Top 14 Christmas...

So it's 11:10pm on a Friday here in California, and I can't sleep. Maybe it's all the cold medicine I'm hopped up on, or the fact I haven't posted on my blog in almost a week. I guess I have a lot on my mind, so what better than put down my Top 14 things I love about Christmas.

1. Puppy Chow- ah yes, that Crispix-covered-in-chocolate-peanut-butter-powdered-sugar deliciousness we only seem to eat during the holidays. Man that stuff is good.

2. It's a Wonderful Life- Just one of the many holiday movies we watch every year around this time. Gorgeous Donna Reed, charismatic Jimmy Stewart, and that sexy scene between the two of them (that supposedly they shot in one take) while Mary chats to her boyfriend over the phone and George listens in. Maybe it's a fluff holiday piece, but I don't care. Jimmy Stewart is amazing in that movie. Plus it takes place in 'Bedford Falls'. Bedford is my maiden name.

3. Wrapping presents- I love the feel of crisp wrapping paper between my fingers. The velvety feel of scotch tape, the metallic shine of curling ribbon. There is a nostalgia to it I can't quite describe.

4. My mom's house- I have so many vivid memories of Christmas at my Mom and Bert's house. They have lived in the same place for 18 years, and I feel I did most of my growing up there. I have so many cherished memories of Christmas' past. Watching my mom assemble her Department 56 houses into a village, and watching it grow every year. The pine garland winding down the staircase railing. Listening (with disdain) every year for 20 years to A Kenny and Dolly Christmas on cassette (she finally broke down and bought the CD a year or so ago). Lastly, my sophomore year of high school is what clearly comes to mind. This was the year Les and I became friends, and we shared so many laughs and embarassments together that year. (Hey Les- ORNAMENT!)

5. Elf- Both the movie and the soundtrack just put me in a happy mood. We all know what a comedic genius Will Farrell is, but he really shines in this sweet movie about a human, mistaken for an Elf from birth, leaves the North Pole to find his father in New York City. Along the way he meets and falls in love with Jovie (played by Zooey Deschanel), eats spaghetti and saves Christmas. The soundtrack features some great tunes by Louie Prima, Leon Redbone, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ms. Deschanel herself, whose voice sweetly channels Brenda Lee.

6. My Grandma Ellis' house- Every year since birth, we spend Christmas Eve at my Mom's moms house, my Grandma and Grandpa Ellis. Bob and Geraldine (my grandparents) have been hosting the event for as long as I can remember. My mom is the youngest of five children, and when you get all of those Irish catholic drunks in the house, things begin to get a little sticky. Each year, we all arrive in the afternoon, eat salty peanuts and cashews and awkwardly converse with family members we see only over the holiday. We anxiously await the arrival of notoriously late family Aunt Roberta and Uncle Bill from Rockford, IL, and my Aunt Evie and Uncle Dick, who live in the same town as Grandma and Grandpa... yet they are always the last to arrive. Grandma, who is nearly 90 years old, broke a hip a few years ago, and barely weighs 85 pounds soaking wet, mumbles the Lord's Prayer, and we all dig into the food. The past few years, it's just been tapas and finger foods, as the g-parents are getting old and hate the hassle. Little do they know it's probably just as much hassle as if they made their usual ham. We eat, the mood gets a little more relaxed. Uncle Dick and Uncle John (who only comes every few years from Detroit) spike their drinks with whiskey, the stoners of the fam go out onto the porch and smoke a joint, and Uncle Dick starts to fart, or starts talking about farting. That's when you know it's time to open gifts. The gift exchange between the adults has long since died, and now we all just sit around and my watch my cousin's kids open presents. When my mother has stripped down to her tank top and starts swearing about how "f-ing hot it is in here!", that's our cue to leave. Despite all the strangeness, I look forward to it every year. It never changes, and that's why I love it.

7. Cuddle time- Rob and I have a tradition. Near the end of a long day, we will put on one of our many Christmas CD's and curl up together on the couch. More oft than not, we will fall asleep in the warmth of our embrace, then whine and crab when one or the other of us wakes and suggests we go to bed and sleep. But it's our little thing. It brings us close to each other.

8. A Christmas Story- Who doesn't love this classic holiday movie? My favorite scenes are everywhere, from the tongue stuck to the flagpole, to the Electric Leg in the window, to the last scene of the four of them eating Chinese food on Christmas Eve, all the while serenaded by four Chinese guys singing "Deck the Hars with bars of horry- fa ra ra ra ra ra ra ra ra".

9. Chex Mix- why do we only make Chex Mix at Christmas? It's so damn good.

10. Getting drunk with my stepdad- Christmas is a time for drinking a lot of beer with Bert, and I have fond memories of the first Christmas I was legal to drink. Lou, Bert and I got wasted at Grandma Thomas' (Bert's parents) house. Good times.

11. Scrooged- Bill Murray is a gem in this movie. It is so 80's, right down to Mary Lou Retton playing Tiny Tim, to the Solid Gold Dancers in their last appearance before Solid Gold was cancelled. Plus David Johansen (Buster Poindexter) is perfect as the taxi driver/Ghost of Christmas Past from Brooklyn. And I'm a sucker for that adorable kid at the end who says "God Bless us, everyone". Takes my damn breath away every time.

12. Christmas at the Elfline's- Much like Christmas Eve at my Grandma's, there is a tradition of Christmas with Rob's folks. Most years, whist living in Cincinnati, we would stay with Rob's parents over the holiday. This year we are staying with mine. But I'm sure the tradition of orange rolls and weak coffee will continue on without us this year. Presents are opened, youngest to oldest (which meant I was always first), then we would all sit around and play with our gifts until it was time to shower and get ourselves ready for the Christmas orgy that would soon take place. Uncle Drake and Aunt Jan, displaced from the 60's, arrive pretty stoned, eating everything in sight and talking to us about organic farming. Aunt Gay (I'm not kidding, that is seriously her name) arrives soon after, bearing some really disgusting gelatin mold (one year, it had horseradish in it???) and bringing 96 year old Grandma with her. Grandma is fun, and usually begins talking at random to anyone who will listen, and won't make a point. Dinner soon follows, with crown roast of pork and a standard English menu follows= bland food. Then it's onto the presents once again. After a plethora of gifts and dessert, it's time to sit in front of the fire or tv and have a major sugar crash.

13. Christmas Morning- I used to wake at 6:30am on the dot every Christmas when I was a kid. Even up through college I would. Now, I'm pretty much into sleeping in on the big day. But man, I can remember those mornings. Mom and Bert would leave the lights burning on the tree all night long. I'd wake up, run into the living room and just sit there, taking in the sight of all those gifts under the tree, the twinkling of the lights and the tinsel. It was so beautiful.

14. Gremlins- This movie is why Bert had to sleep in the hallway when I was a young girl. Scared the bejesus out of me. Go see my friend Zach's blog, star of this infamous freakin' scary holiday movie.

There is only one thing I'd like to add to this list, and that would be spending a Christmas with my Dad and Cathy. Because they live in Texas, it's hard for both them to come up and for us to go down. I'm hoping one of these years we are able to make it down to spend the holiday with them.

Merry Christmas everyone!