Hola Amigos,

I must admit that I'm sort of into Christmas this year. I've decorated at home, I've done almost all my shopping, I've sent Christmas cards, I'm listening to Christmas music (on MY terms thank you very much). Yep, I'm excited about Christmas!

I heard on the radio the other day some interviews with people sharing their traumatic ways of learning that Santa wasn't real. It made me think, and I realized that I don't have a recollection of ever thinking that Santa was real. Just snippets here and there, but in my life Santa never was. See, I'm the youngest of 5, so I had 4 older siblings to spoil the surprise for me. Plus I was blessed with brutally honest parents. So when my brothers and sister began to mock me about Santa I asked my dad if there really was a Santa Claus (I must have been 4 or 5). He simply told me the truth. See, that's just how my dad was. He didn't do it to be mean or spoil anything. He did what he always did. His kid asked him a question and he told her the truth. And me, being the kind of kid I was, I just integrated that fact into my psyche and all was OK. I think he probably did the right thing. I would have found out eventually. And maybe I would have been disappointed at being strung along. Who knows. All I know is he said I handled it like a trooper.

Seriously, I still got the presents, you know??

I did come up with a killer gift for my hairdresser. My sister and I always go in together and get something for him, and if I do say so myself it's usually something FABULOUS. He has impeccable taste, you see. I spend more time picking out something for him than I do for some of my family members. But I've known him for over 20 years, we're dear friends, and it's a way of saying thank you for a year's worth of stunning haircuts. So this year we're going with a bottle of absinthe! I couldn't be more excited! Such a romantic drink with such an interesting past. And the fact that it's only recently become legal adds to the allure. I can hardly wait! And I'm quite proud of myself because I thought of it. :) And it fits. David is a Francophile, he'd be all over this what with it's French influences.

Not that I'd ever drink the stuff myself. No way. It's anise flavored. Blech.

My nephew is the one I still need to buy for, and I sort of planned it that way. He's 4. How much fun is it to shop for a 4 year old!!!! I can hardly wait! He's such a good little kid, so sweet, I'd forgotten how much fun it is to have a little one around for Christmas! I haven't even begun to put together what I'm getting him, but I'm a very doting Auntie. I'd give him whatever he wants, I'm such a sucker. At Thanksgiving I asked him what he wanted. He puzzled for a minute and said "I don't know. Maybe clothes?" Which I'm actually MORE excited about because I love buying kids clothes!

So this week we are having our department Christmas party Wednesday and the library Christmas party Thursday and I'm supposed to bring something for both. That's a bit tiresome, frankly, but I'll do it because I said I would. Oh, and the University party party (do we see a pattern here of increasingly important parties?) is Friday, plus the annual after-university party at my friend John's house.

Then there's the party at my sister's house that I wasn't invited to. No, that's not a joke. She really didn't invite me. So that one doesn't really count. But it's still out there. It's going to be a busy, crazy week.

But I'm in the spirit, you know? Somehow it's all OK.