"Jingle bells, our holiday spirit smells"

'Tis the season for kissing under mistletoe, baking cookies and building snowmen, sitting on Santa's lap, and taking sleigh rides through a beautiful winter wonderland.

Well, in an ideal world anyway. The holiday season now usually consists of overcrowded malls and hectic shopping, too much time with family and miserably scraping snow and ice off your vehicle each morning. But it shouldn't be that way.

Although we live in a world filled with war, constant political corruption and the looming threat of terrorism, the Christmas season is the one occasion during which these worries should be temporarily displaced. It is important not to let the happiest time of the year be brought down by the pessimistic circumstances around us.

These problems, of course, aren't the only things that can put a damper on holiday spirit. As we age and take on more responsibilities, it's too easy to let the holiday season pass without us spending a moment being grateful for what we have. As college students with hectic final exam schedules, it's not always easy to enjoy the holiday season for what it's worth. Many students won't even begin to think about celebrating their holidays until sometime after Dec. 19, when school is officially over.

It's the same for many adults whose possible enjoyment of the holidays is surpassed by the overwhelming need to find gifts on time, cook and clean for the family and simultaneously work full-time. The jovial spirit of Christmas, and other holidays like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, is often replaced with a Scrooge-like attitude, sometimes causing a more stressful behavior than any other time of year.

Personally I couldn't be happier than the day that Starbucks begins selling its drinks in red cups decorated with snowflakes, when the radio starts playing non-stop holiday music and large department stores set up their seasonal displays, enticing shoppers with special sales and pretty decorations.

Granted these things usually occur somewhere in mid-November, much earlier than a lot of people think the Christmas celebration should begin, but it doesn't matter. Christmas is without a doubt my favorite time of year. I love it all: the giving spirit associated with the holiday, the crowded malls and the snow. Yes, snow.

Unfortunately, the more I look around, the more I realize that my idealized version of a holiday season full of cheer is far from our typical excuse for a Christmas celebration.

Take for instance last Friday, when my mom, my aunt and I began the official holiday shopping season at approximately 4 a.m., which besides being way too early for a sleep-deprived college student, was made all the worse by the freezing cold and fighting crowds. Shopping definitely loses some of its appeal when people are slamming their carts into each other to get to the last portable DVD player or digital camera.

I've always looked forward to shopping on Black Friday, but as you age and mature, certain things tend to lose their charm. Gift shopping becomes a fight to the death, rather than an enjoyable weekend event, and when it's done hurriedly and without much thought, gift giving loses its meaning. The whole point of the holidays is lost.

Obviously as adults, we no longer believe in Santa Claus or reindeer, and we may not look forward to presents on Christmas morning. Still, where has the cheerful attitude and giving spirit associated with this time of year gone?

How many of us with our jam packed schedules rush through the holidays without enjoying them? We buy our gifts last minute, don't bother to send out cards or even e-mails, and when the New Year comes question how and why the season has passed so quickly.

It's easy to get caught up in the troubles of every day life, but the holiday season is the one time of year when you should relax, spend time with family and friends, and appreciate everything you have. Take the time to pick out a gift you know your parents will love, bake cookies with your little sister or drive around and look at lights.

It only takes a little thought and not a lot of effort to put aside a bit of time each year to celebrate the holidays and appreciate the season. This December don't be a Grinch, a Scrooge or a cotton-headed ninny-muggins-make the time and enjoy the holiday season.