As the fluffy white snow falls to the ground all around me, and the air is as cold as ice, I am reminded of my favorite time of year, Christmas. Crunch, crunch, crunch, as I walk around the winter wonderland that is Wisconsin. All of the houses twinkling with their bright, colorful, shining, lights yet again reminding me of Christmas. A time for celebration, fun, and best of all presents. But, also getting time to spend with the family. Getting to connect with some of my family that we don’t see often. This is why I love Christmas so much.

With my grandparents living in Florida, Christmas is one of my favorite times of year because we get to visit them in Florida every single year. Visiting my grandparents is one of the best gifts because they're the greatest people on the planet. While Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, escaping the frozen tundra that is Wisconsin in winter is another great gift. However, the most important thing for me is spending as much time with my grandparents as possible because of how nice and caring they are. Always getting to hear funny stories from them on Christmas is some of my favorite times.

Reliving some of my younger memories of gifts on Christmas is why I love the general aroma of it. Remembering getting my favorite giant stuffed animal (I still have today) is just one of the many memories I have. Also, all the troubles of having a fake tree figuring out which branch goes where, then decorating, getting yelled at for hiding an ornament I hate behind the tree. Finding the pickle ornament always meant you got to be the first one to open a present (me being the youngest got to open up the first present anyways). 

While my siblings and I haven’t always gotten along, we could make an exception for Christmas. Always getting a secret santa between the four of us, not always the best gifts but ones that had the most meaning behind them. Maybe a little help from our parents, but the presents truly came from our hearts. Gift cards also have saved my brother and I from the hassle of frantically figuring out what to get our sisters for Christmas. My brother and I were also satisfied equally with receiving gift cards as we had been giving them. We try the best that we can but sometimes we fail, but that is ok.

Although; most of my Christmas memories are good there are a few traditions that I am not fond of. For example, we always do a second Christmas gift opening with our cousins who live in Wisconsin. Sounds nice on paper. However, it is quite apparent that they don’t want to spend time with us and the same feeling is reciprocated. It’s always the awkward dinner followed by a long and time-consuming present opening, as every one must see every single gift. Then it is followed by swift goodbyes for everyone. I live by the saying show up late and leave early. That is the best and only way to make me not lose my mind at these gatherings nobody wants to be at.

Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year, whether it is memories, spending time with family, or even opening presents. The cold snowflakes falling from the sky each year bring me back to the same place. While extremely cold during Christmas in the Wisconsin winters, I still love Christmas.