All We Want After Christmas

I had planned to get the Christmas tree up early—that didn’t happen. In fact, one week before Christmas and it’s just going up. It doesn't matter because I’m going to enjoy every minute. Few things are as festive as a brightly-lit tree bedazzled with new sparkling ornaments and older hand-made ones to bring out the joy of the season. The question is: why? Why do we decorate trees in our homes anyhow?

The Christmas tree has a bumpy history. At one point people shunned them, but began embracing them after cultural traditions changed. Over time, the type of tree and the decorations varied to reflect our personalities. What does this say about you?

                                        

                                        https://youtu.be/8mNT4AhgnMk
Think about how a decorated Christmas tree in our house makes us feel. After Christmas,
how can you continue feeling that special joy?

Can’t Stop the Feeling

This is exciting. What a night to be alive. That comment came from a young relative celebrating the Survivor season premiere and the Big Brother finale airing on the same evening. Although I enjoy the shows, I can think of at least several more exciting scenarios. I’m sure you can, too. Maybe they include one of these suggestions: 

                                     https://youtu.be/QIfvyXczhWo

 A castle, a digger, a dragon… The wish lists go on and on. Christmas is still a couple of months away, so I hesitate to mention it so early, but there’s no time like the present to begin thinking about how to make the season extra special. Your giving doesn’t have to be limited to friends and family, offering charitable assistance to any one of the many organizations that do good work will cause you to celebrate simply because you’re healthy and alive. What type of charitable organization would you consider supporting?   

The Big Pay-Out

It is finished. The gifts are given, the lights and trees are gone. Christmas is over. This last billion-dollar-lottery was like a second holiday celebration. Conversations centered around the ticket holders’ wish lists. Excitement and anticipation filled the air. And just like that, they selected the winning number, three people won, and hopes plummeted. The mega-money dream ended.

Now we’re smack in the middle of January with the empty, gray skies and bitter cold. Okay, it’s not that cold, but you get the picture. What can we do to recapture our enthusiasm? Here’s a suggestion:

                                          https://youtu.be/-GwDgSAKsVM 

Three little words: appreciate the moment. It sounds like a simple idea, but it depends on what we’re living through right now. Regardless of whether we’re in a good or bad season, we’ll never experience this moment again. How can you begin living each moment to the fullest?ere’Here

Under Your Nose

We may have a new couch potato in the house.  This week our cat had an “aha” moment—she discovered television. During the past eight years, she has never paid attention to the TV. But for some reason, this week she decided to watch an exercise video. She walked over to the same TV we’ve had for years and plopped herself down, just two inches from the screen. I probably should have warned her to move back before she ruined her eyes. Standing behind her, I could see her head moving from side to side as if the show were a tennis match. A couple of times she touched the screen with her paw. Awww! Maybe our cat has discovered a new hobby.

Have you ever found something, only to realize it was under your nose the entire time? Is the best book you’ll ever read sitting on your bookshelf? Or is your future favorite outfit the one you bought, stuffed in the closet and forgot? Check out another incredible find:   

                                          http://youtu.be/koEynMsIJS4

Isn’t it fascinating to think that someone you know from afar could be related to you?  Some of the best discoveries you’ll ever make may be closer than you think. What’s your primary mission right now? What kind of resources are sitting right under your nose?         

What's the App for That?

We’re at that time of the year. The countdown has begun. Tick tock, tick tock! That’s the sound of time ticking away as you sit helplessly in holiday traffic. If you want to use the time wisely, you could make out Christmas lists in your head, listen to music and books on tape, or watch how other drivers entertain themselves. One day you might look over and see this:

                                         http://youtu.be/CqSDWoAhvLU  

How safe is it to ride in a vehicle that lacks a steering wheel and partly operates by GPS? Think back to the weird places GPS has led you. This car might take you to the river and refuse to budge. Or worse yet, imagine that it’s several days before Christmas, you’ve finished your shopping and want to go home, but the car keeps circling the mall, pausing at random entrances. Feels like a  nightmare, doesn't it?  

The car’s designers did say that the guidance system uses GPS, along with other factors to locate correct destinations. For now, they say the project is a work-in-progress. Still, I’m going to need a lot more confidence in the technology before I hand over control of the steering wheel.

If you had to give up the steering wheel of your life, to whom would you give it?   

     

The Christmas List

Trapped! We’re caught between wanting to hear Christmas carols and not wanting to dive into the shopping season this early. It may be too late. Decorations grace the mall’s halls and traffic’s already building. On Thanksgiving Day some of us will have one eye on the pumpkin pie and the other eye on the clock, counting down the hours to the first pre-Black Friday purchase. Let’s pace ourselves. Celebrate Thanksgiving and savor the turkey without peeking at your Christmas shopping list. We’ll be inside the stores soon enough. Will your Christmas shopping experience resemble this one?

                                          http://youtu.be/kXh8-aiPjxA

You don’t shop like the first guy, do you? He shopped for a charity, which explains the haphazard gift decisions, huge quantities, and lo-o-o-n-n-g-g receipt. Hopefully, your Christmas shopping list is much shorter. Before the shopping frenzy goes full tilt, what suggestions would you offer for creating a meaningful holiday? 

      

Giving It Away

Have you ever received a Christmas present that went into the “regifting” pile?  I’m pleased with everything I got this year, but if I get a gift that’s not my style, sometimes I tuck the unwanted item away in a drawer. In about three years, after my personal tastes have changed, I’ll rediscover that gift and love it.

