Halloween is over, which means there is no holding back. I can finally bring up Christmas without everyone around me getting upset. Full disclosure, I’ve been thinking about the holiday season a lot lately, and I mean deep thinking. I truly believe if people actually knew how often I have been thinking about Christmas, they would be concerned.

Many of you will take issue with this column because, and let me know if this is exactly what went through your mind when you saw this, “It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.”

But where is the written rule that Christmas may only be reflected upon after Thanksgiving? Which, I look at as kind of an appetizer for Christmas anyway. You know what I mean?

No matter, in my opinion, we have reached the acceptable time for my Christmas obsession to reveal itself.

Christmas is amazing. To me, it’s absolutely the most enchanting holiday. Growing up, Christmas was, of course, magical. Santa left me Build-A-Bears, and reindeer were the reasons my ceiling had cracks in it. I would spend every second of every day counting down the moments until Santa Claus broke into my house and left me an electric scooter made by elves. Back in those days, Christmas was all I waited for.

In my 8-year-old eyes, Christmas Day was the ultimate goal. The entirety of the holiday season was spent impatiently awaiting its arrival — but then it’s over just like that.

My 19-year-old eyes have a different point of view because it’s not Santa, it’s not the reindeer or the elves, it’s not the presents. It’s not the candy coma that I will inflict upon myself or the unending amount of movies my parents let me watch. It’s the holiday season surrounding it.

I’ve decided that I’m going to embrace the holidays in the most enlightening way I can this year. I want to take in every second of every day. I want to drink eggnog and wear santa hats. I want to walk to class with Christmas music playing and I want to decorate my apartment until my roommates resent me. I want to breathe in the atmosphere of everywhere I go because the holidays make everything better, not just Dec. 25.

I want to wade through this season as slowly as I possibly can, and you should want to, too.

Everyone is brighter, happier during the holiday season. Christmas is the only time the snow doesn’t make everyone bitter, and the cold doesn’t seem so frigid. The holiday season is when everywhere you go has some sort of lights or holiday decor, and Christmas music is playing in any outlet mall you ever go to.

The vibes you get from others lift your own spirits.

The holiday season is for hot chocolate, sitting in a giant sweater and watching a cheesy Christmas movie about a girl who falls in love under the mistletoe and the sound of jingle bells. It’s about being with the people you love and sharing your joy with them.

If you take the holiday season and really embrace it, it will probably make you happier. It’s already making me happier and it’s not even Thanksgiving yet.

So in case you haven’t already, stop trying to “just get through the holidays.”

Start taking it all in because there’s honestly no other time like it. Breathe in the crisp air before it becomes the nuisance keeping you from going to the pool. Love your surroundings, listen to Christmas music, spend time with your family and friends in a room that has Christmas decorations top to bottom. 

Feel the holiday spirit, all of it.