to us, we can't ignore it.

Once we get used to the idea of fall and do all of the cute activities, we run head first into Halloween. Who doesn't love Halloween? There are so many aspects of it that pretty much anyone can have fun with it. You can dress up in costumes and have fun pretending to be someone else for a night. You can pig out on chocolate and candy and not be too harshly judged for it because that is perfectly acceptable during Halloween. Haunted houses and other scary places are also a huge part of why Halloween is awesome for some people. Personally, I'd rather cover my eyes and ears and run away from the scary people because why do people think it's fun to intentionally terrify themselves? But that's just me. There is also a barrage of amazing Halloween movies out there, both scary and family friendly (Disney Channel movies anybody?). Halloween is just a freaking great holiday.

By the time Halloween is over, Thanksgiving is basically right around the corner and that makes everyone happy. Sure you have to get through a couple more weeks of school, but those are bearable knowing you'll succumb to an epic food coma soon enough. Thanksgiving is such a wholesome holiday: It just makes you feel warm and fuzzy. You get to be surrounded by family and eat delicious food like turkey and sweet potatoes. Being able to have a day specially designated for being thankful for everything we have is such a breath of fresh air and reminds everyone to live like that every other day of the year, too. And if none of this makes you happy for some reason, the day after Thanksgiving is, by my definition, the beginning of the Christmas season!

We've just been rolling along down this hill of wonderfulness and eventually we stumble into Christmas carols and sledding and the first snow and, obviously, Christmas itself. Winter may not include the best weather, but one of the most exciting things is the first snow. It's so gentle (most of the time) and pretty, and it just makes you excited knowing that you could be walking in a winter wonderland shortly. Christmas music plays all the time and festive decorations are everywhere; the world just seems a little more joyous. I feel like you can't be unhappy around Christmas time.

All in all, we've entered the best time of the year and I know I'm excited. Bring on the joy and Happy Hallo-thanks-mas!