Friday, Dec. 19, 2008

Oh Christmas Tree...(w/video)

There's a giant penguin sitting on the edge of my desk... Filled with cookies.

As far as I know, there was supposed to be a cookie exchange at work, but I didn't see anyone else's' baked goods. Mine weren't that great, considering they were made this morning. The real X-mas cookies are being made this weekend.

As dangerous as all the recent snow is, I still love it. I don't mind having to scrape ice off my windshield. I don't mind the bottom 10 inches of my jeans being soaked everywhere I go. Something about the white snow makes me feel jolly.

Until you see yellow snow. Or brown snow. Or crashed vehicles.

I finally got a miniature Christmas tree, compliments of my mother or sister - depends on who you ask. The two-foot tree is in our living room, where I tried to make it look more festive by putting presents underneath. It just looks silly, quite frankly, especially since I have little sticky notes on each gift, reminding me who it is going out to. It's my little streak of OCD.

The tree is the only Christmas-related decoration in our house. The only thing festive outside is the newly fallen snow in our yard.

And of course, when you're the house that decides not to decorate, all the houses on your street are adorned with flashy snowmen, cardboard candy canes and festive wreaths, making your dimly lit house stand out that much more.

But it makes you wonder... Why are the big houses that would be so cool if they were decorated, usually the ones that are always left untouched? Are people too busy earning money to pay for the giant house that they can't put up a fake reindeer? Sure, religion could play a factor. Maybe the people are old and can't stand on the roof to put up lights. Maybe the house is cursed - or better yet, full of zombies.

There's a big house on the corner of our street that is the gingerbread color. Everyone calls it the "gingerbread house," and for Christmas we were hoping they would really make their nickname come to life. All they did was put up icicle lights.

We don't have a big house by any means, but we still don't decorate. The main reason is probably that we're poor. Why spend $50 on lights when that could pay for 25 1-liter Mountain Dews? Maybe when I have kids, priorities will shift. "What? You want an inflatable penguin nativity scene for the yard? Okay, we'll give up three dinners for that."

With Christmas just around the corner, that means First Night isn't too far away. Remember to stop by the HUB at CBC on New Years for live music and a chance to win a Nintendo Wii!!! Check out the video preview.