Happy holidays! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend; I feel like it went by so quickly, and I’m sad it’s over.

With an impending snow/ice storm on its way, I headed to my parents’ house early morning on Dec. 23 to make sure I got there with plenty of time to spare to work and wrap presents. I wanted to avoid the last-minute rush.

After work on Friday afternoon, my brothers and I went to see the new Avatar movie. With the movie three hours long, I was nervous I wasn’t going to be able to sit through the whole thing, but it was so good it didn’t feel like three hours. I highly recommend it; we saw it in 3-D, which I think made it better.

Photo © Ann Om|Dreamstime.com

During the day on Saturday, Christmas Eve, we were still running around doing some last-minute gift wrapping. At night, we headed to our neighbors’ house, as we do every year, for some games, good food and, this year, the Eagles versus Cowboys game. Sadly, the Eagles lost, but I’m not too worried about it.

Every Christmas Eve, my family and I get matching pajamas we wear to bed and to open presents the next morning — it’s one of my favorite traditions. They are waiting for us on our bed when we get home from our neighbors.

Waking up on Christmas morning is magical, no matter what age. Santa was good to my family. We all got what we wanted and more! After opening presents, we relaxed a bit, then headed to my aunt’s house to celebrate Christmas with my mom’s side of the family.

There’s nothing as special as the holiday season, and I am glad I get to spend it with my family.

Happy New Year!

— Mary Melnick, social media & editorial coordinator