Category Archives: Holidays and Celebrations

It Feels Like Christmas!

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On this Christmas Eve, I would like to wish all of you and your loved ones a truly Merry Christmas. May your holiday season be filled with family, friends, good food, and enough laughter to burn all the calories from that good food. My wish for you isn’t just that Santa fills your stockings with good gifts; it’s that the warmth of this time of year fills your heart with hope and happiness. And it’s my hope that the spirit of love that Christmas is truly all about stays with you for the whole year.

From our NGN Family to yours, may the joy, peace, and childlike wonder of Christmas be with you today and always.

 

Fangirl Thursday: An Underrated Christmas Classic

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We all have a favorite holiday movie that we love with all our hearts, despite it being seemingly unknown by most people. It makes watching that movie even more special, like you have a holiday tradition few others could appreciate, a little hidden gem of Christmas joy.

My hidden gem of holiday joy is A Muppet Family Christmas. No, it’s not the same as A Muppet Christmas Carol—although I love that movie, too. A Muppet Family Christmas is a TV movie first aired in 1987 that features all of the classic Muppets, Sesame Street gang, and Fraggles visiting Fozzie Bear’s mom for Christmas during a snowstorm.

Most people don’t know this made-for-TV special exists, but those who do cherish it for the gift it is. My sister and I have to watch it at least once every Christmas season, but we can be heard quoting it and referencing it all year (especially telling people to “Look out for the icy patch!’). From interactions between Big Bird and the Swedish Chef to small talk between Ernie, Bert, and Doc, this is a mash-up of some of the most beloved characters of not just my generation but ones before and after me, too.

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Fangirl Thursday: Feeling Thankful

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On this day set aside for giving thanks, I wanted to take a moment to once again count my fangirl blessings. I have so much to be grateful for as the creator of this website, a website that continues to fill me with joy, pride, and excitement every day. After over two years captaining the good ship NGN, I am grateful for the fact that this little labor of love has grown so much and yet still feels as deeply personal as it did the day I started it.

When I take a step back and look at NGN, more than anything I am grateful for the people who have made this website a place that I am so proud to call mine. Because, for as much as I say NGN is mine; it’s really yours, too. All of you who comment here and so generously share your thoughts and feelings have created a space that feels like a home and a family for so many fellow fans who haven’t felt that in a long time—if ever—myself included.

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Fangirl Thursday: Let’s Play Dress-Up!

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Tomorrow is one of my favorite days of the year—Halloween! For as much as I love the whole “excuse to eat candy” part of the holiday, my real favorite thing about Halloween is dressing up. Halloween has always given me yet another outlet to show how much I love the fictional characters who matter to me, and that’s dressing up as them.

One of my favorite costumes—from Halloween 2010.

One of my favorite costumes—from Halloween 2010.

I’ve never gone to Comic Con (and I just started going to Star Wars Weekends, only dressing up for it this past year), so Halloween is a way for me to try my hand at cosplaying. In the last few years, I’ve really tried to make an effort to choose costumes based on fictional characters I like and not just whatever looked good at the store. It’s fun to show my passions through the costumes I’ve chosen, and it’s also fun to see other people’s costumes and figure out how those reflect things that matter to them.

When I was a little girl, my Disney princess costumes meant the world to me. (I can still vividly remember my Cinderella dress.) This year, I’m returning those roots to pay homage to my favorite Disney princess: Belle. (Expect plenty of photos of my costume to make their way to social media this weekend.)

Whether it’s Hermione from Harry Potter or Red from Once Upon a Time, my recent costumes have reflected fictional characters that mean a lot to me. This year, my costume is also going to reflect that, and I am so excited to wear a costume that connects 26-year-old me to the little girl I was when I first watched Belle sing about the “great, wide somewhere.”

Tell me, fellow nerds, what have been some of your favorite Halloween costumes from your childhood or your more recent past? And what—if anything—are you dressing up as this year?

Two Years Later

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I’ve always loved birthdays. They’re a chance to take stock of things in your life; to look back on the ways you’ve grown and to look ahead at all the possibilities the next year (and more) can offer.

Today is NGN’s second birthday. For a blog, a first birthday is great, but a second birthday is something to really celebrate. The first year is all about running on adrenaline, building something from nothing, and throwing things at the wall to see what sticks. But the second year—that’s when the fun really begins, but it’s also when the work really begins. The second year is about keeping your readers interested in what you have to say after the initial novelty has worn off. The fact that so many of you have stuck around means the world to me.

