Holiday Whirl!

[bradygirl_12]

Hi, luvs! Well, Halloween is over and even though there's a whirl of activity around that holiday with buying candy, trick-or-treating, putting together costumes, decorating the house and going to parties, it does seem as if they holiday rush really starts after the candy corn and Jack O'Lanterns.

So, my holiday list has several check-offs: I've got my cards and addressed them but I need stamps. I bought some presents and stocking stuffers but haven't gotten them all. I need some new tags and bows. I plan on decorating Thanksgiving weekend and putting up the tree with my sister's help. Reservations for Thanksgiving dinner have been made. Oh, and I'm going to see Thor 2: The Dark World tomorrow. Yay! :)

A couple of generations ago Christmas shopping started in earnest the day after Thanksgiving, but now we seem to have Christmas trees and music in stores the day after Labor Day! I buy presents throughout the year and store them away until it's time to wrap them because if I see something I think would be good, I buy it. Most of my shopping takes place in the autumn, though. And purchasing chocolates and fruit and other goodies (oranges in the stocking!) of course takes place close to Christmas.

I enjoy the holiday season. There's extra to do but so what? Life can be so humdrum that it's nice to have special things to do and look forward to. My advice for people who stress out is to organize. Even if you're not ordinarily an organizer, try it for the season. If you can get things done pretty early you can sit back and enjoy the season instead of worrying about running out to an overcrowded mall and getting that last present. Most presents are forgotten in six months or less, anyway. Some can be memorable but when I read stories about people camping out in front of stores and ditching Thanksgiving dinner, I wonder where their priorities are.

Enjoy the holiday! These are precious times. People in 1940 might have taken the season for granted. By 1941, they knew nothing would ever be the same again. Grab your piece of history because the tides of history swirl on inexorably and it's up to us to enjoy what we have when we have it. :)

BTW, a little more info on the JFK special here.

Comments

[rileyc.livejournal.com]

I get stressed because there's nothing I can do. There's no one to send cards to anymore, no money for presents, and I can't even have fun putting up the tree because that's a chore dictated by my brother's wife now instead. I don't even have any holiday challenges to write.

Bah humbug... :(

[bradygirl_12]

Have you checked out wish_list? If you're short on money (a lot of us suffer from the same condition), you could do some holiday writing there if they request fanfic or send something you already own to fulfill a wish. A lot of people ask for already-owned stuff if you have it and don't need it anymore.

Can you get a small tabletop tree for your room and decorate that? That way you're in charge of the tree and no one else. :)

[catalenamara.livejournal.com]

Very good points! I try to get a lot of my shopping done throughout the year and have at least that part ready by Xmas. I always fail at the prompt Christmas cards, though.

[bradygirl_12]

Thank you! Shopping throughout the year really helps. :)

Speaking of Christmas cards, could you send me your e-mail address? I'm writing my cards out and my address book was inadvertantly packed away in storage. *sighs*