Well, here it is. Only 12 more days until Christmas.

I'm almost bald from pulling my hair out. I still have shopping to do, cookies to bake, gifts to wrap and gifts to paint.But, 'tis the season to be jolly, so I try to think of things to turn my frowns upside down.I chuckle every time I think of Harry putting up the outside decorations this year.We always hang wreaths with lights on each window of the front of the house. It's my job, (from the inside of the house) to unlock the six windows, lower the top part of each as Harry hands me the string the wreath is attached to. Then I close and lock the window.The first two went like clockwork. The third ... well, not so much. Unlock, lower, hand the string, close the window ... but the window didn't want to close. So I gave it an extra hard push and CRUNCH! Harry's expression was one of pure disgust."You broke two of the light bulbs!" he yelled."Well, how did I know they were up there?" I yelled back."You should have known when the window didn't want to close," he retorted."Yeah, well, sorry," was my inner third-grader response.Seeing this was going nowhere, I lowered the window and he yanked the wreath off. He went to his box of extra bulbs, replaced the broken ones and we tried it again. Open window, hand the string, close the window ... close ... close ... CRUNCH!"You #% did it again!" Harry yelled. And with that he yanked on the wreath, pulled it off the window and threw it across the yard!"I'm not fixing it again!" he stormed away.I lost it. I laughed so hard the tears ran down my face. Every time I visualized Harry's look when he heard the crunch and how mad he got when he threw the wreath, I'd lose it all over again. When he returned from wherever he went to cool off, we finished the remaining windows without mishap, me chuckling all the time. Him, not so much.I went about my inside decorating when I heard a knock on the famous window. He stood there, wreath in hand and warned, "This is the last time."Houston ... we had liftoff.Two days later, same wreath, half the lights no longer worked. The ill-fated wreath now lies on the spare bed, waiting for someone to put another set of lights on it. I kind of think the window will remain wreathless for the year.Hanging outside decorations is just one of many holiday traditions.Here are a few that also make me chuckle.Hide the pickleThis is where you hide a pickle ornament on the tree and the first person to find it receives a special gift. The first year we did it, Becky found it and then said, "Where's my special gift?" I looked at the bazillion wrapped gifts under the tree and said, "Pick one."Peppermint pigSupposedly begun in Victorian times, the pig was a symbol of good health, happiness and prosperity. So someone designed a pig out of hard peppermint candy and made a tradition out of beating it with a hammer. You put it in a bag, hit it with a little hammer and share a tale of the past year's good fortune and pass it on. The broken peppermint and warm memories are enjoyed by all in hopes of prosperity for the coming year.We bought one once. It's stupid. And it was messy. I like the pig tradition where you buy a ham and enjoy it for Christmas dinner.Holiday family photosMy little family has never done it. But my sister, Diane, does it every year. There's usually a theme going on there. They've been in matching sweaters, color-coordinated shirts, Christmas Santa hats ...This year, the guys are all wearing camo earflap hats and the girls are in camo Santa hats. They're just ripe for a Jeff Foxworthy joke ... "You know you're a redneck when ..."The ugly Christmas sweaterI know the Christmas sweater is considered a fashion faux pas. But I love them! And Christmas tops. I think they're festive and pretty. I wear them all season long.Last year, my niece Jennie Rose decided we had to start a new family tradition of wearing the same kind of top on Christmas Day. She picked blue flannel shirts. So, there we were, 10 of us all in various blue plaid flannel shirts. They made an exception for Mom. Diane made her a blue flannel apron.This year, Jennie Rose said we all had to wear an ugly Christmas sweater. I just have to go in my closet and pick one out. For Harry, I'm going to dress him in his red sweater, put that ill-fated wreath around his neck with a string of battery-powered lights, because he's the light of my life. And then I'm going to laugh, and laugh, and laugh ... Ho, Ho, Ho!What are some of your favorite holiday traditions?