Growing up as the only child of a first grade teacher, I argued that Santa Claus existed until I was 13 years old.

No, I am not ashamed to admit that.

It’s safe to say I’ve always been a bit of a Christmas enthusiast. And I’ve heard a lot of talk this holiday season about Christmas festivities beginning too early. To which I must respond, ‘Really?!’ Maybe Christmas music in October is a bit overboard, I’ll give you that. But come Nov. 1, I see nothing wrong with cranking up the carols, decking the halls and drafting your letter to Santa. (Your pretend letter, that is…)

Without further ado, here’s a list of season staples that should make you want to celebrate Christmas all year round.

Christmas cookies: As if this needs an explanation. What’s better than a sugar cookie baked in the shape of a reindeer, frosted with joy and sprinkled with happiness? Nothing.

Ugly sweater parties: ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and if you can think of something more jolly than an oversized, poorly-knit, brightly-colored sweater with Santa’s face and a dozen candy canes sewn onto it… keep it to yourself. Add in your friends, a few shots of rum chased with eggnog and a reindeer-antler headband, and you’re sure to have the most wonderful time of the year. 

Coca-Cola commercials: Are you kidding me, Coca-Cola? Who is the genius behind your advertising campaign? These holiday commercials are phenomenal. They fill me with so much hope and wonder and leave me with a smile on my face for the rest of the day. Not to mention that this year’s commercial is set to Train’s ‘Shake Up Christmas.’ Talk about resisting the urge to skip down the street and throw tinsel at everyone. 

Snow: Whine about the cold, the shoveling and the wind all you want. Those perfect little flakes are gifts from the Christmas angels. Think back to your favorite childhood memories. They include sledding down your neighborhood hill and building snowmen with your cousins, don’t they? Don’t even get me started on coming home to your mom and being greeted with a warm mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows. Hot cocoa that you’ll enjoy sitting next to the Christmas tree as ‘A Christmas Story’ plays on television.

(I realize this doesn’t apply to students from states such as Texas or California. I apologize. I’m sure warm, sunny Christmases were just as memorable.)

Snow just brings people together. And with the more than three feet of snow currently on the ground, there’s no telling what kind of memories you’ll create this weekend. 

Urban Outfitters: They’re currently selling a T-shirt of Santa Claus smoking a blunt. Underneath it says, ‘Where the cookies at?’ Debate over. Christmas wins.

Christmas lights: There’s nothing else that will bring out that twinkle in your eye quite like an object beautifully wrapped with strings of dazzling little lightbulbs. Not to mention the Hallelujah Chorus that echoes from the heavens when they light for the first night of the season. 

So there you have it. Six solid reasons why Christmas should be celebrated as early as possible. So quit complaining and get yourself to an ugly-sweater party. Four or five shots of rum and eggnog later, you’ll be fa-la-la-la-laing all the way down Euclid. 

Well, at least, that’s what I plan to do.

Lauren Tousignant is a junior writing and communications & rhetorical studies major. She is the opinion editor at The Daily Orange, where her column appears occasionally. She can be reached at letousig@syr.edu.

Published on December 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm