Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Goodnight!

It's officially Christmas Eve, and I'm as excited as my kids are for the annual festivities. One slight problem; the Christmas party has been cancelled for the first time in thirty eight years due to an idiot in the family. Have not fear, Momma Claus is here.

I will never allow anything or anyone to ruin Christmas for me. My Lord and Savior was born regardless of who does what, and my kids will still have gifts to open, as will my nephews and nieces. There is no better joy for me than watching a child (more specifically, those in my family) open a gift I lovingly picked out just for them.

So, if the party is cancelled, what shall I do? I'll tell you what I'm going to do- I'm going to shower, put on some makeup and some goofy Christmas jewelry. Then, I'm going to load the kids, and the gifts into the car and head out to my family. First, my sister's house. I can't wait to see my nephews' expressions when they open their gifts. Then, I'll head to my mom's where the kids will open the gifts grandma chose for them.

Okay, so there will be no chocolate chip cookies, no rye bread and dill dip, no sandwiches and relish tray. There will, however, still be joy. There will still be gifts. There will still be love.

 I don't need no stinking party!

Ah, the month for lovers...

Or at least for the merchandisers and sellers of all things Valentine's Day. We don't celebrate V-Day in our house. When I say 'we' I mean my husband and myself. I still buy hearts and such for the kids, but our wedding anniversary is six days later, and I find that much more romantic.

'Well, if you don't want to celebrate Valentine's Day, then why did you get married so close to it?' You ask. It wasn't exactly planned like that. We were in love, he took a day off, and we ran off to the Courthouse. Some may find that not-so-romantic, but I loved it. There was no stress leading up to the day, no huge budget set aside, no fights amongst the in-laws, and no overly drunk guests. Just me, Mike, my mom, siblings, and his best friend. Perfect! The only people missing were my kids, and they were in school.

This year there are so many options for lovers to celebrate. There's the usual dinner and a movie, of course, but today I heard a twist. Dinner and a movie at the same time! This weekend through Monday you can go to The Galaxy, dish out $70 and you and your honey get dinner, movie, and endless popcorn and soda. Another of my favorites is the White Castle Valentine Dinner. Yep, you read that right. You can actually make reservations at White Castle and they will come to your table to take your order while you gaze across the table at your loved one lit up by candlelight. This has become quite a trendy thing through the years. Now, I've yet to go for the dinner, but, hey, when your husband is in a band, you tend to eat a lot Whities at 3am.

So, this year, I wondered...how does the rest of America celebrate the love holiday? Are you traditional with roses and chocolates? Do you go a little risque and put on a strip tease for your honey? Or, like us, do you just skip the holiday all together?