I have been reading a lot lately about all the stress that Christmas brings. I don’t know if you read Full Confession Friday over at the Women’s Colony, but it is apparent from last week’s comments that there are quite a few women that are overwhelmed by the work and underwhelmed by the reward.
I had a conversation last week with someone who said she kept herself on an even keel by reminding herself of what someone told her a long time ago. “Christmas is for the children.” And it is true—if you think of yourself as a maker of magic all the work is so much more palatable and manageable.
Of course, the beauty of that is also that when the children get older, as mine have, they are able to realize that magic can be hard work and they can be magicians too.
I also like to keep in mind why I do certain things. I send out 80 Christmas cards each year because I absolutely LOVE to get lots of cards. I want to see your kids grow up—and I like it even more if you are in the photo as well. I don’t use labels, I hand address, but that’s because with every name I write out I am thinking of you and how we know each other. Plus, how often do we get to write cursive with a flourish these days?
I bake because I enjoy chatting with my neighbors as we exchange our treats. I mean, I guess we could all just bake for ourselves, but this means that at least once a year (and sometimes it may be ONLY once a year) we check in and say, “Hi,” and hear what changes there have been with each other. And if you don’t like to bake, but buy me a bottle of wine or a box of candy, I appreciate that gesture (and the treats themselves).
I also love that people exclaim over my specialties and look forward to them. If you’re young and starting out on the Christmas deal, that would be my advice—find one treat you make well and stick with that. It’s so much less work. I have three, but then I could never take my own advice!
Some years I throw a party, some years I don’t. Some years I attend a lot of gatherings, some years I don’t. And either way is okay. My husband’s company does the big, fancy party thing and for me getting a great deal on the dress (thank you, Ross) makes me a much-happier party-goer.
I will say that for me the most stress-relieving thing has been to quit mailing gifts. It’s either gift cards or Amazon.com direct ship or chipping in on a big gift bought by someone that lives in the same city as the recipient.
I’m a little ramble-y (maybe because I’ve been in the kitchen all day!), but my point, if I have one, would be that if you’re putting forth all the effort that Christmas entails, I hope you get some joy out of it. It sure would be a shame not to.