Doesn't it feel like Christmas is being such a sneaky dickens this year, creeping up out of nowhere? Christmas Eve is three weeks from today - THREE WEEKS. How is that possible? Where did that come from? I love Christmas, but I definitely set my holiday expectations way too high and inevitably end up somewhere north of disappointed and just barely south of full-on basket case. Last year, Christmas was a disaster. We were struck by the plague at our house - three weeks of just feeling like absolute ass which peaked the week of Christmas through New Year's. It was awful. I rarely get sick, and never for more than a day or two. My mom pointed out that sometimes, trying to do too much and not getting enough rest takes its toll on your immune system, and while I just snapped some snotty response at her, I think she was right. I crammed my plate last December and skipped things like sleeping and eating well, and paid the price. Lesson learned.

This year, I'm scaling back, just a wee bit. I won't be hand-crafting cards and making six flavours of fudge every weekend. I want to have a fun holiday with my family - but I don't want to kill myself doing it. That's the goal. Holiday cheer sans hospitalization. Shooting for the stars in 2013!

Some people say you start making new traditions when you have kids of your own, but I disagree. I was as single as single gets when I started watching the SNL Christmas special every year, and the fact that I was watching and laughing at it by myself (while drinking a shit ton of Baileys that I didn't have to share) made it no less enjoyable for me. Peter and I were shacked up but not married when we started spending Christmas Eve making obscene amounts of nachos and watching A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life (which we've never managed to stay awake for, probably thanks to all the nachos). What I'm saying is, regardless of your family situation or marital status, Christmas can be a special time.

This year, I'm looking forward to lots of things with Pete and Eli. Eli is two now so Christmas is pretty new to him. His first Christmas, he was a blatting lump, and last year, he was one, so he was kiiiiiind of taking it in, but also pretty neutral about the festivities. This year is different. He loves seeing Christmas lights. He's afraid of Santa. He's feeling the feels, good and bad. And it's so much fun to see the holidays through his eyes!

I'm super excited to bake cookies with Eli and let him decorate his own little gingerbread man. To witness his momentous freakout at the mall when we take him to see Santa. To watch him help his dad put up Christmas lights outside, and to decorate the tree with him. I'm excited to spend time with our families and friends, and even to make merry with my coworkers at our office party. And I'm pumped to sit by the tree by myself, just enjoying a little downtime and unwinding from 2013.

Above is a list of some of the things I'm looking forward to over the next couple of weeks - carried out in a very relaxed fashion, of course. What's on your must-do list for December?