Yep, it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas in the Panek household. The tree and the outside decorations have been up since Thanksgiving weekend. There’s nothing like coming home to Christmas lights on the house. It just gives me so much joy. And sitting in the living room with nothing but the light of the Christmas tree? It’s one of my favorite things.
Often times, at this time of the year, Dave gets a bit grumpy. It’s not that he doesn’t like Christmas, but the chaos of it often drives him crazy. But this year we’ve managed to avoid the chaos and it’s been really pleasant. So far everyone is enjoying the season.
We got to see friends we haven’t seen in quite some time last weekend. We went to lunch and then to a holiday train garden with their 4-year-old son. Watching him experience his first Hibachi (” This is incredible!”) and then his excitement over the trains was really fun. Even Eli enjoyed the trains, which I wasn’t expecting. I thought he would be bored, but he really enjoyed it, which just made it feel that much more holiday-ish for Dave and I. The display itself was really cool, with lots of landmarks from all around Maryland. Everything from Ocean City to Martin State Airport to 34th Street (pictured below.)
It was so nice that we’re actually planning on going to another train display with another friend next week. And frankly, one of the best parts of the holidays is getting together with friends, so I am looking forward to it!
I still have a few gifts that I’m waiting for in the mail, but for the most part everything is here and I just finished wrapping today. I hate the actual act of wrapping gifts. I’m not a meticulous person so the fussiness of wrapping gifts annoys me. (Dave is much better at it than I am.) But I love the look of a freshly wrapped pile of gifts. I know it’s not supposed to be about presents and all of that, but it’s not really about getting them (though don’t get me wrong, I do like getting presents.) I ❤️❤️LOVE❤️❤️ GIVING PEOPLE PRESENTS! Nothing makes me happier than watching somebody open something and having them like it. So seeing a big pile of gifts that I hope people will like brings me joy as well.
And frankly, folks, it’s eggnog season. There isn’t anything much better than eggnog season, lol! 😋