Marlene K.
For my family, Christmas is a day we spend all together, usually in our pajamas, socks, hats and many layers of blankets because my mom likes to keep the house on the cooler side. My brother and I live in Chicago, so we travel back to Cleveland to stay at her house for the holidays where we meet up with the rest of the family—my sister, brother and his beautiful daughter. After we've unwrapped all the gifts, peeled the potatoes, cleaned up the gift wrap, argued over my poor performance playing drums on Wii Rock Band and finished off the apple pie, we like to watch the hometown classic movie A Christmas Story at least one time through the 24-hour viewing cycle. My mom's favorite is A Muppets' Christmas Carol, which never fails to get everyone in the holiday spirit...even if it's only because our mom will follow us around the house spookily repeating Marley's best lines from the movie. (Did I mention we love movies?) From changing the lyrics of pop songs to holiday-inspired silly ditties or getting mom to laugh so hard she sprays ginger ale on a window, we like to joke around and laugh often, which is a great way to unwind, relax and get a much-needed perspective on the stuff that really matters.
Published 12/07/2000
