Beyond remembering the “reason for the season” how do you prepare for the holidays? I figure there are three major categories of preparations: decorations, food and gifts. Assuming most of my readers are a bit older, I bet it has all become a bit much for you. I hate to use the word “dread” but I’m sure that is the feeling the holidays are met with by many of us. The good news is that without kids in the house we have the luxury of scaling back at this stage of life leaving the circus for the young. However, we aren’t quite done yet, are we?
My first suggestion is to skip sending an older husband up on the rooftop to hang lights. Besides, we spend our time inside the house this time of year so don’t even get to enjoy our own outside lights. My compromise is to frame the picture window with lights on the inside so I can enjoy them and still show some holiday cheer to the outside world. Plus, I twist a few strings of lights around my outside step railing. If I find the need to enjoy an outside light show I drive several streets over and get my fill. I have solved the Christmas tree set up by leaving a decorative tree up all year to which I just add a few more ornaments and I’m set for the season. I do the same on the mantle just adding some festive greenery. Paul usually buys a large poinsettia I put under the year-round tree and along with a few more touches using only my favorite decorations I have completed my holiday decorating in less than two hours.
Moving on to the food front where simplicity is important. Paul makes posole (hominy & pork stew) for Christmas Eve supper and we go to my brother Mark’s house for Christmas Dinner to which I bring already made batter for Yorkshire pudding to accompany the rib roast; pretty simple, right? I am conflicted about holiday baking as I like to bake but am then left with the sweet treats chattering at me in the night. I thought I had solved this by packing them away in the freezer until the main event/s but have unfortunately found several varieties that are pretty tasty when partially frozen. I have settled on just making ginger snaps for Paul and sugar cookies to cut out and decorate with any holiday visitors.
As far as gifts are concerned, I think most folks have figured out how to simplify things within their family unit. Even so, many elders I know still have the need to watch their precious littles’ open gifts. Alternatively, we make college fund contributions to the next generation. Home canned goods and hand woven items fill the bill for everyone else. If I feel the need to purchase things for anyone, I order small multi-pack personal items from Amazon. For the curious, everyone seems to enjoy receiving small hand lotions, bath/shower bombs, lip balms, breath mints, cough drops, socks, note pads, holiday candies, etc. There are a lot of suggestions online for this too.
So, on a complexity and/or magnitude scale from 1-10, I would rank our holiday at a 5 which I can happily live with. In closing, I suggest you always buy yourself a few treats, get enough sleep and don’t forget to watch Hallmark Christmas Movies where you can easily overdose on all of the above. Happy Holidays!