Well, many of you are going to love this column, and many of you will hate it. And that’s OK. There are Christmas lovers, then there are Christmas lovers just at Christmas. I’m just doing my civic duty to throw a reminder out there that we are less than 6 months away from the big day. On July 25 (this Saturday), there will be 153 days left until Christmas.

I am a Christmas lover. I love all the holidays, but Christmas will forever be my favorite. It’s the feeling. It’s the smells and tastes. It’s the music and people who surround you. And it always goes way too fast. I mean, let’s face it, we just went from July 4th to July 20th in 3 hours.

You know I don’t need to tell you just how quickly the holidays are coming, but here we are, fa la la la la, with a festive little holiday reminder from your favorite Christmas lover.

Why not start prepping now so we can enjoy what time we do have at Christmas? It always seems to be so busy — gifts to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, decorating, and so much more. A lot goes into that time of year.

Last year, I bought a large red-and-green tote. After Christmas, I picked up a few little goodies that were perfect gifts for this year. I put them in that box. A few months later, I found a perfect gift for my stepmom, so I bought it. Amazon Prime Days? Oh my goodness. I grabbed a few really neat gifts then, too. I have two people almost done on my list, and my next step is to get the unique, smaller, thoughtful gifts that I always seem to procrastinate on. Are you the same way? Like teachers, bus drivers, mailmen, neighbors, co-workers, etc.? I think gift cards with a small, unique gift are so nice, or even a box of homemade goodies. This is stuff that is perfect to grab ahead of time. Bath and Body Works semi-annual sale is great for this, too. You can make the cutest gifts with things like this. Plus, I love having extra in case there is someone you need to grab a gift for in a hurry.

I have been slowly filling this red-and-green tote with all kinds of gifts. I’ll remember where I put them, and when I am done with someone, I am going to start wrapping. That’s my hope anyway. I’ll keep you posted on that, haha.

But I feel like my big struggle is honestly just making a bunch of cookies. You can’t make them too soon, or they get eaten or stale. (Yeah, you can freeze them, though, too! That’s an option.) It’s gotta be that prime time right before Christmas for fresh ones, and it always seems like there are last-minute gifts to get, tons of wrapping, all while wanting to live on Candy Cane Lane for the season. The struggle is real!

For the past two years, I have been making different Christmas candies (with one or two cookies), and it has honestly worked out so well. I have a fun recipe I am going to share with you at Christmas, but for now, I am going to give you my crockpot candy recipe. It is so darn easy, and everyone really seems to love them! You could make them for fall; you don’t have to wait for Christmas. They just make the prettiest little gifts, but you just can’t make them ahead of time. But as easy as it is!? You don’t need to! More details below.

And hey, if anyone out there has any pull with the wonderful folks on Summer Street at Christmastime. Candy Cane Lane. Can you please tell them how much Kenzy and I miss Santa, with his hiney on fire and the reindeer blowing it out with a fire extinguisher? It’s been two years since we have seen them out, and they are just our favorites! We look for them every year. Your Christmas-loving journalist would really appreciate it! Thank you!

Crockpot Candy

Ingredients:

• 48 ounces of dry roasted peanuts
• 24 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 24 ounces butterscotch chips
• Holiday Sprinkles

Directions:

Layer everything in a crockpot — peanuts first, then the chocolate and butterscotch. Cook, covered, on low for 1 hour. Stir after one hour. Place the lid back on and cook for another 30 minutes if the chocolate isn’t melted. Top baking pans with parchment paper. Drop the chocolate-and-peanut mixture by the spoonful onto lined baking sheets. Immediately top with sprinkles. Allow candy to cool for one hour before handling.

You can find the cutest holiday boxes to show off your beautiful holiday candies and cookies. They make the sweetest gifts!