Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa la la la la la la...
Can't believe it's already Christmas again; it feels like just yesterday that I was living at home in California celebrating this joyous holiday season. This year though, even though there are endless amounts of Christmas lights and decorations throughout the city, it hasn't felt like Christmas was upon me until this past weekend. A friend invited us to a Holiday Happy Hour with a Toys for Tots drive through the US Marines. Being able to celebrate what I call the official start of the holidays with the amazing group of friends I have here now was the best way to celebrate. After what seemed like the worst and longest week I've had since moving here, I was excited to see everyone and celebrate the holidays since I had not seen everyone in over a week with family visiting the prior weekend. Even though not everyone was there I was excited to relax and have a great night out.
Tomorrow 13+ of my friends and I are having a present exchange (Secret Santa) for the holidays. It is always fun to keep the present a secret and get excited for who choose your name. I love getting and giving presents to others and being able to see the joy on their face when they open the present for the first time. It is the best part of giving a present.
I am so excited to be going back to California in 9 days, time has flown by. I have lived in New York for 7 months now and haven't been home since, it is crazy. Going home is even more exciting since my grandmother from Hungary will be here for the holidays. Most of us haven't seen her in 3+ years so it will be nice to have the whole family around for Christmas. This year we won't have to sing our traditional Hungarian Christmas song on speaker with her, we will be able to sing it with her in person.
Here's to the holiday season and the many memories to come.
