Jesus and family are the reason for my season and that means major family arrival countdowns as I have a lot of family out-of-state. I like for my friends to know they are on my mind this time of year, so I send out a LOT of Christmas cards and I also will be sending out a few homemade gifts for the ladies most on my mind.
At our house, we started a new tradition last year wherein we open presents from Jesus first, then our presents from Santa. After a moment reflecting on the gifts we receive from our Savior, I am more at ease with the craziness of gifts and the colored paper explosion in my living room.
So all of this being said, my least favorite part of the holidays is the feeling of obligation. If the holiday is what I want it to be, then I don't want to spend time somewhere I don't feel welcome or feel that I have to participate in an activity or tradition that I never sponsored in the first place. Every year I get closer and closer to having the courage to say, "I won't participate in that, cause I would much rather be doing this." Sometimes this is sitting at home watching a movie, and I don't want to have to justify that.
Another frustrating part of Christmas, especially in these economic times, is the feeling that one MUST exchange gifts. I love giving and receiving gifts, but they are a gesture. A gift says, I can and did go beyond the expectations of our friendship because I appreciate you particularly. I don't need a gift from a friend or family member to know I mean something to them. Some of the best gifts end up being the opportunity to see people and experience the holiday with them. I really do not like being roped into gift exchange either. A gesture should be an invitation, not an expectation. As soon as a gift becomes mandatory, it becomes stressful to me.
My point is, whatever you do with your time and your money this season, let it be doing something that enhances what Christmas means to YOU. If that means an orgy of tinsel spread from tree to rooftop, excellent. If that means hours spent in charitable services for others, great! And if that means opting out of a few things to spend some couch time watching "Elf" and "It's a Wonderful Life", more power to you. The reason for the season is joy. May you find joy in every choice you make and moment you spend this holiday!
I so agree with this! Especially with my anxiety acting up, a lot of the traditional activities (that Jon's family either just started last year or are just starting this year, so it's really not a tradition...) are just honestly too much for me to handle! It gets so crowded and loud and I either feel like I'm doing too much or not enough - I would much rather spend Christmas Eve driving around looking at Christmas lights and then drinking hot chocolate, and Christmas day just with Jon and Sophia and a quick stop at the parentals. And - not to make this comment more into a novel - the idea of gift exchange - I agree with you on this as well. I LOVE to give gifts to people and see them get excited! I never expect something in return, and I hate it when I give someone a gift and they feel guilty for not getting me anything because that's not why I gave them the gift. Or if one of our gifts is bigger than the other, I don't really care - I could get socks from someone I just gave a TV to and if I love them I won't care. It's just frustrating that so many people have a price tag on their love these days...okay, maybe I should just do my own post about this. :)
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