Yay! December is here and that of course means that Christmas is well on it’s way! I have been preparing for Christmas for well over two months and I am pleased to report to you that I am more than halfway done with my holiday shopping! I wanted to save a little bit of the shopping so I could experience the joyous event of Christmas shopping in the mall as you juggle your bags and your Starbucks Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha and check your list (yes, I carry a list) every so often to make sure that you’re right on track! My kicks for this month are 100%, purely and totally devoted to the holiday season and I’d have it no other way. We just had our first big snow here in Columbus and while the weathermen stated that it’d be a, “light snow, possibly up to half an inch to one inch”. Well…looking outside right now, it’s been snowing all day and it’s more like we’re closing in on three inches. Crazy… but not as crazy as the local drivers. I almost want the local news channels to do a segment on how to properly drive in this weather, I think that it would do nothing but good for the community and would be a nice refresher for everyone. Even though I’ve dedicated the majority of this month into buying presents to satisfy the kicks of my family and friends (in the form of presents, of course), I have picked out a few things that I feel need to be shown some lovin’ in my December Kick List!

1 ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas: One of my favorite things to do during Christmas is to make some hot chocolate, wrap Christmas presents, and have one of the Christmas movies on ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas playing in the background. I especially enjoy those old Bass & Rankin claymation/animated movies like The Year Without a Santa Claus, Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town, and Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I always used to really love ABC’s 25 Days of Christmas…but I’ve noticed a trend in the last year or two that has made me turn to alternate Christmas channels like Hallmark and Lifetime (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). Lately, they have been playing movies that have nothing to do with Christmas and I’m not sure if this is due to the fact that not everyone celebrates Christmas and they want to provide “family” movies to promote the spirit of spending of time with family and friends…but clearly, The Incredibles and Harry Potter are not Christmas movies! In fact, they aren’t even going to play those old-school movies until the middle of the month– which makes me pretty sad. But! Nonetheless, they eventually will play those movies and when the time comes I will most definitely be watching them. You can check out the schedule on the ABC Family website at: abcfamily.go.com.

2 Cost Plus World Market: I am madly in love with World Market and this love affair has been going on for a very long time. I took my relationship to a new level when I was officially the first customer to enter the Easton store on Black Friday (at 7:00 a.m.). In case anyone was wondering, it was actually a really enjoyable experience! I got a really cute, free ornament of a monkey holding a globe– which may seem random, but it actually matches the theme of my Christmas tree which is an all-around the world theme. I also got a National Geographic sponsored coupon book that came bound in a little leather passport filled with great percent off coupons as well as buy-one-get-one offers. The global collection of glass ornaments, which are originally $19.99, were half off so I of course had to take advantage of that! All sale talk and bargain bragging aside, World Market is a great store any day of the year and has something in store for everyone. They have a great collection of furniture, candles, dishes, and even a really nice wine and gourmet food selection. If you don’t have one of these gems in your area, you can at least pay a visit to their online store at: worldmarket.com.

3 Christmas Cookies: Of course, one of my guilty pleasures any day of the year is cookies– but especially during the holiday season where it’s okay, in fact it’s encouraged, to eat Christmas cookies! My family has an annual tradition of getting together a couple of weeks before Christmas and baking way too many Christmas cookies and swapping new recipes with each other. This year, I am armed with an assortment of new recipes compliments of the Food Network sending me a new cookie recipe for the 12 Days of Cookies. I particularly took an interest to Giada’s Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Cookies which only takes 10 minutes for 12 yummy cookies! Search around the Food Network’s website for more interesting/delicious cookie recipes at their website: foodnetwork.com.

4 Christmas Cards: One thing that I love about receiving Christmas cards is that it’s the one time of the year where people truly utilize the post mail system. I have a feeling that postmarked mail won’t survive very long with the switch over to the convenience of e-mail, but I hope that it holds out as long as it can. It’s always nice to get an e-mail from a friend or family member, but nothing beats getting a card in your mail box– especially when it’s among junk mail and bills! A Christmas card is more than just a way to show you’re thinking about someone during the holiday season, but it’s also a reflection of self. You can tell a lot about a person based on the type of Christmas card that they send…in fact, it’s really interesting if you’ve saved your Christmas cards throughout the years to look through and see how tastes have evolved throughout the years. I’ve always opted for the cute Christmas card option, but if you were to line up the Christmas cards I’m going to see receive this year…I’d be able to tell you who sent which card depending on the style alone! If you want to look at some cool Christmas cards, I highly recommend checking out the Galison website (home to the featured card) at: galison.com.

5 Hot Chocolate: I am such a fan of hot chocolate, but I am also a little picky about it, too. First and foremost, I am a marshmallow lover like none other and am very fond of using marshmallow fluff rather than just the tiny marshmallows (adding on the calories one dollop at a time). Secondly, I love flavored hot chocolate and if it lacks any sort of flavor at all (you know– the hot water taste), I’m not a big fan of that. All in all, I just love hot chocolate and all of the things that attribute to it’s yummy goodness. Starbucks has some delicious hot chocolate and I also like Bob Evans (random..but…it’s true). Last year, Brett and I sent out little packs of The Good Grief Cafe’s Hot Chocolate with our Christmas cards. They come in Charlie Brown’s Vanilla Cocoa, Snoopy’s Sweet Smores Cocoa, Peppermint Patty’s Candy Cane Cocoa, and Lucy’s Holiday Hazelnut Cocoa. They were a big splash with our recipients, but a little pricey since we have over twenty recipients! Unfortunately, I can’t find these for sale anywhere online– but! I know that World Market has them at their store, so pick up a pack if you’re out and about and try one, it’s yummy!

There you have it! My Current Kicks List for the Month of December! I hope that you’re all having a great December so far and that the weather isn’t too bitterly cold where you are. Also, if you have anything that you’re currently lovin’, please do share it with me!

Here’s to watching the classic Christmas movies while drinking marshmallow-loaded hot chocolate and perhaps even wrapping some presents in the process!

-M.