Xmas is never really close enough until ” ’tis the season”, but it’s been getting so cold at night these days that I started a bit early.

But I didn’t just pull thoughts of Xmas out of thin air: That J.Todd Anderson party turned out wonderfully.  The commons looked “fireplace” cozy with those rugs! Speaking of fireplaces:

Somehow, Morteza and I got to chatting about Xmas in America vs. New Years in Iran.  While I would love a nationwide 13 day vacation, I think I’d bawl my eyes out without Xmas, and not for the celebrations or the spirit of giving or the Macy’s day parade (ugh) or anything.  I’d turn into a soppy mess without Christmas for entirely different reasons, and here they are:

1. Christmas music is phenomenal. Full stop.

2.  All of the pumpkin and eggnog flavored paraphernalia find their way back onto the grocery store shelves

3. You can’t beat that color scheme

4. The smell of pine and the smell of roasting chestnuts is enough to make me want to hug the air

5. Jingle bells of any variety could probably soothe an angry mountain lion (don’t try that)

6.  CHRISTMAS LIGHTS!  Not the tacky ones that have the full Pantone color spectrum, but you know the traditional ones that just twinkle?  Yeah, I’ve thumb-tacked a string of those white ones to my wall instead of using the overhead light.  No, I’m not kidding.

Luckily, these little pearls of happiness are attainable independently (for the most part) of the date 12/25, so in a hectic time like last week, I can play some Bing Crosby on my iPod and shake some jingle bells in a pinch, and I’ll be good to go.