It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Photo courtesy of Chris J on Flickr

I can't quite believe that it's already the 5th of December today. This has been a year full of changes, and the time seems to have passed at lightning speed. The Christmas season is now officially upon us. Tinsel and twinkling lights are around every corner, Christmas carols are blasting from the radio, my co-workers are sporting Santa hats at their desks and egg nog lattes are flying off the counters at Starbucks in bright red cups. J at Hollow Star posted a holiday gift guide this week, which got me thinking. She listed some really great ideas for those of us who are on a budget. Thrift shopping is an excellent way to go. There are so many creative and special gifts to be found that won't leave you with an empty wallet. This year, for the first time, I really have no wish list for myself. I'm not going to pretend that I wouldn't love it if Santa dropped off a brand new Canon Powershot digital camera underneath my tree on Christmas eve, but as far as actually asking for anything, I'm not. I feel blessed that I already have more than I need. What I am excited about, is time off, time with family and friends (especially my dear friend Eddie while he's in town), decorating, baking, parties, sending and receiving cards in the mail and watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation over and over and over. I love all the traditions that come along with the Christmas season. My focus so far this month has been coordinating the charity work for my office. Last year, I was incredibly disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm and generally lame contribution that we made as a whole. This year, I decided to take the reigns myself and get us all more involved. In lieu of coming into the office for a day, we will be volunteering to help three different organizations within our community: Union Gospel Mission, Family Services of the Northshore and Northshore Community Resources. Not everybody has a ton of extra cash to donate, but we can all volunteer some time to make a difference. I also thought it would be a great team building exercise and way to get to know the people in our growing company a little better, while at the same time reaching out to those around us who are in need.

Tonight, I'm going to start my holiday baking, deck the halls a little and pop in Love Actually to celebrate being in the spirit of the season.