It's hard to ignore the fact that the holidays are here! We’re flashed with tons of emails squawking about Holiday Sales on everything from food and kitchen appliances to fake Christmas trees and yard decorations. We get inundated with sparkly catalogs hyping the urge to get new furniture (for holiday entertaining) and glossy pages advising us to consider getting new china for that holiday table and maybe even a new car (red or green of course).
We complain about the commercialism and materialism of the holidays, but put us in our local Starbucks slurping a yummy Caramel Brulee Latte from that festive red and green cup and we brim with excitement and anticipation about spending time with family and friends. Love is really what the holidays are all about.
Starting with Thanksgiving, a holiday that marks our gratitude, to Christmas with its message of peace, love and joy, it’s a magical time and love is behind it all. The 5 words to remember are:
BEHIND THE MAGIC IS LOVE
If we remember, as we move through this magical time of year, that behind the magic is love, then we won’t be lured into doing too much to get that magical feeling. We can get the feeling just by looking at the commercials for all the festive products. We don’t have to get the stuff to get the feeling.
Anyway, those commercials are created to arouse the child in us and that’s where the magic really 
begins. But beware, the part of you that still believes in Santa Clause, loves hot chocolate with marshmallows on top, twinkly lights, the aroma of a fresh Christmas tree and beautifully wrapped gifts is also that part of you that doesn’t have a mature concept of having and doing too much.
The grandma behind this picture of my son and his family just had to have EVERYONE in matching Christmas PJs. (One of my all time dreams I never pulled off, mainly because I was going to make them.) That child within is a little “over-goaling machine.” Sort of like If you gave a nine-year-old a toy catalog and said, “Pick everything you want,” you’d need a semi to hold the load and your inner child is no different.
I wrote this poem about such a person.
I Want a Magazine Christmas
I want a magazine Christmas
With a tree in every room
I’ll hire a choir to sing on our porch
With a bazillion poinsettias in bloom
My gingerbread house will be perfect
And I’ll sew a Christmas dress
I’ll bake cookies and pies and make candy
And I won’t leave the kitchen a mess
I want a real live Nativity Scene
Using kids from the neighborhood
We live by a farm so I’ll borrow a cow
And a duck and a lamb would be good
They’ll stand on our lawn in a spotlight
Each night for an hour or two
My kid is too old to play Jesus
So Joseph or Mary will do
I’ll make all the presents and Christmas cards
And the bows and the Christmas wrap too
I’ll deck all the halls with the holly I’ll cut
From a tree that I saw near the zoo
Our car will look just like the jolly old sleigh
I’ll paint it a Christmas red
The only thing missing on Christmas day
Will be me, because I’ll be dead
Data by the Pew Research Center showed that 86% of Americans plan to attend a gathering of family or friends on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve or Christmas Day; 86% plan to buy gifts for family and friends; 79% say they’ll put up a tree; 65% want to send holiday cards; and 16% hope to go Christmas caroling.
If love is behind the magic, and it really is, then as you go about the activities involved in
Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings and you remember it’s all about love, you’ll enjoy this season as it was meant to be enjoyed.
When you buy gifts, remember love is behind them. When you get your tree and decorate it, remember love is behind it. When you send your Christmas cards, remember love is behind them. And when you go Christmas caroling, remember love is behind it.
In the religion I was raised in, I was taught that God is love. If that's true then God is behind it all. Nice to remember.
If you want to avoid the shopping rush, and guesswork about what to give, why not give cash with humor and artistic flair? To learn more just click on Franklin on the $100 bill. The frame sticks inside a Christmas card on the left side where there is usually no writing.
Happy Holidays!
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Also if you liked this blog click on those two people I dearly love and listen to this happy Thanksgiving message.