Random Thoughts: Merry Christmas!

The team is celebrating the holidays, so I thought to share some thoughts about Christmas before wrapping up for the week….

Christmas does not sneak up on us. We know it’s coming. So why are we always surprised when it’s here?

Next year, if you want to get into the holiday spirit early, go to a big box store after Labor Day and admire the dozens of lit Christmas trees on display. I recommend wearing sunglasses.

There are no such things as tacky Christmas decorations or color schemes. Neon, pastel, all silver, all gold, all red, white, blue, no scheme at all, etc. – if they make you smile, they’re perfect. This almost includes the permanently displayed 20-foot skeleton someone in the neighborhood decorates according to the season or event. Last week they dressed it in strings of lights and a Santa hat.

If you eat cookies, cakes, pies, etc. standing up, they still count. Also, fruitcake has a bad rap. Try a small piece with coffee – delish. Or keep it, and in a few months, you can use it if you can’t find your hammer.

As I approach my 7th decade, every Christmas Eve I still listen for sleigh bells – you never know.

The older you get, the fewer gifts you want. Jewelry and clothes get replaced by hand creams, books and cozy socks.

Having one or two go-to Christmas outfits is a good idea because you don’t have to think about what you’re going to wear, and people who forgot their glasses can recognize you because you wore that outfit last year.

Decide early if you’re going to host Christmas Eve, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve or Day so other people can plan ahead, too.

Speaking of which, can someone figure out how to spread out the 5 weeks of intense celebrating and socializing between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day over 52 weeks?

The NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) Santa Tracker is as much fun for grownups as it is for children. Click here on Christmas Eve to follow Santa’s progress around the world. Click here to hear a Norwegian scientist explain the physics around how Santa can deliver billions of toys in one night. (He also says Santa lives in Norway.)

Old boyfriends seem to come out the woodwork on December 1 – or at least the ones who are still alive do. But not to worry, they quietly recede back into the woodwork after New Year’s Eve. And it gives you a good opportunity to practice being kind, or something close to it.

If you’re hosting, why not use the same menu every year? After all, we do it for Thanksgiving. The first year I repeated the menu, I overheard a guest say, “This is what she gave us last year,” and I responded, “And this is what you’re getting next year, too.”

Yes, it is a wonderful life. No, I do not want to watch that movie again. Same goes for Love, Actually except for every second Bill Nighy is on screen.

I wish you and everyone you love and like a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and bright new year.

XO Brenda