So with Thanksgiving passed here in the U.S, we're "officially" into the holiday season, with the shopping, decorating, baking, media hype and everything else that goes with it. It seems to get more insane every year, and retailers seem to be pushing their holiday stuff earlier into the year. I've seen some stores around here selling Christmas decorations as early as September. I'm sure businesses would love to extend the holiday season as much as they can, since that's mostly when they turn the year into a profit, especially in this lousy economy. So they push, and they push, and push a little more. People around here get all excited about it, hoping for that white Christmas. When January comes and the snow becomes more common here, it starts to get much colder than it was in December. This is when people start hating snow and winter. Suddenly, winter went from a symbol of holiday cheer to a royal pain in the ass with high utility bills. And I'll do it again next year.
My family has a mix of religions in it, so we basically have a generic, (almost) politically correct, holiday party where we exchange gifts and eat lots of good food. We don't do this on any particular date, but it usually happens on the weekend after or before Christmas, whenever it's convenient for the majority of the family. Chrismakkah? Hanumas? Presents and Food day? Whatever works.