Last Christmas

As Christmas neared, I started to become more and more depressed. It made me sad to think about graduation and college knowing that our family could be separated next year. If both Brittany and I get into Beachside University, then we would be living in the dorms. My parents were big advocates of the college experience. I wasn't sure that I was ready to leave our house and our memories there.

Each Christmas, ever since I could remember, we would go out as a family and pick out a tree at our local nursery. We would stop by the coffee shop next to the nursery afterwards and each get a peppermint hot chocolate. We would bring the tree home and spend the entire day decorating the house.

My dad was in charge of putting up all of the Christmas lights and the insane outdoor decorations. We had the complete reindeer and Santa sleigh ensemble on our lawn. My favorite outdoor ornament are the giant candy canes.

While my dad handles the outdoor decorations, my mom handles all of the indoor decorations. She hangs all of the cards that we've ever received on top of the fireplace. She takes out all of the little figurines and places them in our walkway. She takes out all of the candles, pillows, tablecloth, and plates and sets them in the living room and dining room. She even takes out the ornaments for me and my sister.

Courtney and I are responsible for decorating the tree. Every year we argue about which colors to use and where to hang each ornament. Decorating the tree is my favorite part of Christmas.

My mom would start on Christmas Eve by making the gingerbread dough with my sister and I. We would build the gingerbread houses early on Christmas morning after we opened all of our presents. We would spend the whole day making Christmas dinner together. My mom makes the best ginger snaps.

Last Christmas my parents had to go on a business trip to New York and we couldn't spend Christmas together. Brittany and I didn't feel comfortable enough to decorate our house without our parents. We couldn't break tradition. Instead, we opted to spend Christmas in San Diego with our aunts and uncles. My aunts and uncles argued constantly and burnt the turkey. It was amusing but nothing like the Christmas at my house.

Last Christmas was the loneliest Christmas Brittany and I have ever had. I'm worried that our college Christmas-es would end up like last Christmas. I don't want our traditions to fade away.