the most wonderful time of the year

I muttered to someone earlier in the week that if I wasn't in the Christmas holiday spirit by the end of this weekend, then someone better shoot me.

Why?

The weekend's activities:
Friday night--Christmas caroling
Saturday--volunteer at a sorting center for toys for needy children, two Christmas holiday parties to attend
Sunday: A performance of The Nutcracker

Those're enough Christmas holiday activities to put Scrooge in the spirit.

The performance of the Nutcracker was fabulous! I hadn't seen it in some time, since my father and I had a day of bonding in the city when I was...nine or so. It was also nice to see the children, of which the theater was full, enjoying the performance. With the exception of Talky McTalksaot behind us, who also hacked up a lung or two during the performance, it seemed as though most of the folks were well-behaved.

Walking to the performance, after having imbibed a warm cup of coffee and a yummy sandwich, I felt so cosmopolitan--hanging out with good friends during the most wonderful time of the year--what else could be better?