Really, we just eat.

Homemade caramel corn is definitely a most-loved Christmas tradition!

America! I mean, Christmas. Christmas in America! A holiday for which some celebrate the birth of Christ, open presents, decorate the house, gather with family and friends, or an assortment of these activities and more.

Each family has different traditions. Here are some things that mean Christmas to me:

We definitely could not have Christmas without our gargantuan stockings. In fact, emptying my stocking is almost equal to opening my presents. Where else do you find mini Vaseline tubs or soft new knee socks or all flavors of Bubblicious gum?

Every year, my mom picks out themed ornaments for each family member. This year we all received characters from the Lion King, which tied in with a present from “Santa” – tickets to see the Broadway show when it comes to Nashville next year!

“Drink me! er…ho ho ho!”

Egg nog. Coffee. Hot mulled cider. Boiled custard lattes. Peppermint tea. All reasons to get out the much loved Christmas mugs! Everything tastes better when you’re drinking from Santa’s head.

A staple of Christmas is, of course, the Christmas cookie. This is the dessert that requires the most work – making, cooling, cutting shapes into and baking the dough, then icing and decorating each individual cookie! All while licking your fingers and eating the broken cookies and getting such a bad sugar rush that you can’t blink and go running around the house in search of raw broccoli.

We don’t discriminate against store-bought candy, though. Trader Joe’s, especially, make fantastic holiday treats!

In addition to the above food, we also had:

[Homemade] fudge, peanut butter balls, peanut clusters, cookie dough pops, caramel corn and [store bought] peppermint Joe Joe’s, candy canes and Mexican cookies.

Seriously, no one has ever come to our house around Christmas time and said, “Oh, I have way more candy at my house!”

So, really, we just eat. Joy to the world, everyone, and have a holiday Krackle! Christ is born and yea, the chocolate is nigh. Even when the lethargy and sugar lows have hit, I’m thankful for our holiday traditions…and that we haven’t run out of Starbucks’ Christmas blend yet, either!

TURKEY

Yeah, this post has nothing to do with Turkey or turkeys, but I am curious as to whether your mind went to the country, the animal or the food first!

So you know how a few weeks ago, everyone and their mom were posting on social media things they were thankful for? Well, in my opposite-of-hipster style, I am just now getting around to that. It’s Christmas break and I found myself feeling thankful today:

Thank you, AeroPress, for a consistently awesome cup of coffee.

Thank you, my toothbrush, for somehow protecting my teeth from the stains of thousands of cups of coffee.

Thank you, Tokyo, for being the capital city of Cute and Random.

Thank you, Nashville, for being hip and big enough for lovely foreign food like this sushi (for you locals).

Thank you, God, for the ocean. And trips to San Diego!

Thank you, everyone (but specifically these guys), for random and awesome Star Wars references.

Thank you, Groupon, for providing sugar highs on a limited budget.

Thank YOU, people who read my blog all over the world! Believe it or not, you’re a big part of how I keep sane in America 😉

Parts of the world from where people have read this blog