Yes, it's Here: May Your Days be Merry and Bright this Holiday Weekend

It's taken a lot of convincing for me that Christmas is actually on Sunday.

One, where the heck is the snow?

Two, forget the fact that there is no snow — I have not yet had to use my scraper on my car. Mind you, I don't normally leave the house before 10 a.m. But, I also don't have a garage.

Three, I took my dog on a walk and all I had to bundle in was a sweatshirt, jeans, hat and mittens. Isn't that like, early November? Plus, shortly after that walk, I saw my neighbor taking his dog for a walk wearing shorts. Yes, shorts. Wait, is it August?

No, Christmas is not all about the weather — but it sure makes a difference.

When I lived in Florida, from September through December, my boyfriend and I did all the tricks in the book to make us feel like the holiday season was upon us. Eggnog, hot chocolate (with Bailey's ... it's delicious!), Christmas cookies, Santa decorations. It kind of worked. That, and we flew back to Wisconsin for the big day — met by layers and layers of cold, cold snow.

It seems this year in Wisconsin called for the same trickery. We drank eggnog while setting up our tree. We've been playing Christmas music while cooking. I have decorations all over the house.

Oh, plus Nick and I exchanged presents early. Tuesday of this week, to be exact. Hey — we were both a little impatient. Plus, it was nice to use my new, fancy, programmable coffee maker to make a fresh pot — before Christmas. Actually, twice before Christmas.

Regardless of whether we believe it, Christmas is here. Families will be hitting the road today driving all sorts of hours to meet with other family. Guests will be dressed to the nines walking through hosts' doors with gifts filling their hands — the only difference being they don't have to stomp their boots on the way through. (Unless, of course, we get dumped on before Sunday. Any bets?)

So drive safe, have a safe and happy weekend, enjoy your time with friends and family and unwind — and, most of all, just make it a Merry Christmas.