It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I am heralding in the Season. The time has come, we have made it safely through last year's festivities and they have come back to brighten our doorstep once more. That's right, it's the Holiday Season once again. I find myself getting extraordinarily excited about life this time of year. The days are getting colder which offers many perfect snuggle opportunities, people you see are usually happy about one thing or another, and the amount of glitter and sparkle that is in every product is enough to start a glitter factory. I love it...I legitimately love everything about this season.
Something that I have realized this year; I really do appreciate all that my parents did to create a sense of magic throughout the Holiday season.
When I was a kid, I had the parents who went all out so that the season literally seemed magical. The Christmas "secrets" started well before Halloween, we have the super fun tree picking out/ decorating ritual that lasts well into the night, and we always drove around and judged which house lights were the best and which were too tacky to make it on the list. My dad pulls the whiny bit about putting up the lights every year, he is the only guy after all, and every year my mom plays the Martha Stewart card and decides what theme our tree is going to have. We, naturally, have to coordinate our wrapping paper to our tree's theme also...Heaven forbid they be mismatched ;)
I think I find myself thinking about all of this now cause I won't be with my mom and dad this Thanksgiving. Although this may not seem like a big deal to some of y'all, but it is my first time ever....In growing up, I appreciate all that my parents did to make each day of this season so special. I think it goes to show how much of an effect our parents have on the way we think and what matters to us.
Something to think about I guess. I will contemplate it  over a nice frosty glass of Silk Pumpkin Spice :)