Rockford, Poppy and I went ice skating today with Rockford’s sister and the cousins. I like ice skating, but I’m not very good at it. I’d like to take lessons, if there were anywhere to do that near us. (I’m pretty sure there isn’t.) Rockford does not seem to like ice skating. He skates like a robot. Poppy liked the fruit snacks they sold at the snack bar.

Next in Nichole vs. Winter Sports: I think I’m going to go skiing with Perry Mason and his lovely wife.

I don’t go in for the shopping stuff on the day after Thanksgiving. I don’t like getting up early, and I’ve never saved up the money to do all my Christmas shopping in one fell swoop anyway. Also, I don’t like crowds and I don’t like shopping.

That’s enough of the Andy Rooney crabapple routine, though. Here’s what I do like about the day after Thanksgiving: It’s the first day of the Christmas season. Today I will drink the year’s first glass of eggnog. Today we will all go to the movies together — “Tangled” for the girls, “Megamind” for the boys. Tomorrow we will go to the Christmas tree farm. On Sunday, Rockford will go up to the attic and bring down all of the holiday decorations.

I love this time of year. I love the weather, I love Christmas movies — even the made-for-TV kind. I love all the twinkly lights, and I love the extra time spent with family, both immediate and extended.

Now I’m going to have that 2010 inaugural ‘nog. Happy holidays, pals!