We'd debated whether we'd decorate this year. I love the Christmas season (the brighter the lights, the sweeter the cookie, the bigger the Santa hat, I'm all over it), but when JD pointed out the obvious (we just moved into a new home so we'd need new lights, decor, and a strict budget), the little elf inside my heart died. I mean, why must he stifle my artistic vision for our holiday home? Jasmine, my husband exasperatedly said, when you say ‘artistic vision', I worry you want a mix of The North Pole and Las Vegas, as designed by Donald Trump.

AND WHAT'S SO WRONG WITH GAUDY, BRIGHT, AND TACKY??

In the end, with the amount of work and travel I was doing, we decided to bypass decorating this year since I didn't have the time to actually do any decorating. So can you imagine my surprise when my husband pulled up to our home to find it covered in Christmas lights and a tree in the front window?

I recently traveled for work and had a particularly hard day (which resulted in me calling JD from the airport in tears), and–in an attempt to make me feel better–promised he'd make time to decorate the house. Little did I realize he'd been working on the surprise all day.

We walked into a warm, cinnamon-scented house with the sounds of Christmas jazz coming from the record player. It was then–in that very moment–that the elf in my heart resuscitated and immediately threw back a shot of eggnog.

So, yea. People can say mean things, days can be ruined, but if you have people in your life who help make your dreams a reality, the bad days are made easier. And that? That's mo-fo holiday cheer at its finest.