Finally, after many days with my computer not working I have a new Mac. It will take some time to get use to the different “feel” and the various new names for the programs that I normally use … but the good thing is that I am back up and running.
Now, I continue with what I started last week – here is Day 5 of ways to bring joy back into the celebration of Christmas taken from, “The Little Book of Christmas Joys” by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Rosemary Brown, and Kathy Peel. In it they offer “432 things to do for yourself and others that just might make this the best Christmas ever.” I haven’t been sharing all of their suggestions, some I have chosen to edit and then I have offered a few of my own. Here’s to a joy-filled season of celebration and hope.
• If someone disappoints you this season, don’t give a lecture. Give acceptance and forgiveness.
• Once or twice, take a different route home from work and enjoy the decorations in another neighborhood.
• Turn off the lights, except for the Christmas tree, and turn on some Christmas music.
• Take advantage of the tour of homes offered in your area.
• Do something secretly for one of your neighbors.
• Answer your phone by saying, “Merry Christmas.”
• Have a fireplace? Throw orange or tangerine peels into your fire for a spicy aroma.
• Pray that God will help you see opportunities to be a blessing to others this Christmas.
• Learn the names of Santa’s reindeer.
• Learn the second verse to “Jingle Bells.” … yes, there is a second verse!
• Challenge someone to sing all the verses of “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
• Create a gag gift that is passed on to different family members every Christmas. A complimentary hotel shower cap always brings a lots of laughs.
• Remember every individual who serves your needs during the year with something little extra during the holidays like money.
• Order two take-out lunches – one for yourself and one to give to a homeless person.
• Buy Christmas gifts from local artists and craftsmen.
• Remember to shop at the small businesses in your community.
• When you have friends over and there’s Christmas magic in the air, don’t let the evening end early. Throw another log on the fire or ask them to bring their walking shoes so everyone can take a leisurely walk through your neighborhood to look at the lights.
• Offer to keep a friend’s children when you learn that their sitter has canceled right before a holiday party.
• Pay the toll for the car behind you during the week of Christmas.
• Buy an extra cup of hot coffee to give to a homeless person.
• Order and pay for a pizza for a neighbor. Ask the delivery person to tell them it’s from Santa.
• Set aside twenty minutes each day to catch your breath. Make yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up, and turn on the answering machine.
• If you take a trip by plane during the holidays, offer to trade seats so a family can sit together.
• Let someone with just a few items go ahead of you in line at the grocery store.
• Use poster board and felt-tipped markers to create a giant-size family Christmas card for someone special.
To be continued …
Quote for today: “Don’t sell your soul to reach your goal.” Bob Bledsoe
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