Finding Christmas

I fumed as I pushed my cart through the crowded aisles of WalMart that Christmas Eve. So many people grabbing at things and shoving their way through was not my picture of how to welcome the Savior. I thought smugly that those other people were just missing the whole point of Christmas, and if I’d just been a little more organized, I wouldn’t be out here at the eleventh hour with them.

That thought brought me up short. Feeling superior wasn’t what Christmas was about, either. I slowed my cart, breathed deeply, and thought about how most of the world was busy and oblivious the night the Christ Child came, just like we seemed to be in WalMart that Christmas Eve. Hmm…if God were to choose a place around my hometown for the birth of the Holy Child, where might He choose? The stable of Bethlehem was the last place that we would have thought of, so ordinary, so mundane, so standard a part of that world that nothing about it seems to us to be special enough to house the Son of God.

And then, it hit me. It would probably be someplace like WalMart. An instant later, right there in those crowded aisles amid those precious people frantically cramming in their last bit of shopping, God’s great Gift arrived for me! Immanuel. God With Us. Right there in WalMart. Who would have thought it?

Where will the Gift find you this year?

“Yes, Virginia, There Is A Sanity Clause!”
Do you run yourself ragged during the holidays?
Do you wonder why you're doing it all anyway?
Do you want to streamline but can't decide how?
Do you ever dread spending time with the people you love?
Do you want this holiday season to be different?

Keep your balance, your sanity, your health and your relationships intact this year.
Know what you really want from your holiday celebrations and activities.
Create a season that matches what matters most to you.

Start with a picture of how you'd really like it to be. How would you describe it? Peaceful, relaxing, exciting, connecting, within-budget, spiritual...? What't the quality of the holiday season you want to create?

OK, now that you know where you want to go, let's look at where you're actually headed unless you make some new decisions.

What do you typically do during the holidays? Use the checklist that follows to get you started. Make a thorough list of all the holiday-related activities that you will most likely do - or feel guilty for not doing - unless you make some new choices. Have fun with this. Be easy with yourself!

___ Decorate inside and/or outside
___ Send cards
___ Write a Christmas letter
___ Put up a tree
___ Make a wish list
___ Make a gift list
___ Shop for gifts (estimate how many times you shop and how many gifts you buy)
___ Make gifts
___ Wrap gifts
___ Bake something special
___ Cook extra or special meals
___ Special holiday crafts
___ Attend parties (estimate how many)
___ Host parties or family gatherings (how many?)
___Travel
___ Worry about money
___ Schedule holiday get-togethers
___ Clean house
___ Have overnight or extended-stay visitors and family
___ Visit people you don’t see often
___ Drink more alcohol
___ Attend special church services
___ Attend holiday events (concerts, plays, pageants)
___ Be in Christmas parade, play, concert, ballet, etc
___ Drive around to see the lights
___ Take the children to see Santa
___ Get a family portrait made
___ Do service projects (how many?)
___ Scrapbook
___ Take pictures or videos
___ Send pictures/videos or post online
___ Change exercise habits
___ Change sleep habits
___ Change eating habits
___ Do things to earn extra money
___ Write blogs, journals or extra emails
___ Clean house after the holidays
___ Do extra or special devotionals, classes, services, etc
___ Watch specials on TV
___ Go to movies
___ Special seasonal activities caroling, outdoor skating, etc
___ Make special or year-end contributions
___ Pack away artificial tree or dispose of cut tree
___ Take down decorations (indoor/outdoor)
___ Return gifts
___ Shop the after-Christmas sales

See what matters most to you. Once you've got the list, see if you can rank them. Give the ones that are really important to you a 5, and the ones that matter least a 1. See what comes in at a 2, 3, or 4. Don't judge it. Just see what seems to matter more.

How does it line up? Now, go back over your list and see if the 4's and 5's are things that are likely to add up to the kind of holiday that you'd like to have. Will doing those things create the kind of spirit you're looking for this year? If not, could you do them in new ways that would be more in line with your intention?

You're on your way. OK. You are light years ahead of most people at this point just because you've spent some conscious thought and effort on how to create a holiday season that is saner and more satisfying for you.

In the next post, we'll have more for you. For now, enjoy your discoveries and start looking for ways to have moments and days that line up with your vision.