Five Holiday Highlights

Call me awful, but after too many years of working retail and working as a professional petsitter/mobile veterinary technician, the holidays make me antsy and angsty. While the rest of polite American society celebrated, relaxed and reveled, I worked crazy long hours of emotional toil. I've nearly overcome the twice-weekly rude awakenings of bolting straight up in bed during the holidays wondering what day it is, or where I am supposed to be. The holidays are difficult for many people including yours truly. Be kind to service industry workers always, but especially this time of year. If you are a service industry worker, may the force be with you.

In an attempt to better enjoy the holiday season, here are five things I'm looking forward to happening.

1. The Elf movie party at Alamo Drafthouse promises to deliver some holiday cheer for all to hear. There will be scratch and sniff stickers and props to participate in the movie magic more fully. Yay!

2. One of my favorite holiday films is Love Actually. This year we're getting out of the 1952 House and viewing Love Actually at the historic Paramount Theatre.

3. A quick three-day visit to seven of my ten nieces and nephews to attend their musical recital, color in coloring books, play board games and remind them who I am should be fun.

4. The Holiday Magic Festival of Lights sounds appropriately holiday themed, bright and magical. I can't wait to see the big Asian lantern style dragon. I know dragons aren't especially Christmasy, but I like dragons. I also like string lights and lantern lights. Win, win, win!

5.  The annual Christmas ornament exchange party for my circle of lady-friends always delivers fun and mischief. Each person brings a wrapped Christmas ornament. We each draw a number, then proceed to select ornaments in numerical order. If you see an ornament you like in someone else's paws, you can steal that ornament. That person then selects a different ornament, either a wrapped mystery ornament or an enticing bauble from someone else. Each ornament can only be stolen three times until it is safe from stealing. One year it was way too polite with minimal stealing, but most years it gets rowdy, which is way more fun. Of course, it's also nice to see ladies I rarely get to visit, catch up on each other's lives a bit and remember why we like each other.

We look harmless in the photo, but the ornament stealing gets rowdy.