Sleigh bells ring, are ya' listening?

Yea, time to bring a huge, fragrant, messy, beautiful tree in the house. Having a live tree is my FAVORITE thing about the Christmas season. If I could, I would have a St. Pats tree decorated with Guiness cans and pint glasses and boughs of shamrocks, a 4th of July tree covered in many colored ribbons and and bursting with those funky fiber optic lights, or a fall tree wired with gords and Indian corn and raffia. Alas, once a year is all I get and so I make the most of it. For the second year in a row we went to a local outreach center for the homeless that sells trees as a fundraiser. They have a decent selection and you walk away feeling good about your purchasing habits...and the price, unbeatable! This year Griffin was all about helping pick out a "big one" and enjoyed watching it ride home from under the moon roof. He just cannot understand why we don't always have a tree strapped to the top of the car. I pulled out all the decorations and Christmas music and it only took us a couple of days to have the house finished. Now comes the fun part - cozying up to my love under the delicate lights of the tree, enjoying family and friends at holiday gatherings and baking cookies! Hope you all have done what it takes to get yourself into the spirit of the season - tell me what your favorite holiday traditions are!