This year I’m being conservative with the holidays, nothing lavish or over the top. I’m not feeling down, I just don’t want finances to overshadow the holiday.
I do like a theme to help me organize. For example, in the spring I had my neighbors over for dinner and the theme was “revolution in Middle East.” Everyone brought a middle eastern dish, and we celebrated the courage of the revolutionaries.
I really appreciate how people put lots of thought into the holiday season, finding joy in who they spend it with, cooking once-a-year special dishes, decorating with candles.
This year I am going to surprise the kids and decorate with the old family photos that are currently put away in our albums. I have a friend who posts very old family photos online and she inspired me, I imagined her old photos and stories decorating the house. Fun, right?
I may even get some of those photos printed onto pillows and have them decorating the couch. I better get started, this idea is growing by the minute.
Instead of stuffing holiday stockings, I’ve been knitting “market mittens” for my family. These fingerless gloves are fashionable and something to wear daily.
Fortunately, I started these fingerless mitts months ago, so when I hang them up with string for everyone, I’ll have enough for the whole family.
At a crafts store recently a woman was purchasing seven different colors of large yarn skeins. The colors looked unrelated, so I asked what she was making. She said she was going to make seven scarves, then she asked me if I knew anyone that could teach her how to knit. It’s fairly late to expect yourself to learn to knit and complete seven projects.
Of course told her to grab some needles and offered to teach her right there in the store. She said she didn’t have time right at the moment because she had more yarn to select. Oh my. This is a great reminder of what not to do this holiday.
Watch your ambitious to-do list. Don’t spread yourself too thin. Ask yourself, “Am I having fun making eight pies, or is it turning into drudgery?” If it’s exhausting and depleting to think about your to-do list, start over.
The joy this season is for you too. Be sure every single thing you bake, make, buy, hang, stuff, wrap, send, deliver, print, carry, order, share, clean, donate and serve is completely joyful for you. It diminishes the value of the “giving” if it causes you stress, worry, strain and exhaustion.
When you put something on your to-do list during the holiday season, take a moment to ask: How will this be for me?
I know it sounds selfish to ask this, but it isn’t. We literally forget ourselves when get so busy focusing on others. Just take a moment to reflect about what the giving is doing to you.
I get a real thrill baking dog treats for my dog during the holidays. First he is overjoyed just watching me bake. He’s happy with just a taste. He lights up when I bake him dog treats, running in circles, dancing on his toes, pacing in front of the oven and appreciating every single crumb.
The whole giving thing should be about that: We really want to give that to each other.
I get a thrill baking for my dog because his joy is so over-the-top. He reminds me about true joy. Dog joy. That’s my theme for the holidays, dog joy.
Sarri Gilman is a freelance writer living on Whidbey Island and director of Leadership Snohomish County. Her column on living with meaning and purpose runs every other Tuesday in The Herald. You can email her at features@heraldnet.com.
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