At NGN, this year has also been about discovering a real purpose. When I started this blog, I had no idea what it would become. For one of the first times in my life, I didn’t have a plan or lofty goals; I just wanted to write about what mattered to me. Since then, I’ve watched people gravitate towards NGN for its generally positive tone and the passionate but respectful discussion it inspires. At the risk of sounding cliché, I can’t find the words to describe how happy it makes me to think that this is what NGN is known for. The Internet can be a nasty place, so it fills me with a deep sense of joy and also a very motivating sense of purpose to know that people come here to talk about their favorite TV shows (as well as movies, books, and other passions) in an environment that makes people feel welcome and encourages sincere discussion.

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Feeling the Love

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I love you all like Leslie loves Ann.

I love you all like Leslie loves Ann.

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!

For a long time, I was one of those girls who openly and adamantly disliked Valentine’s Day. But then I realized something: Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate love, and love encompasses so many feelings beyond just romantic attraction. I love my friends, I love my family, I love my jobs, and I love my hometown. I love dancing, writing, reading, watching sports, and eating chocolate. I love books, movies, TV shows, and theater. And I love Nerdy Girl Notes and everything it has given me in the nearly two years since I started it.

Take some time today to think about all of the things and people you love, and do something today to honor that love. Re-read your favorite part of your favorite book, watch a favorite episode of a TV show you love, or cheer for the country or athletes you love in the Olympics. Have dinner with a friend, call your mom, or surprise your significant other with a thoughtful gesture.

And don’t forget to take a moment today to do something nice for yourself, too. Loving yourself doesn’t make you conceited, and treating yourself to something nice doesn’t make you selfish. You should love yourself, because everyone deserves love.

If you’re single and kind of depressed about it today, don’t think you’re alone or unworthy of love. You’re worthy of the best kind of love; it’s just waiting for the right time to make itself known to you (and you have plenty of people—myself included—waiting right along with you). You’re not defined by your relationship status, so don’t define yourself by it. Instead, choose to define yourself by the things you love about who you are. Because—from what I know about the kinds of people who visit NGN—there’s plenty to love.

I am a hopeful romantic—there’s nothing hopeless about me. I am a passionate, enthusiastic person who thrives on encouraging others to be passionate and enthusiastic. I find inspiration and joy in loving things instead of hating them, in embracing hope instead of cynicism, and in caring about things and people with my whole heart instead of being apathetic. Valentine’s Day is one of those days when I feel proud to be a person who wears her heart on her sleeve.

I’m not shy about expressing how much I love the things I love, but sometimes I can be shy about expressing how much I love the people who make my life better just by being themselves. So if you’re reading this—no matter who you are—thanks for visiting NGN today. I really do value every single person who takes the time to read what I write. And to those of you who are frequent (or even infrequent but still awesome) commenters, I love the way you brighten this place with your own enthusiasm and passion.

I hope all of you are having and continue to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day. I hope it’s filled with the things and people you love, and I hope it reminds you that, in the words of Once Upon a Time, love isn’t weakness; it’s strength.

From Our Nerdy Family To Yours…

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I would just like to take a moment on this Christmas Eve to wish all of you and your loved ones the merriest Christmas imaginable. May your holiday be filled with love, light, and laughter. And may the hope of this holiday be with you today and always.

My wish for all of you isn’t just that Santa brings you everything you asked for—it’s that the warmth of Christmas fills your heart with the belief and joy of childhood. And if you don’t celebrate the holiday, I still hope these next two days leave you feeling peaceful, hopeful, and happy.

From all of us at NGN to you, Merry Christmas!

I Wish You a Nerdy Christmas

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Oh look—it’s me posing with my favorite nerdy gift from last Christmas!

Nerdy Christmas gifts are the best Christmas gifts. There’s nothing like opening up a present on Christmas morning (or at any other holiday celebration) and finding something inside that speaks to your passions, your most fervent interests, and your current (or even most cherished past) obsessions. Getting a nerdy Christmas gift—one that reflects something you have boundless, unironic enthusiasm for—means someone took the time to think about what makes you tick and what makes you happy. It means someone cares about you enough to think about what you really care about.

