My holiday decor, filters courtesy of Pixlr The holidays have always been kind of bittersweet for me. As a child they're great, because you get to celebrate with family and open gifts and have lots of food, but there are downsides there too - such as seeing relatives you can't stand, watching your cousins open up bigger and better gifts that anything you received, and your mom forcing you to eat grandma's nasty green bean casserole. That was my experience growing up celebrating Christmas. It was the only night of the year (save for Easter) that I had to go to church and once I had reached thirteen or so, I no longer wanted to and was never made to again. But even as a child, the bustling noise of the holidays and the influx of people EVERYWHERE was always very jarring to me. I was always relieved after family gatherings to climb into the quiet car or close the door on a quiet house, and just breathe. But I'm an introvert and so that's a given. The holida