The Kat Life

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Katherine Moon
Katherine Isabella Moon
Meow, hello there, my name is Katherine, but you can call me Kat; because I basically am a cat. Anyways, I am a 26-year-old, lifestyle blogger, with an INFP-T personality type, from the United States. I love fashion, the color pink, cats, dogs, and spending all my time on my computer. I'm often seen wearing cat ears headbands.
The Kat Life
The Kat Life

how I'm choosing to live my best life

Thursday, December 19, 2019

My Favorite Christmas Traditions

Christmas decorations
Photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska on KaboomPics

Holiday traditions can sometimes vary a little bit, or even a lot a bit, from family to family. They can also change a little bit over the years as well, as new traditions get added and some fall to the wayside. In my family, things also tend to change a little bit from year to year as well, primarily just the timing of certain things, particularly when we get the tree up and start wrapping gifts. I honestly don't think we've ever had a specific date when we'd get the Christmas tree up and start wrapping presents. Not gonna lie, I'd love to make a tradition of setting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving so that we can enjoy it for longer. There's actually a lot of holiday traditions I'd like to start. Maybe I should start some of them on my own, even if no one else will join in. Maybe? I already have my own traditions for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day that I tend to do solely on my own. So why not?

That being said, even though plans may vary from year to year, there are still a few traditions in my family that are pretty constant. And I always look forward to them. Even the ones that don't seem like fun. I actually find a little joy in some of the "boring" or chaotic ones, some of them are actually enjoyable to me for some odd reason. And even if they aren't enjoyable, they still mean that the holiday season is upon us, and Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. Although it's in a very tight race with New Year's Day. Honestly, I think New Year's Day is my favorite holiday, but Christmas and New Year are so close that it doesn't really matter.

Anyway, I always enjoy hearing about the holiday traditions that others have, whether they're quite similar or very different from mine. I've always found it interesting how others choose to celebrate the holidays, whether they celebrate Christmas or something else. So I decided, why not share some of my holiday traditions?


Christmas Traditions




Helping to put up the Christmas tree


Decorating the christmas tree
Photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska on KaboomPics

For as far back as I can remember, I've always gotten to help put up the Christmas tree. I was so young when this tradition started that I don't even remember how exactly it started, but I'm glad it did. By the way, when I say I've been helping put up the Christmas tree since I was little, I don't mean I was just putting some ornaments on the tree. I was actually putting the tree itself together, and I actually found it fun. I honestly still find it fun! I particularly love those trees that you put together branch by branch, as those were the types of trees I was putting together when I was as young as 5 or 6. I have so many fond memories of piecing those trees together branch by branch, and row by row as far up as I could reach, until I was tall enough to put the entire tree together by myself. 

After I get the tree together and "fluff" the branches to make the tree look fuller, my mom usually gets to work on getting the lights onto the tree, than I help with decorating it. Although my mom prefers to do most of the decorating. Since she's a little picky about her Christmas decorations, haha.



The wrapping table


Wrapping gifts
Photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska on KaboomPics

Okay, so the table itself is relatively new. We used to wrap presents on the floor, but when you have a curious pet that wants to be in the middle of all the action, it's kind of hard to wrap on the floor. Plus, it's nice not to be sitting on the floor, let's be honest. The table also gives me "Santa's Workshop" vibes, even though our wrapping table isn't very fancy. And although our wrapping table is quite heavy, at least for me, I actually don't mind being the one that has to bring it up from the basement every year, along with the wrapping paper and all the other wrapping supplies. Because that means that the wrapping is about to start, and I actually kind of enjoy wrapping. It kind of makes me feel like an elf or one of Santa's helpers! 

I feel as if gift wrapping is most people's least favorite part of the holiday season. It can be pretty time-consuming, and some gifts are a pain in the arse to wrap. I don't even know how my mom... I mean Santa's elves... wrapped my Bratz dolls so perfectly in the uniquely shaped packaging. Let's also not forget about when you're just a few inches (or centimeters) short on wrapping paper, or when you run out of a specific wrapping paper. In my household, we identify who's present is who's by the wrapping paper used, rather than by using gift tags. So if we run out of a specific wrapping paper before all of someone's gifts are wrapped, we have to choose a second one, and that's not always an easy decision. But although wrapping can be time-consuming, and sometimes frustrating, I still enjoy it. I even find it relaxing at times. 

