Merry and Bright

The holidays are a time for traditions. Though they're often cheesy and silly, I think that traditions define what it means to celebrate family, friends, and loved ones around the holidays. There are personal traditions (it doesn't feel like Christmas until I've watched It's a Wonderful Life) and there are family traditions (at Christmas dinner, my mom puts out those crackers with little prizes in them and we all wear our paper crowns through dinner, despite how silly we all look).

My favorite holiday tradition though is the annual party I have with my friends from high school. This year was our 10th annual-a big milestone! It started in 1999, in a friend's basement with a Secret Santa exchange, cookies, and silly movies, and has progressed to fancy appetizers, a ridiculous Yankee Swap, and plenty of libations. Our little group has grown to include boyfriends, husbands, pets, and soon, there will be babies. We are scattered around the country, and though we don't often talk or get together as much as we could, we still manage this one time a year to come together, saddle each other with crazy presents (this year I got a leopard-print "snuggle"--not to be confused with a Snuggie), and laugh until our stomachs hurt. It's a good time.