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You know the feeling, right? The ghosts and goblins of Halloween have barely been laid to rest when the media barrage begins. Buy this...you NEED this...your friends NEED this...your kids NEED this... Black Friday deals...Small Biz Saturday...and don't forget Cyber Monday! And then it hits you...what happened to Thanksgiving? What happened to gratitude and thankfulness?
Thanksgiving is my idea of the perfect holiday...a time to share our faith and the blessings of family, friends, and food. No need to dress up, bring gifts, or put on a show. And yet, all too often, this beautiful respite from daily toil gets lost in the consumer culture that surrounds us.  So now it's mid-December. Thanksgiving is behind us, the radio stations are playing 24/7 Christmas and holiday tunes, and television is pretty much a non-stop catalog of gift-giving ideas for everyone...even the dog and the cat! It's easy to get caught up in this frenzy of activity and if we spend any time at all on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and (my person nemesis) Pinterest, it's no surprise that we begin to feel inadequate and incomplete. We start to ask ourselves, "Is my house clean enough?" "Are my decorations pretty enough?" "Is this gift good enough for my friend?" and "How am I going to get this all done?"  Time out, my creative friends! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or just enjoy the colors, music, food, and celebrations of the season, December is not a reason to become a heaping mass of stressed out humanity! Here are my top three tips to creatively stress-LESS this holiday season, in no particular order. I'm sure that you have a few of your own, and I'd love to have you share your ideas here or on my Facebook page. 1. Make time to PLAY! Play is NOT just for kids! Meet up with some friends to take a walk in the park or a jog around the neighborhood...or go yourself if everyone else is "just too busy". Do you have children or grandchildren? Make a "play date" and do a craft, make ornaments, play a classic board game or card game, read a book together while drinking hot chocolate and nibbling cookies, fill pinecones with peanut butter, roll them in birdseed and hang them in the trees for our feathered friends. Got snow? Build a snow family in your front yard, take a walk and leave a footprint trail, be a kid again and lie down in the snow and make a snow angel...or do as my grandchildren do, and play snow baseball! 2. Make time to RELAX at the end of the day...Take at least 30 minutes at the end of the day for yourself...relax...recharge...renew your spirit. For me, it's a good book, hot herbal decaf tea, a comfy afghan, curled up in my favorite chair with soft instrumental music playing in the background. Maybe for you it's a fragrant bubble bath with scented candles, or a quiet game of solitaire with an old deck of cards. Whatever your preference, the key is to turn off all digital distractions...cell phones, computers, iPads, even television with its incessant commercials. If your preference is for a few episodes of Gilmore Girls or a movie, stick to Netflix or a DVD to avoid all those marketing discractions. 3. SIMPLIFY your holiday preparations...Stay stress-LESS by not trying to "do it all"... Plan simple meals for the family. There's no reason not to have breakfast for dinner, especially if it is presented festively! Use paper products when possible, especially if you don't have a dishwasher in your kitchen. There are plenty of biodegradable paper products available so that you can avoid styrofoam and plastics if you prefer to do that. Keep the holiday decorations simple. Your home doesn't have to look like the local Hallmark store to be festive and bright! Attend only the parties and events that are truly meaningful to you. It's ok to say "No, thank you", just be sure to mind your manners and RSVP when requested by the host. Above all, remember that it's not about the gifts! Create memories instead. This is an excellent post from one of my new favorite websites with an amazing array of suggestions for creating memories instead of clutter: How to Give Experiences Instead of Gifts from the Wellness Mama blog. In my next post, I'll share three of my favorite simply delicious food gift recipes. Look for it on December 15! Until then, make time to PLAY, take time to RELAX, SIMPLIFY the preparations, and stress-LESS!   Well said, Charmaine!! People just go crazy and turn something magical into total craziness. We do minimal decorating and enjoy having a couple of special lunches out. I do not fix gigantic meals on holidays or go crazy with over eating anymore. I love the lights and doing a couple of things out of the ordinary to celebrate. We might do an early church service this year if I can find one. Midnight mass is too late for us now. I wish the Holidays were honored for sir true meaning and not just a consumer free for all
Charmaine
12/11/2016 09:02:35 pm
You and I are on the same page! I used to go way overboard with Christmas, to the point where I didn't really feel the joy anymore. When my daughter married and started a family of her own eight years ago, I was finally able to start to let go of all the unnecessary stuff because now we travel to visit her and the grandkids. It's been a journey, and I still have boxes of ornaments and decorations stored away, but I take out a little less each year. Comments are closed.
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