Friday, December 16, 2016

Insight - Where's the holiday spirit? By Michelle Libby



This morning I read a previous insight I wrote two years ago about holiday stress and leaving things that don’t really need to be done. 

Today, I was considering writing about the fact that we have no decorations up in our house. None. No Lego village, nothing. I mentioned to my husband that we have a week and a half until Christmas. I asked what was wrong that we haven’t taken the time to decorate. It didn’t have a lot to do with the fact that I had surgery last week or that we are all working like crazy. Come to find out it had to do with the fact that we don’t have a lot of time together as a family anymore. My daughter is working most nights and it was her request that we wait until she was around to decorate. 

I’ve been doing holiday things, like attending the American Family Holiday Concert, going to craft fairs, buying and wrapping gifts, but my house still looks like January. 

Before I had surgery on my left wrist, I made wreaths and decorated with greens and red berries outside, which look awesome encased in snow. We put a few outside lights up this past weekend, but it’s not the same. 

Is this what it’s like not to have little children who are so excited about Santa? For the first time in a while we didn’t do an Advent calendar, to which my son devised his own calendar featuring Magic the Gathering cards. 

I love the magic of Christmas. I love the lights and the songs. I drove by LL Bean last night and saw their winter wonderland decked in white twinkle lights. It looked magical. 

I guess my question is what do you do to get in the Christmas mood at home when your children are older and actually say “no” to baking Christmas cookies? What do you think? I hope your holiday plans are well underway and you’re eagerly awaiting the big day. 

UPDATE:
Two of my best friends and their five teenaged boys dropped by my house last night and did a massive decorating push. By the time I got home, everything was mostly done. Thank you to my friends. I found the holiday spirit. 

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