I think Christmas (or any seasonal holiday) works best when we treat it like Thanksgiving.
By itself, Christmas just has too many expectations associated with it:
- We have to decorate and put up a tree. (I love the result, but not the process.)
- We have to put up lights on the outside of the house. (Again – one of my least favorite tasks, but it’s not terribly hard, and we really enjoy them when they’re up).
- We have to buy presents for everybody just because we’re supposed to. (For people we love deeply, but it feels weird when we do it from obligation instead of simply because we care.)
- We have to wrap those presents. (I know why gift bags became so popular.)
- We have to play Christmas music. I’m OK with that one, because I love Christmas music – and start playing it when the Halloween decorations show up at Home Depot. (As long as it’s not “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” or “Christmas Shoes.”)
I’m not really complaining. Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and it’s worth all the work. But every year I find myself thinking, “OK, I’m going to really relax this year and enjoy the whole season.” But the pace picks up, and there’s more and more to do. I’m doing pretty well this year, but there’s still a lot of stuff going on – especially work stuff.
Thanksgiving is different. It’s not as colorful and doesn’t have as much music or decorations, and there aren’t many expectations. There’s not even an expectation that we have to have turkey.
It’s just a simple few days when we’re reminded not to take the important things in life for granted.
That’s pretty easy to do without having to shop online; it just means stopping occasionally for a minute or two, thinking about the people that are most important to us (and the other things in our lives that we take for granted) and just reflect on the value they bring.
It’s intentional, and easy to do. And we get less grumpy when we focus intentionally on the good stuff about people instead of the stuff that irritates us.
There are four days left before Christmas. The rest of this week, I’m planning to be intentionally grateful. I’m going to try an experiment, and thought you might like to join me.
I think I’ll set an alarm on my phone to go off every hour or so – then take notice of what’s happening, whether it bugs me or not, and what I can be grateful for about it.
- If I’m feeling overwhelmed with last-minute shopping, I’ll stop for a minute and choose to be grateful for the people I’m shopping for.
- If I’m in a meeting at work and really wish I was somewhere else, I’ll choose to be grateful that I have a job.
- If something is a hassle, I won’t minimize the hassle – but I can choose to be grateful for the opportunity.
- If someone irritates me, I can acknowledge the irritation as real – but also consider one thing about them that’s positive that they bring into my life.
- If I’m hosting the family event and people are making a mess, I can recognize that families can be messy (in many ways), and choose to be grateful that they’re willing to come.
- If it’s been a tough year and I’ve had losses, I can genuinely grieve what I’ve lost while choosing to be grateful for what remains.
The key is to recognize and accept and feel the tough things in life as genuine, but also the fact that there are blessings in the shadows. They’re both present and both real, and it’s only fair to acknowledge both.
As the old song says, maybe it’s time to count those blessings.
I think if I do that, the next four days might be much less stressful leading up to Christmas.
I want to make this a Thanksgiving week. I think it’ll bring joy into the season in the midst of chaos.
You, too?
Let me know how it works. We’re in this life thing together, right? And it’s good to encourage each other on the journey. If this idea resonates, share it with your tribe on Facebook or Instagram or wherever they hang out.
Just know that I’m grateful for you . . . have a grateful week!