Editor's Corner
No presents, no problem
Ana Yanni
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Opinion
I'm not a grinch, not by any means. I love the holidays. It's arguably my favorite time of the year. The lights, the music, the snow all add to the ambiance that is my favorite season.
I even participate in numerous holiday traditions that most people consider silly. I get Christmas carols stuck in my head at the first sight of snow, I've decorated my own room in lights for as long as I can remember and I would wear red and green for the entire month of December if I could pull it off.
The holidays mean something different to everyone; for me, it's about family. There's something about being around the people I love when we're all putting up Christmas lights and eating dinner together.
It's not so much that I enjoy trekking through the woods in the ice-cold snow, but I love that I'm normally with my brother when I do it, and he normally makes me laugh. Even when things go horribly awry- one year our dog ate all the ornaments off the bottom of the tree- the spirit of the season will inevitably save the moment.
If there is one thing about the season I don't enjoy, it's presents. I hate that presents are attached to this holiday. The parts about Christmas that I love have nothing to do with presents-the parts I love are the traditions my family has created. I have my mother to thank for this. Never have I seen a woman get so excited about putting out the Christmas train, or decorating a tree. She would make my brother and me feel special by making a big fuss about letting us choose our favorite Christmas cookies for us to bake.
The fact that gifts are mandatory this time of year completely ruins the moment for me, mainly because nothing shows how little you know about someone as having to buy a gift for them, and nothing attatches value to a relationship like a gift card. Frequently have I found myself sandwiched somewhere in between not having enough money to buy someone something would actually like (that Ferrari he's been admiring), and having no clue what to get someone (and ending up getting them a scarf).
I even participate in numerous holiday traditions that most people consider silly. I get Christmas carols stuck in my head at the first sight of snow, I've decorated my own room in lights for as long as I can remember and I would wear red and green for the entire month of December if I could pull it off.
The holidays mean something different to everyone; for me, it's about family. There's something about being around the people I love when we're all putting up Christmas lights and eating dinner together.
It's not so much that I enjoy trekking through the woods in the ice-cold snow, but I love that I'm normally with my brother when I do it, and he normally makes me laugh. Even when things go horribly awry- one year our dog ate all the ornaments off the bottom of the tree- the spirit of the season will inevitably save the moment.
If there is one thing about the season I don't enjoy, it's presents. I hate that presents are attached to this holiday. The parts about Christmas that I love have nothing to do with presents-the parts I love are the traditions my family has created. I have my mother to thank for this. Never have I seen a woman get so excited about putting out the Christmas train, or decorating a tree. She would make my brother and me feel special by making a big fuss about letting us choose our favorite Christmas cookies for us to bake.
The fact that gifts are mandatory this time of year completely ruins the moment for me, mainly because nothing shows how little you know about someone as having to buy a gift for them, and nothing attatches value to a relationship like a gift card. Frequently have I found myself sandwiched somewhere in between not having enough money to buy someone something would actually like (that Ferrari he's been admiring), and having no clue what to get someone (and ending up getting them a scarf).
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