I know what you’re thinking, all right? It’s November. We haven’t even sat down with our families to eat Thanksgiving! The turkeys are still mingling amongst each other, blissfully unaware of their fate, but hear me out.
I’m not disillusioned in putting Christmas decorations up so early because, yes, I do know that it’s terribly early. But everyone’s going home as early as they can for the holidays, which happens the second everyone high tails out of their last final exam for the semester. Spending copious amounts of money on peppermint mochas quite literally isn’t going to cut it anymore, unlike how it’s cutting my monthly grocery allowance (I know, but in the moment, coffee feels like such a good idea). Are we to wither away in our dorms and apartments, increasingly aware of the lack of twinkling lights? The cheerful displays of red and green? When do we make up the days spent on campus before going home for the holidays? Now, my dear reader — we make it up now.
This past week my roommates and I took off during Hurricane Nicole to buy all the Christmas things. There was a completely unnecessary amount of time spent in Hobby Lobby, which might as well be the Lotus Hotel in Percy Jackson. It goes on and on and on and the holiday joy is so overwhelming that you never want to leave. You’ve been warned — go with friends, it’s dangerous alone.
Next on the agenda: lights. The first time we went to get lights, we bought the wrong color. The second time, we bought twinkling lights. The third time, we decided 1) that whatever type of light was in that box was going up on our walls and 2) we were never driving back out to Walmart again. Thankfully, the lights were the right type and color. We got home and set out to enjoy a cozy night decorating.
The lights along the ceiling were hung by Kate, one of my roommates, while I put on Christmas with the Kranks. I set up the tree that my parents very graciously let us borrow and made the red bow that sits proudly on top. Stella and Bri, my other roommates, put hooks in all our ornaments, which we arranged on branches together. Granted, the back half of our tree has no ribbon or ornaments, but we’ll keep that a secret between us two, yes?
It felt like the makings of a core memory. A Christmas-scented candle burned on the coffee table while everyone hung the remaining decorations around the living room. When we finished, we turned off all the lights, save the Christmas lights, and sat bundled on the couch. Nothing really needed to be said. Everyone’s face shared the same content smile, looking at the small slice of wonderland we’d created.
Yes, it’s only November — but I don’t think there should be a concrete timeline where we get to experience peace and joy. When we come back from Thanksgiving, everyone will be in a frenzy of late-night studying and exams before rushing home for refuge. Take a day to celebrate the season with your friends before packing up! Get to know your roommates if you have them. I didn’t know any of mine before they moved in, and now I have no idea what I’d ever do without them — we’re family. I can’t wait for Christmas and the holiday season to be here, but in the meantime, I’m going to get as much joy as I can from celebrating early with people here on campus.
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