I adore the holidays.
I was thrilled on Wednesday when my husband opted to turn on Christmas carols while our family cleaned and throughout our Thursday Thanksgiving celebration too. I wanted to start listening to them Monday.
I like those chintzy wreaths with the red ribbons hung on lamp posts in small towns, the trees twinkling with bright lights, and old-school trains in shop windows. Some of my fondest memories include playing hooky with my parents one day each December to see all the gorgeous windows at Frederick and Nelsons in Seattle and to sit on Santa’s lap. Windows tend to pale in comparison today, but my kid’s eyes still light up when they see them.
I eagerly anticipate buying a new tree each year. I know they cost too much and they are not environmentally friendly, but they represent some of the best memories of my childhood. Whenever I go to buy a tree, I remember the childlike joy my Dad found from finding the perfect one. Each time I light the first bubble light, I imagine he’s there with me, the lights reflecting in his kind brown eyes.
I know my mom will send Christmas window clings, as she does for each holiday, and simply receiving the package will make my kids’ day. They love hanging them and enjoying them for the remainder of the season.
I adore buying gifts for the people I love, considering their wants and needs, finding them something special, spending time thinking of them. And I love wrapping them too.
I can hardly wait for my mom to arrive so we can pull out recipes old and new, bake up a storm, and deliver goodies to our friends (and enjoy a few ourselves).
I am excited to purchase gifts with my children for someone on the giving tree, each one of us focused outside of ourselves, reminding ourselves of all the abundance we enjoy.
I’m happy to be told “Happy Holidays” “Merry Christmas” “Happy Hanakkuh” Or “Wishes of the Season”! I’ll take any holiday cheer you have to spread.
Christmas is family, tradition, hope, faith, reverence, joy, service, and giving. I feel like a kid again, but with a new found freedom, because the feeling is not dependent on which packages under the tree have a tag with my name on them. I will be singing carols happily for a month and sad when it’s time to up them away.
The only thing I dislike about the season? The complaining. The Christmas carols in the shops are annoying. We’re too commercial. There aren’t enough decorations up. There are too many decorations up. The sales clerk can’t wish me Merry Christmas. The sales clerk wished me Merry Christmas. The commercials are insidious and annoying. It’s starting sooner each year. And on and on.
It’s not that I don’t get it or that I don’t think people have some legitimate holiday beefs. Complain if you must, but make it constructive if you can, and try not to let it overwhelm the potential joys to be found. You can even go ahead and bend my ear a bit if it’ll make you feel better. But be warned that my inner Pollyanna will most likely show itself.
For the month of December, just call me Cindy Lou Hoo. I think I’ll grab the kids so we can get things started early, sip some hot cocoa near our brightly lit tree, sing a few carols, and read some Christmas stories before bed time.
I miss Christmas at Frederick and Nelsons so much! They had the best window displays! I love Christmas, too, and if we let ourselves, we can let all there is to find joyful drown out any negatives. We just have to decide what to focus on.
Enjoy your season, Cindy Lou Hoo! 🙂
-Ally
I love this season! We always go to a Christmas tree farm and ride out to the middle of the fields and cut our own trees with friends (who are actually coming from MA to PA). I can’t wait.