For the entire month, my radio has been tuned to 92.9 FM because I cannot get enough Christmas music.  I just love it.

My eldest daughter is right there with me, by the way, and that she & I enjoy carpool karaoke-Christmas style 😉

For me, when Christmas music is playing and it’s storming outside, I just see beauty.  It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… The traffic is manageable, and while Baby, it’s cold outside,  the dark and cold early evenings are simply a sign of the long-awaited winter break. Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I could listen to Walking in a Winter Wonderland on loop and not get sick of it.  At this time of year, hardly a day goes by where I don’t catch myself singing or humming it to myself at some point.

I caught Mommy kissing Santa Claus always gives me a chuckle and while I think it’s intended to do the same, I feel like I should be remotely horrified at Grandma got run over by a reindeer.

I won’t say that the Little Drummer Boy floats my boat, but I am SO happy to be Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree, while there are chestnuts roasting on an open fire in my toaster oven. You’ll often hear me humming I’ll be home for Christmas…if only in my dreams.

Do they know it’s Christmas? by Band Aid evokes goosebumps & tears and throws me back a few decades, remembering We are the World and artists coming together for a cause.

Of course, there have been times where I catch myself belting out a more religiously-inclined song …”Oh come let us adore….!” and, well… let’s just say I catch myself 😉

I obviously realize that there is a religious aspect to Christmas, and I’d be a fool not to realize that there is also a commercial side. To be honest, it’s neither of these aspects that attract me, even though some would argue that the whole decorating thing is very commercial (and that DOES attract me).

It’s just the SPIRIT of the holiday. I can’t help but love it.

As a child, every year we’d celebrate Christmas at the home of my Mom’s best friend, whom I referred to and thought of as my Aunt.  The tree was magic, as was the turkey. Even though there were always gifts, I remember calm as opposed to giddy excitement.  I do remember, however, a certain excitement to see the tree or to help decorate it.

I can’t say that today I’d go so far as getting a hanukah bush (although they are actually commercially available) For me, I see the Christmas traditions as part of the magic of Christmas, while Hanukkah traditions are part of the magic of Hanukkah…and believe me there’s plenty of magic there, too! Those of you who follow regularly know that I just did a segment on Breakfast Television about Planning the Perfect Hanukkah Party.

If we were celebrating Christmas, I am completely the type who would be checking out the latest decorating trends, but still need to maintain the traditional. I’m pretty sure that I would have a tree outside, in addition to the one inside and likely one at my office as well.

There would be ornaments… and special dishes… and linens – Oh my!

No doubt that I would keep adding to the collection of ornaments every year…milestone ornaments, kid-made ornaments, and of course Disney ornaments.

My lights would still be white, though…with maybe some blue 😉

What do I mean by ‘still’?  Well, although I see no “Hanukkah bush” in our near future, Hanukkah is, after all,  the festival of lights, so isn’t it natural that we have mini-lights strung up in the window? ( Some have dreidel & menorah shapes, but we have the simple white mini lights as well!)

On the business of how far I might go to Deck the Halls, let’s just say that over the years, I have managed to find enough decorations to fill storage bins: 3 for Hanukkah, another 2 for Passover, a smaller one for Purim , oh and 2 more biggies for Sukkoth of course!

Now, given that the availability of Hanukkah decorations is limited compared to anything Christmas-themed, can you imagine how many bins I would have if we celebrated Christmas?!? I would need a whole Christmas room! I’m pretty sure my hubby is REALLY happy that I only love Christmas ‘from afar’, and that we don’t actually celebrate it LOL!

Make no mistake though: Hanukkah still gives us plenty of opportunity to celebrate ‘over-the-top’ , complete with *only* 3 bins full of decorations, traditional potato latkes, chocolate coins & dreidel-playing as well as our own family traditions  of Hanukkah Bingo, Latke Poutine, Nutella-filled Sufganiyot (doughnuts) and Samosas (Yes, samosas!  I decided one year that these counted as deep-fried potato & well, now we do it EVERY YEAR!)…and yes, of course we have Hanukkah music as well 😉

I LOVE Hanukkah traditions but that doesn’t mean that I can’t still be a Christmas-Loving Jew 🙂

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Eid, Diwali or any other holiday(s), at whatever time of year you celebrate, I wish you and your loved ones lots of love, light & laughter this (and every) holiday season. Appreciate your special traditions, and if you are so inclined, appreciate the traditions of others as well 🙂 Sing, eat, be merry and enjoy!

And as we enter 2017, I wish us all a year of health, happiness, prosperity and last, but certainly not least, PEACE ON EARTH.

Tanya