I can’t stand the thought of dreading Christmas. Yet, here I am less than three weeks until December 25th with barely a gift wrapped, a tree ornament hung or a cookie recipe pulled from the bowels of my file cabinet.
I’d love to stop time to catch up, but I don’t even think Santa can deliver on that one.
Heck, I almost forgot St. Nick was coming to fill empty shoes last night.
Thank goodness for barely wrapped gifts.
The hustle and bustle that surrounds the holiday is clearly fueled by commercialism. Gone are the days when we counted down to Christmas with an aura of peace and simplicity. Rather, all I’ve been hearing from other parents since Thanksgiving are moans, groans and complaints about a litany of seasonal stresses, from Christmas parties they don’t want to attend to the curse of holiday debt.
Let’s not forget the daily Santa threats.
Still, going overboard buying overpriced presents for kids, who think cash grows on trees or that Santa’s elves can really craft Xboxes and iPads in a tiny workshop, is by far the top gripe I’ve heard moms and dads kvetch about this season. More doesn’t equate to better, so why are we so driven to show our offspring how much we care about them with expensive items we almost always regret purchasing?
All this material fueled griping makes me wonder why we wait until after Christmas to jump on the resolution bandwagon. Why not resolve to adopt a new perspective on the holidays in the days leading up to December 25th?
If you can’t afford to purchase fancy gifts, give something from the heart. The holidays are too precious to waste wondering how you can finagle financing everything on your kid’s wish list.
Why not ditch the dolls, dinosaurs and drama and give your child the gift of your time.
Sure, tears may be shed if Junior doesn’t see a Power Wheels Dune Racer under the tree, but at least you’ll be there to wipe away the disappointment and distract him with a huge holiday hug.
What’s stressing you out the most this season?
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