Enjoying Christmas Even When it’s Hard
While
the movies and songs make it seem as though Christmas is a magical time during
which we all get along, the reality is that the holidays can be overwhelming
and stressful. We feel so much pressure
to find the perfect gifts for friends and family, to attend community events,
and to send Christmas cards that the sparkle of the season is often dulled.
To add
to the holiday pressure, we still have our regular jobs and obligations to
attend to. If, like me, you’re regular job is retail than the holidays can seem
not only overwhelming but oppressive as well. Stores are crowded with costumers, merchandise,
and seasonal hires. Materialism mounts as people fill their carts and grow
testy with employees. Employees, overworked and tired, grow testy with co -workers
and customers alike.
If I
sound a bit jaded, it’s because I have worked retail since I was old enough to
work. Retail can be downright brutal during
the holidays. People can stress over buying gifts that they wrack up distressing
amounts of debt. Some Christmases, I have to force myself to not only buy and
wrap presents, but to enjoy it. Missing my mom only makes enduring the holiday harder.
But
even at my most Grinch like, I could never fully hate the holiday. One, as a
Christian, Christmas is the birth of Christ, therefore a season of hope and
change. Second, it really is a wonderful time, despite the stress that accompanies
it.
No matter how down I feel during the holidays, I remember what they are really about, salvation, love, family, and friends. I try to space out my gift shopping, bookmarking items online, buying things as I see them (working at a store makes these easy). After a rough day at work, watching my favorite Christmas movies cheers me up. Elf is a hilarious, light hearted movie that always makes me laugh.
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| Christmas Hot Chocolate from Ballyhoo |
No matter how down I feel during the holidays, I remember what they are really about, salvation, love, family, and friends. I try to space out my gift shopping, bookmarking items online, buying things as I see them (working at a store makes these easy). After a rough day at work, watching my favorite Christmas movies cheers me up. Elf is a hilarious, light hearted movie that always makes me laugh.
Re-reading
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or watching one of the many movies is a very good way for me to remember that
Christmas is about love and giving. I pray every year that my buying gifts and
sending cards are not stressful. I never want to go into debt or a panic; that
is not in keeping with the season at all.
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| Christmas Display at Pilgrim Congregational Church |
I’m
not saying that anyone can avoid stress completely during the holidays, all I’m
saying is that you don’t need to be stressed out the entire time. It’s ok to
not spend a lot of money, to not bake as much, and to say no sometimes. Do what
makes you feel “Christmassy” and allows you time with those you love.
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