November 30, 2009
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Simplicity
Tis the season of excess and wastefulness. Spend a lot. Eat a lot. Run yourself ragged. Fret about what you ate or spent. Go to party after party. Decorate to the hilt. SO much to do and we let ourselves get bogged down with all of it.
Over the last several years, we have chosen to scale back on things. Not our cheer, just the stuff. We still decorate, but not every single inch of the house (inside or out) is decorated. We still go to parties, but not ALL of them. We still give gifts to each other, but not truckloads of them. We still make yummy treats, but only one or two not 15. The interesting thing I’ve noticed is that, we are still enjoying the holiday time. We are still having fun, making memories and celebrating.
I think we’ve been lied to. Advertisments and culture in general want us to believe that if we don’t have Martha Stewart decorations in our home with all the baubles from Madison avenue under our perfect tree, we are somehow missing something. That is a lie. I have ornaments on my tree that are made solely out of glitter and glue. I have a tube of slice and bake cookie dough in my fridge. I have only one or two gifts for my hubby and kids. They will still be happy.
We are going to invite the theatre kids over one night for a caroling party. That will be a blast. And you know what… I won’t have to clean my house or make a pile of cookies or even decorate because we won’t need that. We will just sing and stroll around the neighborhood. It will be grand!
It is pretty simple really. It’s about relationships, not stuff.
Have a happy day!
Comments (9)
We are scaling back some this year too… because of all the time hub spent away this fall while his dad was sick/dying, we are way behind on painting the living room, so that will be eating up some time, and we have our family trip next weekend… there is not as much room in the house with the extra family here, and there are many things I do not want to put out with my grandson here fulltime… think Tazz… he is a whirlwind through the house, I don’t want to spend the next 6 weeks reminding him not to touch… that wouldn’t be very cheery! LOL
And as for gifts, since hubby has been pretty much unemployed since Sept, and what little I had put away got spent on the trip to FL for the funeral… well they are pared down too! But we will have fun and be thankful for all we have, and enjoy the simple things… take lightseeing rides at night, make cookies and hot cocoa, it is about the family and about the child… we can do without a lot of the extras…
Happy Christmas season!
He who dies with the most stuff… still dies… So I agree, it is more about relationships and less about stuffing… unless you are refering to walnut raisin stuffing… and pillow stuffing under my head…but not stocking stuffers and the stuff under the Christmas tree… unless the stuff under the tree has my name on the tag…
it is wise to remember that is has never been about the stuff…
I agree! We have had to scale back A LOT, and it hasn’t changed the joy of the season at all. The thing is… HE CAME!
I like the stuff! But I have no talent for decorating. So I go cruising around and look at everyone elses decorations. I only decorate a little. I love the cookies! But I burn many things I make. So I dont’ make cookies. I do make soap or candles instead or beaded items instead. I love the gifts! I have so much fun choosing and giving. Thank God I can afford what I do give.
Scaling back take conscious effort, we have been doing it for years. When you are too exhausted to enjoy the day, you are doing too much. I am still working on it. Sometimes I get caught up in the whilwind and cannot stop.
I love the joy of giving and the joy of recieving….with out some one to joyfully recieve ..others will miss the joy of giving. I enjoyed giving something needed and wanted. I have given thougth to only decorating one room in the house besides the tree….It may be hard to do … at least all the “stuff” is already paid for . Sometimes it is the giving of a lovely evening of fun with friends…a treat if you may for those that do not decorate. I enjoyed all the simple just being together time we spent together. It was a great week.
Where’s my stuff? Oh, well! We have fun!
Hey Donna! It is me, Tracy (formally Mother Moonie). Please subscribe to my new Xanga, cuz I don’t use the old one anymore!
Ok, that being said, if you’ll read my new Xanga, I have put a few blogs about how I feel about Christmas. The commercialism of it all drives me utterly insane. It seems to be getting worse as I get older. I totally applaud your post, and agree with it 110%! Big hugs! Tracy