Ever since I was a child, I enjoyed being able to help out with wrapping. I actually enjoy it enough that I always offer to wrap all the gifts, including my own. But my mom won't let me do that! But with everyone being a little busier this year, I may get to wrap more than I usually would, and I don't even mind that.



Christmas Eve shopping with my dad


Christmas shopping
Photo courtesy of Viktor Hanacek on Picjumbo

Okay, so I feel like Christmas Eve is one of the worst days to be going to the mall. With all the last-minute shoppers rushing around to find the perfect gift for everybody, the mall can be super crowded. Be lucky if you can even find a parking spot at the mall on Christmas Eve, let alone a good one! Yet, over the last few years, going to the mall on Christmas Eve with my dad has become a tradition. Ever since I was 12, it's been a tradition for me to spend a few hours with my dad on Christmas Eve. As I've gotten older, my dad has decided to just have me shop for my own gifts. Then he doesn't have to worry about what style I like, what size I wear, or anything like that. I also don't think he's particularly into shopping, haha. He does know what stores I like, so he'll usually just give me a gift card to one or two of them, and lets me do the actual shopping.

He doesn't generally come into the stores with me, and he'll do his own thing while I'm shopping, but I always like to go back to his place for a little bit before heading back home to spend some quality time with him.



Opening presents early on Christmas morning!


Presents under the tree
Photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska on KaboomPics

I'm going to be 100% real, everyone opening their presents is probably my favorite part of Christmas. For me, it's not so much about the gifts themselves, as it is about the moment. I personally like to savor the moment as much as I possibly can, and I'll unwrap my own presents very slowly. I often try to unwrap my presents without ripping the wrapping paper, and then I'll fold the paper neatly beside me, just to take a little extra time. I also like to watch my mom and stepdad open some of their gifts between opening my own gifts. Sometimes I think my slow unwrapping annoys my family a little bit because everyone likes to have breakfast and then go right back to bed after unwrapping gifts in the morning, but I still want to make the moment last.

As I've gotten older, and slightly more patient, I've honestly been thinking it could be nice to wait until later in the day to open gifts, just to make the day last longer. But the tradition has always been to wake up early to open presents. However, this year, we actually will be opening presents a little late in the day. But that's only because my stepdad has to work on Christmas, unfortunately. Even though another tradition in my household is to stay home on Christmas Day, and to stay in pajamas.



Day after Christmas shopping


Shopping
Photo courtesy of Viktor Hanacek on Picjumbo

I always love going shopping the day after Christmas, when most of the holiday stock goes on sale. You can find some amazing deals on all sorts of items. I particularly enjoy looking for deals on gift sets that can be used beyond the holiday season; I'm kind of a sucker for bath and makeup kits. December 26th is a great day to use any gift cards or spend any Christmas cash you may have gotten, as you'll get quite a bit more for your money. You can also start stocking up for next year's Christmas! No, it's not too early. My mom likes to start stocking up for Christmas as early as the day after Christmas and find gifts all throughout the entire year. 



Although my family's Christmas traditions may not be wildly different or all that unique, I still always enjoy hearing about the holiday traditions of others, even the little ones. Sometimes the holiday traditions of others give me a little bit of inspiration for traditions that I'd like to start, or maybe bring back! One holiday tradition that I didn't even realize that I missed was making a wishlist to Santa until my friend Mari inspired me to make one for my blog. I may need to consider doing one every year!

What are some of your family's holiday traditions? What holiday(s) do you celebrate this time of year? Or if you don't celebrate anything this time of year, what do you like to during this season? I'd love to hear about your holiday traditions! 
Thank you for reading, and I hope the rest of your day is wonderful!
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