This is day 5 in our journey to make Christmas a truly joy-filled holiday. I’ve been suggesting ideas that are presented in, “The Little Book of Christmas Joys,” by H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Rosemary Brown, and Kathy Peel. I hope that each of us have been able to begin a few new Christmas traditions because of what they have been suggesting. As in previous days I have taken the liberty of editing some and/or add a few of my own.
• During an evening meal start the conversation by sharing “the Christmas I remember best,” or “the craziest present I ever received,” and encourage others to share.
• When you hear the song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” grab the family member closest to you and kick up your heels.
• This Christmas, give yourself the gift of living in peace with those things you cannot change.
• Let children wrap their own gifts by providing them with their own supply of wrapping materials.
• Serve some meals in front of the fire.
• If you don’t have extended family close by, invite a family with similar circumstances to share some Christmas festivities with you.
• Take the time to thank police officers, fire fighters, emergency personnel, and security guards for doing their job during the holidays.
• Consider hosting a holiday party the week after Christmas.
• Volunteer to watch a neighbor’s home while they attend a Christmas Eve service at their local church. Many robberies take place during that evening.
• Give someone who’s disappointed you the gift of a clean slate this Christmas.
• During a long flight, offer to entertain a small child for a while for a parent traveling along during the holidays.
• Use a wide variety of wrapping paper for the gifts under the tree. See how many different kinds of wrappings you can create. One suggestion is to use pages out of those Christmas catalogs that come every year.
• Instead of exchanging gifts at the office, take up a collection to give to a designated charity.
• Don’t let a rude person steal your Christmas joy.
• Give a pint of blood; it’s the gift of life.
• When you see a family or group taking holiday pictures of each other, offer to take one of the whole group.
• Give children toys that encourage their creativity.
• Whenever possible call stores to see if they have a particular item in stock, what the price might be. This will save time and energy.
• Trade out baking with three friends. Each of you bake a double batches of your favorite recipes; then swap.
• Acknowledge every gift you receive.
• Have frosty windows on your car? Write, “Joy to the World” and drive around town.
• Follow the Irish tradition of putting a bird’s next in your Christmas tree.
• If you have children buy a roll of plain brown kraft paper or white butcher paper and let them color, draw, or design their own wrapping paper.
• Call the dean of a local college and ask if there might be a couple of students who would like to share a holiday meal with your family. Not all college students can afford to travel back home.
• Create a special gift by gathering as many unique recipes for someone who loves to cook.
• For a quick holiday centerpiece, fill a large bowl with red apples. Intersperse with sprigs of greenery.
• Go to a store that is selling Christmas trees. They usually have a pile of branches which have been cut off from trees that they have sold. Bring them into your home to add some of the “smell” of Christmas.
• Serve cinnamon sticks with hot cider and peppermint sticks with hot chocolate.
• Buy a children’s Christmas music tape or CD. Listen and sing along with your children while you’re running errands together in the car.
• Have your car battery checked. A dead battery in a mall parking lot challenges even the brightest holiday spirit.
• Let other cars pull in front of you.
More to be shared tomorrow …
Quote for today: “Success comes in cans. Failure comes in cannots.” Source unknown
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