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Can you believe it’s December already? Where has the year gone? It seems like we were just BBQing in the backyard over the 4th of July…….the full reality of the season didn’t hit me until we were recently faced with the threat of a major winter storm. I’m slowly coming to grips with the fact that Thanksgiving is over and in several short weeks, I’ll be calling the accountant about taxes.
Why, do you think, are the holidays always so busy? This time of year is supposed to be about relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family, yet this is the busiest time of the year! It seems counter-intuitive. Maybe some of it can be attributed to the retailers. Big box chains like Wal-Mart and Target are putting out their Christmas trees before the end of October now; we can barely get candy to kids dressed like Spiderman before their pushing us to buy candy canes and holiday cards. What happened to Thanksgiving? It seems to get a little more lost in the shuffle, each and every year. And as soon as you clear the turkey from the table, many of you are already thinking about the lights out in the garage or the tree that you need to get; in case you need help getting in the mood, we’ve got a great article on page 5 about the fake vs. fir tree dilemma. And just below it, we’ve got a great cookie recipe that you and your family can indulge in while you’re putting up your tree of choice.
After your tree is up, I’m sure you’ll be shopping and mailing gifts to faraway friends. The dilemma of what to buy and who to buy for…..every family seems to have its own traditions and rules surrounding the giving of gifts. And how extravagant do you get with them anyway? Stebens Children’s Theater is doing several performances of “The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever,” this month, and through it, they’re reminding children and adults alike about the true meaning of Christmas. Next month, they’ll continue with the lesson about being thankful when they have one performance of “The Fisherman and His Wife.” See our coverage on page 6 to get all the details.
Before you know it, the big day will be here. Really, to me, it seems that Christmas is kind of like your wedding day; you spend lots of time preparing for it, and it’s over in a flash; especially if you have children. They’re up at the crack of dawn, if they slept at all, and their excitement, while contagious, can also be incredibly overwhelming and exhausting. Many of our friends that have children say that they need two full days just to recover from Christmas morning.
Then there’s New Year’s Eve. With parties to throw and parties to attend, it’s one final busy and eventful night to cap off an incredibly busy 5 weeks. Hopefully, the weather is good to us and we don’t get a major snowstorm to ruin anyone’s big plans. And if you don’t have plans yet, check out page 5; you might decide to head over to Surf Ballroom to check out Boogie and the Yo Yo’Z.
Finally, when the party is over, it’s the day of reckoning – Resolution Day. What will you resolve to do this year? It seems that many people resolve to do the same things every year – eat better and lose weight. But how many people actually stick to those? Statistically, the numbers are pretty grim. So rather than feeling like a failure when you don’t stick to a resolution you didn’t want to make in the first place, resolve to do something you might enjoy actually enjoy. Need some ideas? Try committing to hand-writing a letter to an old friend once a month. If you don’t have an old friend to write to, you can join the Modern Letter Project and make some new friends – you can find the details of this grassroots project at http://themodernletter.com. How about dedicating one night a week to having a family game night? Or commit to giving yourself just 10 minutes a day to sit down and breathe without worrying about the dishes in the sink or the laundry in the bathroom. Tell your significant other that you want to have a date-night – once every month – without the kids.
Whatever you choose to do this holiday season, we hope that you have safe and happy celebrations. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man.”
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