Half-hazardous mudslides, slick roads, and short-circuiting Christmas lights. That’s right, it’s wintertime in Ventura.

Now, I’m not necessarily opposed to the “most wonderful time of the year,” although the snapshot of my childhood might lead you to believe differently.

For the record, I wanted to be a Christmas angel in the State Street Parade, but Mom thought it would be much more befitting of me to be a center of the season, the pièce de résistance…a tree. Awesome. I refused to talk to her for the rest of the night. It was a bad day, and I don’t want to talk about it.

But I digress.

I really do love the holiday season. I look forward to grappling for interesting secret santa gifts, singing a one-sided duet performance of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (which is pretty impressive if I do say so myself) and a huge two and a half week break in which I’ll be able to sleep 11 hours a day, hardly change out of my pajamas, and watch “Elf” and “A Christmas Story” on a constant loop until I fall asleep on a platter of Christmas cookies, only to wake up the next afternoon to repeat the cycle.

It seems that this year really has flown by, and by tradition in my family, we like to recap the best moments. {sidebar id=65}

Whether it was attending a dream of a concert (I’m a sucker for boy bands), entertaining relatives from out-of-state, welcoming new family members, teaching a toddler the basics of French, hosting continuous barbecues and pool parties, or being invited to be a columnist on an esteemed online newspaper (wink wink nudge), there’s so much to look back on as 2012 comes to a close. 

This year was unforgettable, whether you were tuning into the presidential debates, or the life of a once distinguished Honey Boo Boo, you have something to take away from this year. My own family was a fan of C-SPAN and “Storage Wars.”

Of course I can’t recap everyone’s year, but I’m sure that each one of you has a special story to tell about the past, the present, and what you hope to happen in the future. I know this year’s given me some great memories to retell again and again.