Why we Love December and the End of the Year (pleasant, crazy chaos) 🎁😉💫

And so, dear readers, we are now in December, the last month of the year... December comes with the holiday spirit, Christmas and gifts, gatherings with friends and family, and a whole festive atmosphere that warms our hearts. What was before and what is coming up? This is a very important question that each of us asks ourselves. December is the month for retrospection of our life in the year. Have we become better, have we achieved our goals, have we helped people around us? How could we spend this festive month with more fun, joy and create lasting memories?

A cozy living room glowing with Christmas lights and warmth

And now, let's jump into December! This is the month when we collectively decide to leave the logic, embrace sentimentality and decorate everything with tiny blinking lights. It’s the final lap around the sun, the grand finale of the calendar year. In this moment we either execute our resolutions or quietly put them in the jar for the next year's implementation. Ah, what a real pleasure to hum “Jingle Bell Rock” at a decorated home, walk on the bustling and hustling festive center in the city and feel the holiday atmosphere. 🎄⛄🎅

Let's be clear: December is more than just Christmas. It’s about everything: Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, Festivus (for some of us). But seriously, December has a magic that no other month can touch. This is the only time of year when it passed different strange things:

If the dessert is shaped like a tree, you have legal permission to eat it for breakfast. A gingerbread muffin? Breakfast? A cinnamon cake with sugar glaze on top? Energy for the morning!!! You’re labeled a “mess” and asked if you’re “going through something.” December says, “Yes, you’re festive. Carry on".

So, let’s talk about cookies! December is the month when we all become elite bakers. “I’ve never used an oven before,” someone told me, “but I make seven types of cookies with sugar glaze and smiling chocolate figures, decorated in the spirit of Christmas". We all frantically upload our creations to Pinterest and show how perfect and unique we are. Meanwhile, my own baked unicat looked more like abstract art than holiday treats. One looked like a sad little bird giving up on life. 🤔 But hey, it’s the thought that counts! So don't stay out of the kitchen; get dirty like a master craftsman and have fun. 🧑‍🍳

December is also a holiday shopping. Oh, shopping! The glorious, panic-inducing rush through crowded malls and the digital battlefield of online checkout pages. Why do we say every year, "I'll start early this time," and every year on December 24th at 11:47 p.m. we frantically Google "last-minute"? A gift card for ... This is not a personal touch—it's a cry for help in the last moment.

But despite the chaos, December has this uncanny ability to make us stop, look around, and say, “Huh. Was this year… okay?” It’s the only month where we collectively engage in mandatory self-reflection. Did I become a better person? Did I eat healthy? Did I finally fix that leaky faucet or did I just stick a bucket under it and call it “rustic home decor”?

Let’s be real—most of us didn’t achieve half the goals we set in January. I was supposed to learn a new language, run a marathon and read "War and Peace". Instead, I watched all the "Harry Potter" movies in one weekend, learned how to say, "Where is the bathroom?" in fluent Spanish and replaced “reading” with “scrolling through videos of cats in Santa hats".

But December forgives. December understands. December hands you a hot chocolate, wraps a fuzzy blanket around your shoulders and says, “You tried. That’s adorable.” And so we reflect—not with shame, but with a kind of warm, cinnamon-scented acceptance. Maybe I didn’t save the world, but I did send that encouraging text to my friend when he needed it. Maybe I didn't get shredded, but I did shred enough wrapping paper to clothe a small village. Progress!

And then, just when you think the festive overload can’t get any more intense — BAM! — New Year’s Eve hits. It’s the final. The grand finale. The moment when we all gather, slightly buzzed, wearing paper crowns that look suspiciously like origami mistakes, and pretend we know the words of the song “Happy New Year". 💫🎆

We make resolutions with glowing ambition: “This year, I’ll do yoga every morning.” “I’ll eat healthy.” “I’ll finally learn how to fold my clothes.” And by January 2nd, at least half of us are back to our old ways, eating cold pizza in bed and watching YouTube videos titled “How to fold my clothes". But that’s okay! The spirit is there. And hey, we made it through another year—one that likely included at least one global crisis, two minor tech meltdowns and three instances where we accidentally sent a SMS meant for your friend to our boss that said “I will prepare romantic dinner only for you tonight".

So, why do we love December?

Because it’s the time of year when joy is not just encouraged—it’s expected. It’s when kindness goes viral, laughter echoes in shopping malls and we allow ourselves to believe—even for a moment—that miracles happen.

It’s also the only month when it's socially acceptable to cry during a car commercial. Look, if a golden retriever reuniting with a soldier while Mariah Carey belts “All I Want for Christmas Is You” doesn’t make you tear up, you might be a robot. And even if you are, I still hope you get a cookie.

As the year winds down, let’s embrace the chaos, the glitter, the slightly dry turkey at family dinners, and the cousin who insists on singing show tunes after three glasses of sherry. Let’s make memories—even if some of them are hazy due to spiked cider. Let’s give (and receive) gifts with love!!!

So here is December—the month of wonder, warmth and questionable fashion choices. May your days be funny, your cookies edible and your Wi-Fi strong enough to stream all the holiday movies your heart desires.

And when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, whether you're in a ballroom or in pajamas watching the countdown on your phone, raise a glass. To the year that was, to the year that will be, and to the fact that—despite everything—we made it. Again.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go explain to my dog why he can’t eat the garland. Again.

Happy December, you glorious, shining chaos!