Bozeman, Thank You For Being Festive

Living in Montana, I've always loved the holiday season. Growing up around San Francisco didn't have the same great winter wonderland vibe. Here, we've got mountains, snow, blizzards, icy roads, four wheel drive: all I've defined as Holiday.

There's also nothing prettier than traditional holiday lights (colored or white) hanging from a porch when it's 20 below. Almost everyone I know is busier than they should be but there's always a few spare minutes to hang some simple Christmas lights. Those things are cheap, too. Adding a little bling to the porch is just one small thing we can do to get in the holiday spirit. Sadly, I'm often out of town for the actual holiday so there have been several years in recent memory where I have not set up a Christmas tree at all. I have an old, healthy Ficus tree inside that makes a nice substitute when adorned with shiny red balls.

There's also no better time of year to make cookies and sweet treats. Everybody is capable of making cookies, even the Toll House In A Tube kind. It doesn't matter. Just crank on the oven and in a few minutes your house will be enveloped by cookie smell goodness and you can bring them all to the office if you're watching your weight. It's not about eating the cookies yourself, it's about the act of doing something festive. It doesn't matter what you do, or how big an effort you make. It's just about doing something.

So get out there and string some simple lights on the porch. I'm not talking about National Lampoon Christmas Vacation style. Just enough to make yourself smile when you walk into your house at night. That's all it takes to spread holiday cheer.