Santa Claus is coming; hear the banjo strumming.

I figured out what my favourite part of Christmas is: the traditions that I have with my friends.

I have a really small family, and really for most of my adult life, I have Christmas Day dinner with my parents and that's it for the family stuff. No huge dinners with extended family or any of that jazz. We used to do that when I was a kid, but somehow everyone grew up and drifted apart and now we just get cards and stuff. All of my first cousins are way older than me, and grew up far away from me, so I was never close to them.

I think being an only child and not having close extended family has forced me to accumulate many close friends. And one cool thing about growing older, is that many of my friendships have aged really well, and feel like a comfy pair of Chucks. And, the Christmas traditions that I have with these friends are my favourite part of the Christmas season.

Tonight was one of my fave Christmas traditions: my university pals Becca T and Flora and I celebrated our 11th Christmas together. Every year, we exchange gifts and then have dinner at Swiss Chalet. And as always, tonight was a great way to celebrate another year of friendship.

Another favourite Christmas tradition of mine is the Annual Christmas Gathering of the Group of Nine. This is my crazy group of friends from high school. It's amazing that nine of us have been able to keep in touch for ten years now. Every year, as many of us as possible invade someone's house, and eat, and drink, and laugh a lot. This year, it looks like all nine will be able to attend, barring any disasters (knock on wood). I don't think any of us can remember when all nine of us were together in one room, so it's gonna be historic. I can't wait.

I also like school traditions too. This is my fifth year at my school, and every year on the last Friday before break, we have shortened classes, a talent show, and then we kick the kids out and have a staff lunch. It's always a nice day and I look forward to it.

Tomorrow night, since they have predicted a nasty snowstorm, Becca T is going to come here, and sleep over and we're going to watch cheesy Christmas movies together. Another fun tradition carried over from university days.

On Saturday, I'm throwing a waffle brunch for some pals. Maybe this will become a new Christmas tradition since I had to invest in a waffle iron... Anyway, I came up with the idea when I saw that I had a container of Williams Sonoma egg nog waffle mix in my cupboard that a friend gave to me 'cuz she doesn't like egg nog. I decided the only way to use this was to have a little party, so here we are. Lucky I got a new Nightmare Before Christmas apron as a gift today to wear as I make waffles.

Anyway, yay for traditions, and yay for the last sleep before the last school day before the holidays.