By Jocelyn McLean

Anyone who has met me for five minutes, regardless of the season, will learn quickly that Christmas is my favourite time of year. I buy in to every aspect of it. I am an advertising executive’s dream. I’m obsessed with the music, the food, the traditions, the shopping, and of course, spending time with the family. Naturally I’d like to share the holiday joy, so here’s a collection of some of my favourite things.

MUSIC

Anyone who says they don’t like Christmas music is probably just looking in the wrong place. This is why, every year, I take it upon myself to make about 5 Christmas playlists so that I can instill Christmas spirit in every Grinch. 8tracks is a particularly great place to find these gems. One of these playlists should do the trick for you: there’s a jazz playlist for a nice relaxing evening by the fireplace; a pop Christmas for those of you who secretly (or not-so-secretly) love Justin Bieber and Mariah Carey; an indie playlist for those of you who are just too hipster for the mainstream; and of course, a classic playlist for all the traditionalists.

TV & MOVIES

My family and I literally have to schedule our time down to the hour sometimes so that we can fit in all the Christmas movies and TV episodes we watch every year. Some of my family’s favourites include It’s A Wonderful Life, Love Actually, and all the Christmas episodes of The West Wing. I also love the abundance of Christmas specials that take over my television.

DELICIOUS TREATS

I don’t mean to brag (except I totally do), but earlier this month I made candy cane brownies for the office and they were pretty much a work of art. For a long time my favourite part about Christmas food was eating the Christmas food, but it turns out making it can be just as much fun. Here are some tasty recipes for you to try over the holidays:

• Candy Cane Brownies
• Ginger Spice Cookies
• ”Amazingly Delicious” Eggnog

FUN FACTS

I don’t think a holiday is a holiday without some obscure facts, so here’s some fun information to send you off – Merry Christmas, everyone!

• In Canada, Santa Claus has his own postal zip code, H0H 0H0.
• Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold. Approximately 30-35 million real (living) Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S.
• The world’s largest Christmas stocking was made by the Children’s Society in London in 2009, and measured 106 feet and 9 inches long, and 49 feet and 1 inch wide. It weighed as much as five reindeer and held almost 1,000 presents.