By AMY SHANKLAND
Sandwiched
This column’s topic is definitely late, since it will be published on Friday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve.) But perhaps it could help you in thinking ahead to the next holiday season. Some of you may even recognize the topic from my former column in another newspaper. But I feel so strongly about it that it’s worth repeating.
For many of us who celebrate it, Christmas and the weeks leading up to it – Advent – are a time of excitement and joy. For some, it’s also a time of incredible stress, which makes me sad. I think the stress comes in most cases from the pressure society puts on us to make everything perfect. And if you’re in the sandwich generation, the season may make you feel like you want to sit in the corner and cry.
As I said years ago, we need to resist this pressure and enjoy the holidays in our own way. I promise you, there is no such thing as the Holiday Police.
Some of my friends go all out and spend days, if not weeks, putting up gorgeous Christmas decorations in every room of their home. Others spend hours and hours baking dozens of delectable cookies and treats. Some start their holiday shopping the day after Christmas, enjoying the crowds and excitement.
I love to see and appreciate my friends’ Winter Wonderlands (their beautifully decorated homes). I am grateful to receive delicious treats that most people only bake once a year. And I salute the brave ones who willingly go out on Black Friday. But none of that works for me, at least not anymore.
I began to simplify my holidays when I had my sons years ago. I pared down my decorations so there are only a couple of treasured Christmas items in each room of our first floor. I now make homemade hot chocolate and peppermint candy to give as gifts to extended family and friends. And there’s no way you’ll see this highly sensitive woman anywhere near a store the day after Thanksgiving.
For me, keeping things simple helps me love the holiday season versus dread it. I’m especially glad to do this now that I’m taking care of my mother as well as my family.
If you’re reading this feeling more exhausted than joyful during this season, I want to encourage you to rethink your holidays. If you genuinely love making your home look like one from a Hallmark movie, that’s awesome! But if the thought fills you with dread every year, maybe it’s time to scale down.
Maybe you can bake a couple of kinds of cookies vs. five (or six… or eight…) and truly enjoy the experience. Perhaps you can revel in sleeping in the day after Thanksgiving vs. rising before dawn.
My point is, next year, do the holidays your way. The Holiday Police won’t come and get you. And you’ll be a more joyful person who can truly appreciate the meaning of Christmas.