I love Christmas. LOVE. (Now is a good time to mention, I’m Jewish, and very proud of that). However, this is my favorite time of year. Christmas is my second favorite holiday, right after Halloween.

I love how cheerful everyone is this time of year, how beautiful the trees look all lit up with twinkling lights and I love the smell of cookies, cinnamon and chocolate that seems to linger when December rolls around.

Yesterday, I had the day off from work. And I thought I’d spread a little early holiday cheer by baking. (It is, after all, one of my favorite things).

I decided to bake three things. Some pumpkin bread — it got rave reviews from my coworkers the last time I made it. However, this time I opted for the much easier to make box of Pillsbury Pumpkin Spice Bread. And keeping with the “homemade, just not from scratch” theme, I also whipped up a dozen mini cherry chip cupcakes and a square cake too.

About one hour into the process, my kitchen was a mess, but man, my apartment smelled sugarlicious. As the cupcakes baked, I whipped up some frosting and assorted festive sprinkles. Soon enough, they were patiently waiting the trip to the TV station to be enjoyed by my coworkers.

I should also mention, that along with the treats, I also had some holiday gifts for my friends. I sort of pride myself in being an excellent gift giver. I think it’s far more important to get a personal gift, than spend a specific dollar amount.

For instance, two of the photographers I work with were actually excited to receive a portable mug that you can plug into an a/v adapter in a car. It will keep their coffee warm when they drive around in the cold winter months. My fellow producer’s wife is pregnant, so I got him some alcoholic mixers, and her a bottle of sparkling grape juice. A few of the lovely ladies I work with will enjoy some new jewelry picked out with certain outfits they’ve worn in mind this holiday season.

It got a little crazy in my kitchen yesterday.. and much of the mess of dirty mixing bowls and scraps of wrapping paper and scotch tape lie sprinkled on the counter tops. But I think its worth it. The look on my friends & coworkers faces when they receive a gift that’s specially picked out for them… and the enjoyment of a yummy treat is a really great feeling. One that warms your heart, even on a cold, snowy day like today.