“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,
stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.
It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags.
And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”

I hate parties. I really do. Just a bunch of random noise, silly dancing and people i'd rather not make meaningless small talk with. I especially hate holiday parties. I'm just not the cheerful type. Does that make me a Grinch? yes? so what. Also, I hate carolers. Most of them can't sing anyway. And whats with them randomly coming to your doorstep? Thats just not cool. My home is a sanctuary. I don't need these idiots refusing to understand the concept of boundries.

All that out of the way, I have absolutely no problem with the holidays themselves. I'm an athiest, so I don't really care about the religious aspects. The gifts are nice,, but I feel that people have a tendency to focus a bit too much on the "free stuff" angle. What this time of year should be about is love. The closeness of people important to you. Family, friends, that special someone. These holidays are about caring.
I'd like to recommend that everyone one do at least one charitable act this year. Donate something, be it money, old clothes, or even just a bit of your time. Your contribution may just make a strangers holiday...and your own.