I grew up LOVING Christmas. I still do! There’s just something about the holiday season that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I’m like a happy little snowflake this time of year. My husband, on the other hand, is what I like to call a grumpy elf – and he fully admits it! He’s never been a huge fan of Christmas, but I feel like I’m slowly turning him into a lover of all things festive. He might disagree, but the Christmas lights, candy canes and inflatable Santa, Frosty and Mickey Mouse on our front lawn that I had absolutely nothing to do with…tell me otherwise.

Of all the Christmas traditions our family celebrates, the Kindness Elves are my favourite.

Just like Elf on the Shelf, a Kindness Elf is sent directly from the North Pole. They arrive on our doorstep December 1

I admit it: I’m a Star Wars nerd. The franchise and I were born in the same year, so I’ve never known a world without Star Wars. The opening fanfare music gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. I had a Hoth System play set as a kid. I own a Yoda key chain.

Back in the day, being a girl and a Star Wars fan was fairly rare, since it was mostly boys playing with Luke Skywalker and Han Solo action figures. Today, it’s a different story – literally. Star Wars returned to the big screen in 2015 and 2016 with

At this time of year, I’m always reminded of how lucky we are. We’re lucky to have loving family and friends to spend the holidays with. We’re lucky to have food on the table, a roof over our heads and warm clothes to wear. And we’re especially lucky to have beautifully wrapped presents under the tree on Christmas.

It’s not that I’m not tempted.

The holiday season is about carrying on the traditions that are special to you, whatever they may be. It might be anticipating the daily antics of the Elf on a Shelf, curling up to watch a favourite yuletide movie or baking a classic family recipe. For me, it’s sending holiday cards.

I realize that in today’s day and age, sending paper cards by regular mail may seem ridiculous and archaic. It’s more expensive. It’s more time-consuming. It’s slower. It’s (as my son would say) “from the olden times.”

I LOVE traditions! Especially when it comes to Christmas. Most of us already have some sort of Christmas traditions, whether it’s a tradition we grew up with that we continue to do with our own children, or one we recently started. To me, traditions are some of the best things about the holiday season.

Paging Dr. McDreamy.

If seeing the Dr. was as easy as looking into the beautiful blue eyes of Patrick Dempsey, we’d all be taking a sick day to visit the Doc.

If you can already feel the “how the eff am I going to get everything done” anxiety reverberating through your body now is the time to commit to not losing your you-know-what this Christmas; to enjoying the season instead of merely surviving it.