Anyone who knows me…like really knows me, knows I am not a fan of the holiday season… it’s like a season of forced buying, fake happiness and follyday joy… ain’tnobodygottimeforthat….
The struggle is real y’all!!
I DO like that it’s a once a year check in with family and friends… holiday cards, updated pictures and stories of what people have been up to…. I’d be happy to leave it all at holiday cards. But NNNOOOOOOOO…. we have to add a bunch of expectations and disappointments throughout the months that drag on, because “T’is the season”… BAH HUMBUG……
For the most part, I am blessed and get to see my favorite people throughout the year. I make time to touch base with all my homies and if I see a gift and the spirit moves me… I buy it on the spot and give it to my friends/family right after purchase. It’s a no brainer..
Do you know what hell it is for me to not only try to figure out what someone I have little to no connection with needs or wants for the holidays? Let alone HOLD said gift and tuck it away for later so you can wrap and give to said person only to find out they either have one of those or don’t really care for the brand…
I have transferred most of the shopping over to hubs who mostly buys gift cards because he loves the season as much as I do… HOWEVER…he DOES like to cook for people and that’s a nice offering…
I was speaking to my cousin this morning and we both agree… the holidays should just be for visiting and connecting, not force buying (except for kids of course…they deserve the magic of the season … I’m not a total Scrooge).
My husband likes to cook and I like to bake. Together we can create a wonderful offering for people to come and visit and enjoy conversation over good food. We try to do this every Sunday! And though I hate cleaning the house, I will push stuff aside so people have room to eat, LOL…
I have spoken to so many people and they are either on one side or the other, but rarely in the middle… they either “have it all done, decorated wrapped and under the tree” ….ORRRR … are “so behind, they have so much to do before THE DAY”… I’m usually the latter…
I feel bad when people just open gift cards when they have gone out of their way to shop for a meaningful gift for me and my family. I really don’t need that kind of pressure… To be honest, everyone I know is totally blessed and they have everything they could want or need. I’m not so creative to think outside the box to figure out what kind of gift they may want that they don’t have? THEY LITERALLY HAVE EVERYTHING!!
As I write, my tree is already dead, I’m afraid to turn on the lights and my tree has all of about 12 ornaments on it because we can’t get to the attic to reach the rest of the ornaments (that I actually DO love unwrapping because it has pictures of years past with my family)… And at this point I have no energy to get the box down, unwrap everything and decorate because it’s damn near the eleventh hour and I will be yanking it all down the day after Christmas so who cares…
Things I DID do to try to get into the season… I DID collect, shop, deliver and distribute about $600 worth of toys to needy families and that felt nice. I also DID donate to some of my favorite animal rescues because animals are always worth it. I gifted our gardener because he works his ass off and I dropped random baked goods to unsuspecting people (I do this all year though).
Last night I took my brother, his girlfriend and my nephew around to see Christmas lights… we had apple cider and that was nice. But I’m still struggling to get into the spirit. To me the spirit should be here all year around. Giving ones times is valuable enough… we all only have so long and no one knows how long that is… We all have unique talents we can donate as well. We all have our own gifts to share and that is something that shouldn’t be forced.
All that said, I do wish the best for all this holiday season. It IS a good reminder to take in the moments and treasure those connections we have. Life is short and we only get one shot. Make the most of EVERY DAMN day, not just one time of year. We need to put more value in to every last day!
That’s all for now folks….
Mom of two grown ass girls and married to a short guy who is funny and cooks really well! I’m a photographer by trade, so you can say I’m a bit “peopley”. My favorite sessions are the one on ones where I just get to chat and find out about my clients. I’m blessed with what I get to do every day! Blessed by the support of my husband and kids, and blessed by the ongoing support and encouragement of my friends who are always lifting me up.