Back Home For the Holidays

In the past, I usually distanced myself from as much of the holiday hoopla as possible. I watched the boat parade, wrote the family holiday letter, did my gift shopping, and helped with the clean-up, but the rest of it wasn't my cup of egg nog. But coming home for the holidays has made the experience a bit different. Spending as much time as possible with family and loved ones is the goal, so the holiday routine has changed a bit: helping with decorations, (still) gift shopping (though on a budget), making baked goods (see photo above), gift exchanges, helping dad find gifts for mom, watching holiday movies ("Christmas Vacation" is gold), making more baked goods and passing out gifts to the neighbors. It's really been a different type of holiday season for me. Christmas in New York is fantastic and all, but home really is where the heart is (aaaaaaaaw!). Now, if I could just come to my senses and learn the value of gift shopping early.