Are you ready for Christmas?

I am not a big fan of small talk. I am admittedly a frequent participant as it seems to be completely unavoidable. Around the holidays the small talk grows less varied, instead of the usual "how has your week been?" or "What do you think of this crazy weather?"** we bring out our go to holiday small talk.

During this time of year we have options such as the very open ended "Don't you just love Christmas time?" or the pleasant "You staying here this year or going out of town?" My personal least favorite is "So, are you ready for Christmas?" This statement is usually accompanied by a facial expression that would imply impending doom. What exactly are you expecting my response to be? Was I supposed to be preparing for something? I am a single, 20 something living alone in my grandmother's basement. Are you wondering if I have I prepared myself mentally for the awesomeness that is Christmas? Or perhaps you're referring to the physical preparation needed to handle the excess food and beverage consumption. Either way, I generally try to avoid such heavy topics as my mental and physical health in small talk.

In the last few weeks leading up to the blessed day, I have been asked this question probably a bazillion and a half times. My usual response is something to the effect of "Oh ya! Bring it on! I love Christmas!'' This response is generally met with gasps of shock and unbelief, as if i have been blessed with some unearthly Christmas preparatory super power. Yes. I have a super power, and I am awesome.


**(by the way I have a whole other issue with this statement. We constantly talk about "the crazy weather" if the weather is always crazy wouldn't that make it normal?? anyway...)