It's Over and I Feel Better Now

Well, for me Christmas is over and I couldn't be happier. I seriously don't like holidays that require me to buy gifts for the people I love. I buy my kids things all the time so I don't need a specific holiday to tell me that I need to buy them more. What I really don't like about gift-giving holidays, though, especially Christmas, is the way it changes people.

Most of my friends love the holiday and profess it all the time but there are some who get caught up in the commercial aspect of it rather than the giving/sharing aspect of it. I see strangers like that also. Since I really hate shopping of any kind I try to do all my Christmas shopping all in one day. This year I did it in four hours and was done, done, done. And I must say that I'm probably the only person in the store with a scowl on my face. I really do hate shopping.

But most of the people I see that are smiling aren't necessarily smiling because of the "joy of the season", they're smiling because they just got the best, most expensive gift for someone that they could find. I watch people when I'm out - it's kind of a hobby of mine - and I saw couples in Walmart comparing prices on toys for their kids just so they could get the one that was more expensive. I kid you not. Just because it costs more, people, doesn't mean it's better. Besides, is your kid going to know that you bought the more-expensive toy? I don't think so.

I saw people in electronics doing the same thing with TVs, video games, etc. What does it matter if the TV is five inches bigger than the other one? Is the person you're buying it for going to throw a hissy fit because they got the 32" instead of the 37"? If so perhaps that gift recipient needs a reality check. Why can't people just be grateful for what they get instead of complaining about what they didn't get?

My son Zach said the best thing to me today. I'd done my shopping with lists in hand from each of my kids. I bought what I could get and what I could afford from the lists, and it wasn't much. Then I added to their gifts with things I wanted to buy for them that I could also afford and that I thought they'd like. My gifts and Santa's gifts get mixed up under the tree so they have no clue where any gift came from other than something that may have come from a friend.

I knew my kids were hoping to get certain things that I just couldn't afford, especially Zach. He desperately wanted a video game that wasn't under the tree. After he'd finished opening all his gifts he looked at me with a great big smile and said, "Mom, I didn't really get a lot of things from my list but what I did get I really like." No complaining, no crying, no "why didn't Santa make sure I had such-and-such?" and I felt really good hearing those words. All my kids felt the same way and I was pleased. I knew I'd done a good job helping them to understand that we can be grateful with what we've got rather than bitching about what we don't have. I was proud of all of them.

Most people, however, don't feel the same way at Christmastime even though they say they do. There's too much spending and competing to get the best of everything for those they love and it really makes me sick. But the holiday is over now and I can let go of my stress and relax and feel that my family had a good holiday without going into debt the way that so many others have done this year and years previously.

My stress will start again around October next year the way that it does every year, but I won't think about it now. Now I'm going to concentrate on my favorite holiday of the year - New Year's Eve. In my mind everything gets wiped clean with the turning of a new year and we all get to start over. I'm going to concentrate on all the positive things that are going to happen for my kids and me, and all those we know and love, in the coming year and that's where I'm going to stay. It's better than stress and negativity, and it comes more easily and makes me feel better; and it doesn't require any shopping. :)

Until next time...peace to all.