Despite moaning and groaning about this time of year and the stress it brings, there are a few things I find uniquely wonderful about the holiday season:

  • I love those cheap, big tins of popcorn. You know, the ones that come with butter, popcorn and caramel flavored popcorn. Yum! I could eat that cheese and butter popcorn for ages, which is probably about how long it’s been sitting in a tin. My sister likes the carmel popcorn so I pass on my partially-used tins to her.
  • I like getting holiday cards. I think the photo ones are great because I can see how friends’ kids are growing up. The family letters and occasional holiday CD amuse me. But, best of all, I have a few friends who are graphic designers and design their own cards. Those are alwaysfun to see.
  • Although I think I am pretty terrible at receiving gifts, I love to give them. I take it as a personal challenge to find people the absolute best thing. After the holidays I’ll expand on some of my greatest finds.
  • White Christmas and Holiday Inn are both super movies and it only seems right watching them over the holidays so I fully take advantage of their repeated airings. I’ve struggled with both films over the years because of some pretty blatant race issues, but I try to just enjoy the stories.
  • Despite really wanting to support local businesses, my primary coping mechanism over the holidays is to do my shopping online. It’s fast, convenient and I never have to set foot in a mall.  My online shopping is fed by all of the gift guides that are published over the holidays. I love the ones by Design Sponge and My Life Scoop the best. These guides are what keep me connected with current, quirky items available online.
  • Finally, I like the holidays because I get to see all of my family and friends. I wish things were a little calmer and that I got to spend more quality time with people, but I’ll take what I can get!
This post originally appeared on Kate’s Point of View. © Kate. All rights reserved.