Five Christmas traditions you'll never be too old for

1. Making Christmas cookies. I'm not talking about the "slice-and-bake" dough that you find in the refrigerator section of the supermarket and is pre-stamped with Christmas trees. I'm talking about the cookies you roll out yourself, then top with frosting, sprinkles and M&M's. Go ahead and put a Red Hot on that reindeer cookie's nose, and tell me you don't feel a little more jovial. It's impossible. Share the love by baking a variety of cookies and arranging them in cute boxes for your friends and co-workers.

2. Opening presents in your pajamas on Christmas morning. Just because.

3. Christmas socks. Hey, I'm not saying you should wear them to work or anything. But if those Santa socks are calling to you from the dollar section at Target, go ahead and pick them up. You can be festive at least one day of the year. I won't call the fashion police.

4. Taking photos in front of the Christmas tree. My mom still takes a photo of my sisters and me sitting in front of the Christmas tree each year (usually in birth order). It's neat to look back at the photos and see how we've grown up from year to year.

5. Going home for the holidays. There's just something special about being in the place you grew up, with the people you grew up with, celebrating how you've always done it. That's why I travel 350 miles "home" to Northern Illinois and sleep in my parents' guest bedroom every year. It's tradition; it's family; it's Christmas. Gotta love it.