Ouachita Stories

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Whether it sounds cliché or not, Christmas is the greatest day out of the 364 days that surround it. Houses are filled with the sweet smells of Christmas baking, wallets are becoming lighter with all the gift buying and smiles are all around with Christmas spirit in the air. I like to think of myself as a "Christmasholic" because of my serious love for this special holiday. If you can relate to these things you might realize you're a bigger "Christmasholic" than you thought.

1. You have a Christmas countdown that you start using well before December even rolls around. Whether you have a chocolate advent calendar, a chalkboard countdown or an app on your phone, your Christmas countdown begins on Dec. 26.
   
   
2. Your house is dripping in twinkling lights and red and green decor. The Griswolds are the definition of what we all strive to make our houses look like during the holiday season. Hanging lights from the roof is a pain, but seeing your house shining bright amid your neighbors’ is the greatest reward.
   
   
3. You live for ugly Christmas sweater parties and your closet is filled with the tackiest of them all. If you haven't attended one tacky sweater party have you actually celebrated Christmas? From sweaters that light up to others embroidered with Santa's face, a tacky party is a happy party. Bring out the cider, put on your ugliest sweater and invite all your friends over for some holiday fun.
   
   
4. You spent the majority of your time on the couch watching all of your favorite holiday movies. Christmas with the Kranks or How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Whatever you choose, some downtime spent on the couch with family is always a good idea.
   
   
5. You buy those gingerbread house kits from the store even though they never turn out like the picture on the box. Let's be honest. Over all my years of gingerbread house construction and decoration, I have never mastered the art of perfecting the icicle icing that they show on the box every year.
   
   
6. Decorating Christmas cookies is a legit hobby. Cutout cookies are the cutest. Personalized treats can make a great gift and they're yummy to sample.
   
   
7. Your most used emojis this time of year include the Christmas tree and Santa. Enough said.
   
   
8. You can't wait to open one gift on Christmas Eve even though you know it's pajamas. I look forward to a new pair of Christmas Eve jammies every year. I mean, most of the break is spent in pajamas anyway, right?
   
   
9. It doesn't matter how old you are, you still use the Santa tracker. You know you can't resist. Santa...please stop here?
   
   
10. Your one wish every year is that it would snow on Christmas. Please Santa...just one white Christmas?
    
    
11. You immediately start planning your time around ABC's “25 Days of Christmas” TV schedule as soon as it comes out. And you probably have the times memorized of when your favorite shows come on.
    
    
12. You put your Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. The sooner you get it up, the more time you have to enjoy it.
    
    
13. You know what the four main food groups are during the holiday season. Candy. Candy Canes. Candy Corn. And Syrup.
    
    
14. You use an insane amount of gas and drive an obscene number of miles to look at all the Christmas light displays around town. Totally worth it.
    
    
15. The majority of your Twitter feed is just retweets of how many days are left until Christmas. We're in the home stretch, people!!!

 

By Stephanie Bell, a senior mass communications major from Stuttgart, Ark.

 

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