Christmas truly is my favourite time of year. As soon as the calendar hits Dec. 1, the boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations come out. My favourite holiday-themed movies are played on repeat and my custom country Christmas playlist comes out which yes, features B次元官网网址淎ll I want for Christmas is a real good tanB次元官网网址� by Kenny Chesney as well as some of the more traditional carols.

My husband picks out the largest tree he can find B次元官网网址� sometimes we cut our own, sometimes we go to one of the many fundraisers hosted by local clubs and groups. But most of the time we get the tree home and have to take a large chunk off the bottom because neither one of us can actually remember how tall our ceilings are.

Last year, the addition of a fat orange kitten meant we had to bolt the tree down to a piece of plywood and hide a few broken branches in the back. Thankfully, by that point weB次元官网网址檇 trained him to stop chewing on electrical cords so we were able to avoid a GriswoldB次元官网网址檚 family Christmas mishap.

We also learned not to leave anything that remotely smelled like food or catnip under the treeB次元官网网址�

But thatB次元官网网址檚 what the holidays are all about, making memories. Whether itB次元官网网址檚 a disastrously raw turkey or the kids tearing through wrapping in the morning, I just like to take a step back during this time of year and take it all in. While that can be challenging with all of the events and chaos that comes along with the holidays, itB次元官网网址檚 important to remember what this season is about.

One of my favourite traditions is making gingersnap cookies. Growing up on the farm meant making batches of gingersnaps by the dozens to give to friends and family. Actually, if memory serves, my record is making 54 dozen on Christmas. We have an industrial mixer at the farm which means I can mix them all at once, unfortunately it still takes hours to roll out all of those cookies and bake them. But itB次元官网网址檚 a labour of love and a way to spend some quality time with family members as I usually enlist the help of some unwilling participants. So if you can, take some time to spend with your loved ones, round up a few items for the food bank, and when youB次元官网网址檙e out shopping, pick up a toy for a child in need.

And if youB次元官网网址檙e a little behind on your holiday shopping B次元官网网址� or even if youB次元官网网址檙e not B次元官网网址� watch the 骋补锄别迟迟别B次元官网网址檚 Facebook page in the coming weeks for lots of great contests. Starting Dec. 4 we will be kicking off our 12 Days of Christmas giveaway with tons of great items up for grabs.

B次元官网网址� Katherine Engqvist, editor

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