I absolutely love the holidays! I don’t love the overdone commercials, the holiday displays up the day after Thanksgiving, or the crazy crowds and commercialism, but I do as a whole, despite all of these things in our culture, love the holidays. I love the energy of the season, of gifting and giving, spending time with loved ones, being a little more kind and connected, and the expression of love. I wish it could be year round but I do love that overall this time of year allows for a little more patience and kindness. (Except maybe in the shopping lines.)
One of our highlights this Christmas was that our last minute-ness payed off with a surprisingly quiet grocery store on Christmas Eve and a $1 tree from Lowe’s! We usually support the local Rotary Club, but we were too late, so a last minute stop at Lowe’s may have started a new tradition for us! (We can donate to the Rotary separately) My only struggle with this time of year is the extensive buying and spending and accumulating of stuff. Every year I get a bit more committed to trying to do Christmas differently. I have already switched to mostly doing homemade gifts. I do purchase some things, but in general, I try to make things from the goodness of my heart. This proves challenging, but I know the best gifts that I give are one’s that I have put a lot of thought and energy into, and that really came from ME. At the same time, the gifts that I love the most are not necessarily handmade, but that show how someone really knows me. I received some very extravigant gift this year, but almost all of them were incredibly personal and right or target for who I am and what I like and need.
(Lola loves her new squeeky mallard.)
What is important to me about gifting:1) I love giving handmade gifts. There is so much love and all of the other things that I am about to mention in homemade gifts. I also know that not everyone feels capable of making gifts which is completely fine as well, but for those who can, including myself, I love it. I always seem to cram them all in at the last minute in December, and never do all that I intend to. This coming year I am going to be more proactive and start making things all throughout the year so a) I am doing the creating that I love more often, and b) I really have time to figure out and create some great gifts with less stress and more (see below) meaning.
2) Meaning. I want the gifts that I give and receive to have some meaning, not just be a gift for the sake of giving a gift. It can be loving, a reflection of who I am, a personal joke, whatever, I just want everything to have some meaning, even if it’s goofy. This year Justin handed me a gift and said this is the least expensive and smallest gift but I think it might end up being your favorite. It was a DVD of the Glee Concert. (And yes I loved it, even more than I thought I would because I am a giant Glee DORK.)
3) LOCAL. I am incredibly into supporting local. Spending money is actually important in the world around us and what is most important to me is that my money goes to local businesses and people. Not only do I want to support local crafters and business people, I also really love having a connection to where something came from. I love hearing about who made it or the sweet local shop it came from, knowing that the purchase means you are allowing someone to continue doing something that they love. Some of my gifts included Canopy Coffee, which was created by some dear friends of mine. They spent two years in Panama with the Peace Corp, ended up buying a small bit of land and are buying coffee grown with sustainable and organic techniques directly from the farmers in Panama. Not only have they been there to know who and what kind of practices they are supporting, they also are paying the farmers a fair and higher rate because there is no middle man. (www.canopycoffee.com to learn more) I realize Panama isn’t local but it’s one example of supporting friends I love and a great business they are starting!
4) Intention. This is along the lines of meaning. They say that it’s the thought that counts and really in the end it is. (That being said sometimes there isn’t enough thought and then it doesn’t seem to count because no or little thought = bad) But truly, the smallest and most tiny of gifts can be the most amazing because of their intention. I think we have gotten lost in getting THINGS, when really it’s about the love and intention of what someone is giving, not the actual thing itself. In fact, I would rather be given an experience sometimes, instead of just more stuff. (Not that I don’t appreciate the things that I received as well!)
5) Time well spent. This is an odd ball one. My family lives in Florida so the holidays for me means traveling at some point to have a week with my family. This year I went early and actually had the week I wanted. Usually we end up spending the days before Christmas running our separate ways trying to buy our last minute presents, stressing out, hiding in separate rooms wrapping them at the last minute… it’s crazy. Exactly the opposite of why I am there. This year we just spent time together and it was perfect. More than anything I want to have time with loved ones to enjoy the holidays together!
I want to keep a smaller footprint, I don’t want to collect a ton of things that I don’t need, but I also love giving gifts, so I don’t want that tradition to be lost completely. There is something lovely about sharing how special someone is to you through a gift. This season is all about love, kindness, sharing and being grateful. I’m sure I have left out some other important points that I can’t think of right now… What makes the holidays special for you?
