Aside from my twenty-five-year-old car that decides not to function when it’s less than mildly warm and the fact that I have the persistent first-world problem of being too hot with a coat and too cold without, I love this time of year. I laugh at the people who start Christmas way too early and at the people who appear offended by such Christmas joy and scoff. I ask of you: Why would you not want to appreciate every Hallmark Christmas movie now, while you can? Blasphemy.

I am a firm believer in the idea that the Christmas season should start as soon as the music, movies, and the holiday shopping sales come about, right around Thanksgiving time. In fact, the best way to get into the Christmas spirit is to get off your overfed Thanksgiving dinner-stuffed behinds and hit the stores in the wee hours of morning to get the really good Black Friday shopping. Let me tell you; it’s a rush. I go every year where my sister lives in Kansas City, and the constant fear of getting shanked by crazed mothers for the last DVD player gets the adrenaline pumping. After a few years of going through the pain of missing sales, we’ve perfected our process. Practice makes perfect.

Meanwhile, please enjoy the ugly Christmas sweaters and please, for the love of all that is good, enjoy the cheesy and horribly-written yet still incredible Hallmark or Lifetime Christmas movies. Or, if you want to go for the classics, go with “White Christmas” or “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It is not possible for you to go wrong in that situation.

So yes. Enjoy the season. Be merry and jolly and stuff. Eat turkey. Blow your money Christmas shopping. Buy yourself presents and wrap them shamelessly. You can do it. No judgment here.