What would Judi do?

I'm not a real holiday kind of person.  I don't love the music.  I don't want a tree.  I don't like the stress. I do like the baking.  I love giving presents that people like.  There are good parts to it. I was thinking today about the Christmases I enjoyed growing up.  There were quite a few. My grandma and grandpa used to come stay over night on Christmas eve.  I wasn't allowed to open any gifts early but my grandparents would bring a stocking and I was allowed to open that.  I don't remember a lot about it (other than I loved opening it early) but in every stocking was a hand held toy that you pushed, the tree spun and opened and revealed something on the inside.  Much like this: Those were fun. One year, my grandmother was sick and in the hospital over Christmas.  My mom and I bought a small tree (maybe 4 feet tall), decorated it and put it in a big trash bag.  I took it up to the hospital and left it in her room as a ...

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a music person.  I love everything about music.  There's a ton of stuff I don't like, sure.  But I like a (semi) wide variety of stuff - and some of that stuff surprises me. But I hate holiday music.  Maybe it's because I worked in retail for 10 years and hearing it for 12 hours a day for well over a month killed it for me.  It's like maraschino cherries.  I loved those things.  Then when I was in elementary school, I ate an entire jar of them.  I haven't touched one since.  Overkill. I date a music loving guy.  Sometimes this is awesome (he knew who Jah Wobble is which got this relationship started).  Sometimes it is not awesome (Mellowmas.  Don't know it?  Google it.  If you listen to it all, it's not my fault.).  It is musically never boring. I don't like the stupid songs - Dominick the Donkey (http://youtu.be/hYlvfX3nwlc) , I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (http://youtu....