My cousin just sent me a draft of a blog he was doing for a friend. It was a rant about Christmas and family. I thought it might be a good idea to start off this month with something negative before getting into the joys of the holiday season. Today is actually the last day of November and already I've written all my cards and sent most of them out. I've also purchased gifts for almost everyone on my list and some of the outdoor decorating has been done. You might think that this is a bit early and I'm some type of weird overachiever. But the reason for all this hurry is so that once these mandatory tasks are done, I can actually try to relax in the month of December.

The older I get, the more cranky I'm getting about a holiday which I actually really like. Shopping for this season has turned into a yearly exercise in loss of patience, panic, frustration and bankruptcy. Families seem more annoying than usual and friends always seem to forget that there are 11 other months in the year when we can see get together. A cheery dinner in the middle of January or February would mean so much more to me than to squeeze in another fatty and drunken meal in one of only 4 weekends in the month of December. That's what my cousin was writing about, but in a more colourful way using way more colourful adjectives than I dare even think about. It's a very "progressive" blog site apparently.

Having said all that, I've decided that this is the year to start my cheesy Christmas theme movies collection. It might be a very ambitious idea, but I've already started with a couple of DVDs I picked up at a black Friday sale. What is it about that Norman Rockwell scene played out in a movie that I really like so much?! I think that I become transported to a world that is perfectly played out with the help of Hollywood writers and beautiful actors. I also like kooky movies to laugh at such as "A Christmas Story" and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". Who wants a leg lamp or a charred cat for the holidays?! The one I really want is Henry Winkler starring in "An American Christmas Carol". That one has eluded me for years!

Don't think of me as a modern day Ebenezer. I love this time of year. Sometimes I just get a little cranky!

Here are some great items to get started with the holidays