Fifteen more shopping days until Christmas – sixteen if you count Christmas Eve, which I do because it makes me feel like I have my life slightly more together and I actually love going out to the stores on Christmas Eve.
My advice – because it is my blog, and therefore I grant myself full permission to give it – is simple, take it easy. The amount of pressure people put on themselves to create the “perfect” Christmas is wild. I hear stories every year of folks running themselves ragged, sometimes even crying in the car between stores because the holiday is slowly morphing into the World Cup of Stress without the FIFA Peace Prize.
I’ve never really understood it. Wanting to make your loved ones happy? Absolutely. But if the kids don’t get the newest iPhone, Nintendo Switch, or whatever glowing-screened thing is trending – guess what? They’ll still have a great Christmas. And if they don’t…you may have bigger issues than missed shipping windows. It’s okay for kids to hear the word “no.” In fact, it’s practically character development.
The real memories? They’re not the gifts. They’re the hours spent together talking, laughing, sipping something festive. As a kid, I loved listening to the adults talk. You could learn a lot just by staying quiet and absorbing the room. For example – what goes into a White Russian? Do you put rum or bourbon in eggnog? (For the record, I put no alcohol in mine. Controversial, I know but why ruin good alcohol.)
Even when it comes to gifts, the lasting memories aren’t usually the big-ticket items. For me it wasn’t the racecar track or the video game system – it was the football jersey. White, red number 12. And my little black transistor radio that ran on a 9-volt battery and somehow picked up Chicago stations late at night. Those two gifts had personality. They became part of who I was.
Side note – there was absolutely nothing like holding that radio under the pillow, turning the dial ever so slightly, and hearing some distant AM station play your favorite song – “The Night Chicago Died”. Try doing that with a brand-new phone that needs a software update before you can even use it. I am even shopping for a new transistor. I don’t know why…I guess nostalgia.
So here’s my gentle holiday reminder, Create an environment that allows success to happen, even during Christmas. And “success” doesn’t mean perfection. It means letting yourself breathe. Letting the holiday be human, messy, warm, and simple. And if you’ve always gone all-out and secretly long to scale back? Do it. Everyone will survive. They might even enjoy it more.
My wife’s family in Ethiopia goes to church. That’s their Christmas. No frenzy, no pressure, just community and faith. And it’s beautiful. Celebrate however you celebrate – just don’t let the season chew you up.
Call it Christmas Unplugged. I might even trademark it, but that sounds like effort and the whole point here is less effort. Now I’m off to sip some un-spiked eggnog and pretend I’m ahead on my shopping that I haven’t even started.
MattMunnell.com 