For years-possibly my whole life really- I’ve been “that” friend. That one of the bunch that decides that Christmas season starts as soon as I say, that one that insists that some smooth Frank Sinatra Christmas carols are acceptable in October, and that Christmas commercials near Halloween are not the end of the world, contrary to popular belief. I am the friend that lives and breathes for Christmas season every year, and will quote It’s A Wonderful Life and Elf freely, any time of year.
Yes, I’m the “annoying friend who loves Christmas too much”.
In my defense, it’s not purely some insane obsession with Christmas. It’s not like stringing lights and hanging garland is all I look forward to all year, and wrapping presents isn’t my sole purpose in life. I don’t purposely try to drive everyone out of their minds with Christmas spirit—it’s just how I get by. I’m the type of person that can only function with a light at the end of the tunnel. There always needs to be some big end game, some grand prize, and Christmas is just that for me. As soon as classes start, Christmas is the big kahuna for me.
Can you really blame me, peers? Have we not just gone through the hell week of registration? Did we not just get over the painful mountain of midterms, and already, here we are, needing to take on all that and more for finals? And sure, the sole idea of free time, classes being over, a few weeks of freedom from assignments…that’s lovely, all well and good, just swell. But I’ve always preferred the big bang—I need celebration, a feast, music, movies and loud family members to look forward to. How can anyone begrudge me that? All those little kids who stay up on Christmas Eve, unable to sleep, unbearably antsy about the next morning? That’s me. Still.
Now, yes, I know the arguments that are made against those like myself. Christmas music supposedly gets old after awhile (yet I’ve been hearing the same Bieber song on the radio since at least March, for the record), the decorations are too bright and thus annoying (really?), and Christmas is, in fact, stressful; too much emphasis on gifts, that sort (bah humbug).
But may I remind everyone what Christmas really is about? If price tags are your concern, that’s a terrible and sad thing—gifts are, at the core, meant to be someone finding the perfect thing to light up someone else’s face. I’m as broke as every college student out there, but I save my pennies and immensely enjoy finding gifts that I think will really make a person glow on Christmas morning. Maybe I will buy my mom the newest Garmin, since it’s all she uses to cart us around, and maybe I will bake my roommate some chocolate chip cookies and wrap them nicely, her favorite thing in the entire world. Forget the price tag–I want to swell your heart with joy, period. If lights bother you, that’s simply a bah humbug attitude, if you ask me. Why does one person’s lawn ornaments affect you so much? Does someone else’s cheer really bog you down? If so, there are deeper questions you need to be asking yourself. And Christmas music on the radio realistically has a larger variety and less playing time than any pop station around—Rihanna and Bieber have dominated KISS 108 with the same few songs all year, and I love Pitbull, I do, but I can hear at least three of his songs in one hour in the car. And, please, let’s not get me started on Taylor Swift and One Direction….why would anyone buy their albums when they’re on constant repeat on the radio? Do you all not realize this? Is it really that different? Two months of Frank Sinatra’s Christmas crooning, or countless months of Bieber’s “Baby”….my answer here is obvious, at last (?).
I don’t know. Maybe I am a little delusional about Christmas. Maybe I do go over the top with cheer, get too giddy when I hear the songs and get just a little too hyped over buying people gifts I think they’ll love. Maybe I do get too excited to spend time with my family and friends, the people I love most in this whole world. Maybe I do incessantly quote Buddy The Elf, George Bailey, and Ralphie. Maybe me needing all this excitement just to get through the excruciating stress of finals and grades and everything that goes with that….is simply too much.
But I don’t think I could live any other way—you should try it sometime. Food for thought, my friends. Buck up and embrace the spirit, rather than rejecting it’s existence vehemently until December 1, and I promise your days will have a little more bounce to them.
Hee haw and Merry Christmas!