Pour the Wine and Enjoy!
Counting down the last couple days before Christmas, are you ready for it? The songs are playing, the tree is lite, the wine has been poured, and the gifts are all wrapped. Right? Some of you are knoding your heads in agreement but then others are shaking their heads no. Heck no! Are you feeling the stress and anxiety of the holidays? Christmas only come but once a year. It should be a time for relaxing and celebration not struggle or stress. There will always be presents to give and money to spend. But Christmas will be gone before you can even finish stressing over it. Absorb every moment, enjoy the lights, listen to your favorite Christmas song (or not if you hate Christmas songs) and remember what this holiday means to you.
When I lived at home my dad always read the Christmas story (the one that comes from the bible) to us before we opened any gifts. He would then proceed to put on his Santa hat and sit by the tree rationing out the presents. We each had to take turns opening gifts; we would “ooo” and “ahhh” at the gift. Then be on to the next person with the next gift. Giving is a huge part of the holiday season but I would much prefer you write me a note and enjoy the moment then stress about what gift to give me. The holidays are a great economy booster but it becomes determental to our stress level and waist line. I have to remind myself that I cannot get everyone a gift, and I often find that the last minute stress over a gift turns out to not really matter any way.
Last weekend I went to a friend’s Christmas open house. I didn’t have a gift to bring her and I was starting to stress. I grabbed a bottle of wine that I had bought for my boss, and took that. Well when we got to the party the women had gotten so many bottles of wine that mine was a needle in a hay stack. I think not even the thought counted in this instance. I don’t think she would of cared what I brought she was just so excited that we had come. The food was delicious and in abundance! The open house was wonderful and now I have to go back to the store and buy another bottle of wine to replace the one for my boss. Sometimes you just have to learn to let things be. People would rather be with you then get a last minute gift that took time away from being with you. I am a people pleaser by nature so I’m repeatedly reminding myself that pleasing everyone is an impossible and silly goal.
Don’t be silly or set impossible goals this week. Find your happy place with the people you enjoy and stay there till you have to return to work next Monday. The day will be here and gone in a moment, so make sure you don’t miss the moment.
What are some of your holiday traditions?
