As many of us have had to tighten our belts this Christmas (after finding myself suddenly unemployed at the end of November, I am amongst that category) I wanted to write a post about Christmas that isn't about what to buy. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas shopping for my loved ones (hell, I just love shopping full stop), but for me Christmas is great for all sorts of reasons and if your Christmas just boils down to spending money , then you are doing something wrong.
Regardless of how skint I am or how tough my year has been, this time of year is a time that I take stock, make plans and spend time with the people that I love the most. When we reach the darkest time of the year, we are suddenly greeted with a mass of colour, light and glitter. Everything about Christmas lifts my spirits, and gives me a hopeful flutter of excitement.
Regardless of how skint I am or how tough my year has been, this time of year is a time that I take stock, make plans and spend time with the people that I love the most. When we reach the darkest time of the year, we are suddenly greeted with a mass of colour, light and glitter. Everything about Christmas lifts my spirits, and gives me a hopeful flutter of excitement.
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| This years' offering (not the best pic but you get the idea) |
December is like a big comfort blanket, full of
little traditions and familiarity that are like no other time. Everyone has
their own little version of how their Christmas works from when they choose to
put up their Christmas tree, to the food they eat, the films they watch, and
the songs they sing. Everyone’s mum makes the best Christmas dinner (because
she makes it just the way you like it) and every family has a dedicated time to
open gifts.
The personal rituals that we carry out every year
are important to us. There are personal ones (for example, I get a new pair of
PJ’s every year that I wear on Christmas Eve), family ones (like the old
battered fairy ballerina that used to go on my Grandma’s tree each year) and
traditions you have with your partner (me and my other half open our gifts to
each other in bed on Christmas morning whilst enjoying a pot of tea).
And as you move through life, they can evolve and
new traditions emerge. I have little things that I do at Christmas because my
Mum always did when I was growing up, but I also put my tree up at least a week
before she does (she always puts the tree up after her birthday on the 10th
December, I put mine up as early as I can get away with!). Since living with my
other half, we have developed our own little traditions that are just for us
and I’m sure that if we have children together in the future many more will be
created.
It is all of these little things that make
Christmas so special for me, not how much I spend or what I get. It is the time
of year that I suspend all cynicism and appreciate the things that I already have.
As the crazy last minute panic sets in over the next few days, stop and think
about the things that you do like about this time of year, and of the time you
will get with the people you care about.
Take a deep breath and enjoy it, after all it only
comes once a year.