Giving nerdy Christmas gifts is its own kind of fun, too. I love thinking about other people’s passions, interests, and fandoms and getting them a gift that really means something to them. Whether it’s a book, a season of a TV show on DVD, a t-shirt, or any other kind of fandom-related gift, there’s a special smile people have when they open up a gift that speaks to their own nerdy side, whatever that may be. And I love being on the receiving end of one of those smiles.

My most memorable “nerdy Christmas” was when I was 13 years old. I had just discovered the Harry Potter series, and my love for Star Wars was experiencing a monumental resurgence. Under the tree on Christmas morning, I found Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets coupled with a Gryffindor ornament (because what kid when they first read the series doesn’t automatically think they’re a Gryffindor?) and the Original Star Wars Trilogy version of Trivial Pursuit. I spent the next blissful week of a very snowy Christmas vacation doing nothing but reading my book and playing my game and falling even deeper in love with two passions I continue to treasure to this day.

Over the years, I’ve been a recipient of countless wonderfully nerdy gifts: Alias DVDs when I was 16—back when it was still a very new concept to be able to re-watch your favorite shows through that medium. More versions of Scene-It than I could ever get tired of playing. Books about the making of so many movies, from Hollywood’s Golden Age to the last Harry Potter films. T-shirts that show my love for everything from The Avengers to Leslie Knope. Ornaments and calendars to remind me all through the year and for years to come how much I love Castle, Tangled, and Disney World. And jerseys for the sports teams I root for with all my heart.

I want to hear your stories—what was your most memorably nerdy Christmas? When was the Christmas where you were given a book or a movie that changed your life? When were you given a gift that showed you someone not only understood how much you loved something but that they wanted to encourage you to love it even more?

And for anyone still finishing up their Christmas shopping, don’t be afraid to reach for the nerdy. Get your friend the DVDs of that TV show only the two of you watched in high school. Find an obscure movie starring that actor your sister or brother has been obsessed with for years. Order a t-shirt, a calendar, a mug, or a book that speaks to the most telling thing about a person—their passions. You can never go wrong with a nerdy Christmas gift. I know from experience. It’s the perfect way to say “I love you for how much you love the things that matter to you.” And that’s such a wonderful sentiment to pass along to the people in our lives—at Christmastime and always.

Thankful Thoughts

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Today is a day for giving thanks, and I would be remiss without taking a moment to count my blessings. Running Nerdy Girl Notes continues to fill me with joy, pride, and a deep sense of purpose every day, and I am so thankful to have a place to express my thoughts and feelings about the media I love so much.

More than anything, though, I am thankful for all of the people who help make NGN something to be proud of. Sometimes, I look at other websites and am saddened by the negativity and nastiness found in the dialogue between fans. So I am incredibly grateful that NGN has become a place where people can engage in intelligent discussions that are conducted with respect for all opinions. I can’t even begin to describe how happy it makes me to watch this website grow into a place known for its positivity—because there’s already enough negativity in the world, don’t you think?

NGN is a reflection of the people who visit this site every day. I’m so thankful for each and every reader and commenter—your readership, your insight, and your passion inspire me to continue to make NGN the best it can be. And they inspire me to be a more positive person myself.

I’m thankful for every Tweet, Facebook Like, Tumblr post, and message board mention about NGN. I’m floored with gratitude when I think of how much love has been sent NGN’s way since this site began, and I appreciate everyone who visits this site and takes the time to talk so enthusiastically about it (and even make gorgeous things on Tumblr with my writing as inspirations—don’t think your beautiful work has gone unnoticed).

I’m especially grateful for all of my incredibly kind, supportive, and talented contributors. I feel blessed to be able to call you not only my cohorts but also my friends. I was lucky enough to spend time with both Leah and Heather (along with my graphic designer Nikki and fellow blogger/frequent NGN commenter Kelly) in New York City a couple of weeks ago, and I would like to take this moment to say they are even lovelier in person than they appear to be through their writing. On this day of giving thanks, I feel forever indebted to the Internet for allowing me to form some of the most inspiring friendships I’ve ever had.

I hope all of you who celebrate this day have the happiest of Thanksgivings. And even if you don’t celebrate the holiday, I wish all of you a day—and a season—filled with warmth, love, and an abundance of things to be thankful for.