Everyone huddles around the fireplace.  Presents are already stacked high underneath my grandma’s tree.  My cousins are trying to recover their marshmallows and fruit that plunged to the bottom of the fondue pot.  Smiles are present on every single person’s face.  Just the thought of Christmas Eve makes me anxious.

Christmas will always be my favorite holiday.  Everything about the Christmas spirit makes me so happy.

I start feeling this spirit the day after Thanksgiving and it intensifies each and every day after that.  From Nov. 25 up until Dec. 25, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” is my anthem.  The second I hear the commencing bells of the song, any prior stress that I had is forgotten about for the next four minutes.

But things may be different this year for the Mann family.  I may not be spending my 2011 Christmas in the house that I have spent it in for the last 15 years of my life.  Instead, this Christmas may be spent on a tropical island.

When my mom first mentioned going away for Christmas, I was beyond thrilled.  I love nothing more than lying on a beach with my iPod in hand being served virgin piña coladas.  My parents know this.

For the past few years, my mom has been asking my sisters and me if we would ditch the Christmas presents and go on a family vacation instead.  However, my mom has never followed through.

I don’t know how I feel about leaving Westport for the holiday season.  Will there even be a Christmas tree in the hotel lobby?  Will the outside of the hotel be strung with lights?   Will there be homemade egg nog on Christmas morning?

What about the little kids?  Is Santa just going to bring their presents to their homes so that they can open them days after Christmas?  All of this makes me sad.  I feel like my Christmas spirit will be left behind in Connecticut if I celebrate the holiday on a warm island.

Sophie McConnell ’14 is someone who would not even think about leaving Westport for Christmas.  “Santa would drop all of the presents off at my house and nobody would be there.  Also, I’ve always woken up in my own home on Christmas and I will never let that change.”

I know that once I get to this undecided tropical island, I’ll have a blast. At the same time, it pains me to think that I may not be celebrating Christmas in the same place that is has always been celebrated for me.

Instead, I may be spending Christmas Eve packing and Christmas Day confined on an airplane (because apparently the best airfare deals are for Christmas).

I guess the most important part about this holiday is spending time with your family.  Either way I’ll be doing that.  I’ll just have to wait and see if there really is no place like home for the holidays.