When buying gifts for friends and family, I select ones that would make perfect gifts for me. One of my friends often gets earrings for her birthday or Christmas. The problem is that when she wears them, a little voice in the back of my mind whispers, “Give them back!” (That’s a joke.) The little voice really says, “Aw, why didn’t you buy yourself a pair?” Here are a few gifts nobody expected to receive.

                  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKyD9BAZ50c&feature=share&list=ULQKyD9BAZ50c

 There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about these gifts.  In fact, they came wrapped with a few not-so-subtle, insulting messages. Don’t we all enjoy giving presents that people like and appreciate? Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean that good feeling has to end. Now is a great time to donate to a needy family or charity.  Who will receive your donation today?       

No Tweaking

What’s green and red, but leaves only red behind? Pistachios! Remember the sweet, green nut with the red shell that stained our fingers red every time we ate a handful? After harvesting, food processors dyed pistachios red to hide blemishes left on the shell by the hand-picking process. Apparently, processor felt the normally beige shells need a prettier look to appeal to consumers. Today, since machines harvest the nuts, the blemishes and most of the red-dyed nuts have disappeared.   

People in the Middle East have eaten the nuts for centuries in spite of the blemishes, but we’re a nation of “tweakers.”  We love tweaking things: people with curly hair want it straight, short people want more height, young people want to be older (but not too old)—and we’ll spend a small fortune to make it happen. At Christmas time, we spruce up our houses for the holidays by displaying a few wreaths, some outdoor lighting, or window candles. Tweaks are slight improvements, but some of us take it to the limit. Have a look:

 

                http://youtu.be/wXGmhTI4S8w

 Perhaps you can persuade your neighbors to decorate like that. We spend plenty of time and money changing and improving our faces, diets, homes, and many aspects of our lives. Isn’t there something that feels just right? What wouldn’t you want to change? 

The Gift of Giving

I enjoy hearing about the charitable giving that happens during this time of the year. Up north, a man decided to give away hundreds of dollars to various individuals he met on the street; one mother of six children received six hundred dollars.  Another news story told how several people put solid gold bars and diamond rings in the Salvation Army buckets. Don’t we all feel more charitable at Christmas? Watch this little boy get into the spirit of giving:

Ooops, I hope that wasn’t a tear-jerker for you—it was for me. I remember seeing scenes similar to that while riding through Mexico on a bus tour to the ancient ruins and the beach. We didn’t stop—poverty wasn’t on the agenda that day.  I’m not suggesting that we give away all of our Christmas gifts, we can plan to do that next year.  I am suggesting that we play Santa. Small gestures don’t go unnoticed. How about paying the toll for the person behind you or tipping the harried waiter who didn’t serve your food, but dealt with a demanding customer? I know you’ll think up some really special ways to play Santa this season. Share with us what you would like to do.          

The Real Deal

Have you noticed how people and situations seem normal and ordinary at first glance? People mosey about their daily activities, kids go to school and parents go to work. But upon closer examination, you’ll find that everything is not as it appears.

Watch how things unfold. Every so often packages show up at your door only to be whisked away from the light of day and tucked into a nook or cranny. Look around. You may find a box or two stuffed in a rarely used closet, under a bed or stashed in the basement. Day by day the house percolates with more and more packages, shopping bags, wrapping paper and ribbons, (don’t forget tape) all in preparation for Christmas.

Just prior to roasting and hosting for holiday gatherings, we go public by adorning our homes with decorations, inside and out. Suddenly, there’s an explosion of color: twinkling lights, glimmering candles and a beautiful tree placed just right. If you’re not in the holiday mood, you will be after hearing the carols play over and over and over. When a smile plays at the corner of your mouth—you’ve caught the Christmas spirit!

Since the kids in our family are older, they understand the real deal about Santa. You know, the inside scoop about how ordinary men wear the red outfit, listen to gift requests and shake the donation bell—Santa can’t be everywhere at once.    

How do store managers decide which candidates will make good Santas? Do managers ask to hear a ho, ho, ho or do candidates take personality tests? On the surface many Santas look the part, but somehow I doubt store management expected this riveting performance.

              

Wow. No one expects a boogie-woogie Santa. He must be an impersonator. I’m sure you’ve experienced your share of fakes and phonies and can spot something genuine when you see it. What’s authentic? Who or what is the real deal?        

Fa-La-La-La-I’m beat!

Let me officially announce the start of the Christmas shopping season. I know—I’m too late.! Sooner than necessary, the music plays, the decorations sparkle and Santa sits on his throne. Traffic snarls make us late and the never-ending stream of stores catalogs fill our mailboxes. Newspapers bulge with coupon offers and the frenzy to get your dollars will continue unabated until well past the last gift-wrapping party. The shopping season flows well into January with the long lines for Christmas gift returns, New Year’s Day sales and opportunities to purchase a little something nice for yourself.

Thanks goodness online shopping allows us to shop at two a.m. in our pajamas, if we want. That’s efficiency.  Of course, it also makes more time for hosting and decorating, creating an even more frenzied holiday season. I’m tired just thinking of it all. Shouldn’t we slow down? A night spent camping out in front of a store doesn’t count. Watch this:

It’s time to stop and smell the poinsettias, admire the sun glinting off the snow (it’ll be here again soon) and enjoy a warm beverage by the fire.  This year let’s break the Christmas shopping insanity cycle.  How will you modify your holiday season to grab a few more moments of peace?