5 Words That Will Help You Have Happy Holidays

as_seen_on.jpg

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).DSC_9440.jpg

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 DSC_9683.jpgbegins. 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 

DSC_9479.jpgThanksgiving 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. 

 girl.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Happy Holidays! 

P.S. Please share this with DSC_6695.jpgyour friends and family by clicking the share button below. Thank you!

Also if you liked this blog click on those two people I dearly love and listen to this happy Thanksgiving message. 

 

 

 

Subscribe to Pam's Blog!

Recommended Posts

Posts by Month

see all