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Ready for the holidays

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The holidays are in full swing and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.

I don’t know if y’all noticed this, but there were quite a few elections here in Fountain Hills throughout 2018. From a heated property tax vote to a heated council election to the heated midterms, the past 12 months felt like one long debate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the democratic process and wouldn’t have it any other way. However, I’d be lying if I said that three elections, back-to-back-to-back, didn’t take its toll.

There were times leading up to the General Election when Publisher Brent Cruikshank and I would look at each other and say something like, “Just five more weeks.” As that timeframe shrank (“Just four more weeks.” Just three more weeks.” “Just 12 more days.”), you would have noticed a mounting tone of utter relief in our voices.

It’s taken me a few weeks to shake off the past 12 months, but the holiday season is helping expedite the process. The weather has been crisp and cool and, after this past weekend, the town has gotten much more festive.

While I was out of town during the Stroll in the Glow, I made sure to swing by and see the lights before heading home Saturday evening. And I at least got to begin the day with the annual Breakfast with Santa, put on by the Town and Noon Kiwanis.

If you are ever having trouble getting into the holiday spirit, this festive event will cure whatever ails you. Everyone’s wearing their Christmas sweaters, Santa is taking pictures with the kiddos, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph and Frosty are visiting with families and there are more activities going on all at once than I have time to list here. Combine all of that with the festive music and you’ve got yourself a bona fide concentrated dose of holiday joy.

After that, finding the motivation to clean the house and get the holiday decorations up was a snap.

And while my Mom has now retired and moved back east to be closer to all of her extended family, I fully plan on keeping our Christmas movie tradition alive and well. I’ve already gotten the ball rolling with “The Christmas Inheritance” on Netflix and have a handful of additional movies picked out for the coming weeks.

As I noted last year, these kinds of movies – Hallmark makes 327 of them each year – have become a welcome addition to my holiday plans. “The Christmas Inheritance,” for instance, was silly, overly-sweet, predictable and positively stuffed with warm feelings and holiday clichés leading all the way up to an expectedly happy ending.

In other words, it was exactly what I needed. Following the roller coaster of a year that 2018 has been, I was happy to grab a blanket and some popcorn and relax with a movie that had zero stakes and more holiday joy crammed into every square inch than you would have ever thought possible.

After this past weekend, I’m officially ready to turn in a “bah, humbug” for “ho ho ho.”