Halloween is at the end of the week and right after, we will begin to see Christmas all around us … CVS will shift its displays, the malls will don their best holiday duds, and television and radio ads will scream: “Christmas is coming!!! It’s time to buy LOTS of *STUFF*!!!”

Just about my whole life, I’ve been frustrated by the *purchasing pressures* put upon us by the holidays…

When I was a kid, my holiday experience was great until I’d get back from the Christmas break; everyone at school would be comparing notes on what they got, and suddenly my stash was not so impressive. NOW I am frustrated because (IMO) so many of us have PLENTY, we live in a world where *stuff* to buy is limitless (as is the credit to buy *stuff*), society tells us we need still MORE (and that happiness is in the) *stuff*…. and we can’t even keep our homes in order – and enjoy a tranquil space that might otherwise be our sanctuary – because we have so much *STUFF*!

I hope I don’t come across as an Ebenezer, but along with the fact that it’s clear that the *stuff* often only buys fleeting happiness, it seems a little absurd that we spend so much time, money, and effort choosing more *stuff* for those around us. All of my clients, and just about everyone I know, feel “guilty” about something that was given to them that they’d prefer to trash or give away… and while I SO desire that anything I give as a gift is thoughtful and genuinely appreciated, I often conclude that gift cards and cash are the safest options -> there is so much irony..!! to ensure MY gift doesn’t become a guilt- inducing burden, I am gifting cash (far from thoughtful and genuine)?? – and I sometimes think: “should we all bring a $50 dollar bill and pass it to the person to our left?”

This year, I am totally focusing my energy “otherwise” – and this will require some planning (just like everything else, I’d say!).

The essence of my holiday will be based on traditions that I’ve known from childhood; there were a few things that “made” Christmas. Of course there was the anticipation of waiting for Christmas morning, but my best memories are in those family traditions…and it’s a happy coincidence that we’ll be in California (where I grew up) this year!!

baking – we always made a variety of cookies. I have taken over many of the traditional recipes, though my mom still does the Italian “figgie” cookies and my sister has added biscotti and tea cakes to the family repertoire. Both of my brothers have independently reported (more than once) that they could care less about any other gift – they just really hope “Linda is making the cookies this year” … (I actually can’t remember a year that I didn’t). <photos below are from Christmas 2012, when we were in month two of the kitchen reno – for after pics, see this page>

getting baking done – A major fail over the years has been setting aside a weekend, and waiting until that Saturday to even gather the recipes. Last year I broke it down and had a MUCH easier go of it!

locate all recipes
make grocery list
shop
set baking day 1
set baking day 2

decorating – the house was always so pretty at Christmas time and this is one that I struggle with in my home with my husband now. We are so rarely home the morning of Christmas, and sometimes traveling the weekends leading to it, that I wonder if the effort is worth it. <photo to right is of our home in Canyon Country, CA, where I grew up, early 80s>

One thing my mom did that I continue to do: she would hang all of the Christmas cards from ribbon lining various openings surrounding the dining room (see bottom right photo in the collage below – I circled the hanging cards!). This is a really nice way to enjoy the efforts of all those folks who sent messages and holiday cheer!

For the exterior – we decided last year that we’d get some evergreen “kissing balls” for the front porch. (And I really hope we can light them up!)

getting decorating done

locate ribbon for the cards; fasten to archways
make a date with hubs – early Dec weekend – to purchase kissing balls

the Christmas puzzle – when I was really little, we did the same Christmas puzzle a few years in a row. Themed to “The Night Before Christmas” – that 1st puzzle was beautiful. [There were pieces that had been chewed by our first Llasa (dog), Wobbles!] We eventually decided to glue the puzzle and thus began the tradition of getting a new puzzle every year (and all the glued puzzles would get hung; you can see the edge of one hanging in the mantle photo above). For me, being the youngest (by 5 years) of four, it was nice to spend time with siblings who usually avoided me.

Then and now – working on a puzzle is really nice in a season that can feel so frantic… It brings people together (visitors, overnight guests, etc.) in a different way -> everyone can “gather ’round” and work on it a little here and there.

getting Christmas puzzle done

retrieve puzzle and puzzle board from last year
<if you want to buy a Christmas puzzle, I recommend Hallmark/PaperSource and you need to do this sooner, rather than later>
set up puzzle at designated counter space

music – this was HUGE in our house. I have a memory of us laying on the floor in front of our Nadal St house fireplace (see image above) – Jim, Mary Jo, and me – swaying (corny, I know) our bent knees while listening to the carols. My parents had a bunch of Christmas albums that we stacked on the record player and played over and over. By some miracle of fate, my husband has almost the exact collection of music, now loaded on iTunes. I love having the Christmas music playing while baking and doing anything else “holiday-oriented.”

getting music done

ask Hubz if they can be transferred to my iPOD
play at every opportunity

I will prioritize the items I’ve listed. I will also be on hand to assist, help cook, and serve at the many homes and events we’ll visit throughout the season (putting on the show is a LOT of work – help clear the table and do some dishes!!!).

What will you prioritize? If you could only do 3 key things at the holidays, what would they be (be sure to make the most of those!!)? What are some creative ways to “give” without feeling sucked in and trapped by the pressures of our consumer society? My Christmas wish: that we all might enjoy (and embrace!) the season and the people we hold dearest.

2 Comments

Donald on November 1, 2014 at 3:58 pm

I love your thoughtfulness. We had some very similar things.
We had a brick fireplace and the Christmas cards were hung from the brick. They were packed and saved for the next year, with old cards tossed and new cards added. Eventually, it became themed to cards with animals or birds.
I remember that Thanksgiving weekend we went out to buy the tree, which was stored in the cold garage for a couple weeks before going up. The outdoor lights went up over Thanksgiving weekend and the boxes of decorations came out of the attic. This helped us to get things up and to enjoy the season – especially in those years that we traveled to visit family.
I will do what you are doing around baking this year. Dig out the recipes, make shopping lists and then plan out days for baking. This has been my failure in the past and I’ve tried to do it all at the last minute – complete chaos and not enjoyable! This is especially important to me now as I need to make the ginger thins for my father and the gluten-free hermits for my sister.
Last year, I discovered that NPR (or Mn PR?) had a dedicated holiday music station that I could access online. I played that in the house throughout the season, which proved easier than switching CD’s. I will use that again this year, but I would like to download my CD’s to play from my iPod as well.
Since we will travel to northern MN for Thanksgiving, this all becomes more difficult. I really need to start working on some of it now that Halloween is over. It will help that I am not spending every weekend in November hunting! : )
Linda Stacy on November 2, 2014 at 1:35 pm

Don, thank you so much for sharing this! I am sure that Paul appreciates what you do to make the holidays special, and so cool to have some childhood traditions in common. Yes, I agree that the planning and making the right amount of time for baking changes the entire effort. I too want to enjoy it and not be wrapped in chaos!