Christmas on the Flip-Side

In America, Christmas is a time of gift-giving. We open our hearts and our wallets to show others how much we care about and love them. Generosity is at its peak during the Christmas season, no matter what religion or holiday you are celebrating. When I was younger I was always into Christmas big-time. I decorated like crazy and spent too much money on the kids. I loved doing the Secret Santa at work and mailing out Christmas cards. At this season of my life Christmas gift-giving has lost its “wow” factor. I do like giving gifts. I’m talking about no more long Christmas lists to Santa and no longer being woken up at 5 am because the kids just can’t sleep. I have 2 teenage boys who have long outgrown the excitement of waiting for Santa. No one wakes us up on Christmas morning anymore, unless the dog needs to go out. In fact, my husband is often the one saying “Go drag the kids out of bed so we can open presents!” The days of scouring the JC Penny toy catalog are gone. These days gift giving at our home revolves around much needed clothing, ski equipment, and paintball gear. I don’t have adorable little nieces or nephews to buy toys for. The lack of Christmas wonder puts kind of a damper on the festivities for me. Even putting up the tree just doesn’t hold that excitement that it used to. Unpacking those ornaments that the kids made in elementary school almost makes me sad in a way. I think my friend Roxann got it right when she and her husband took their adult kids to Florida last year as their family Christmas present. That’s what I think Christmas is about now. It’s about being together and making memories before the kids are off on their own. It’s about celebrating the birth of Jesus. It’s about finding joy in helping those less fortunate. Someday I’ll have grandkids and will be able to buy toys and bake cookies for Santa once again. But for now I’ll be thankful that we are together and healthy. I’ll continue teach my kids to focus on others. Maybe I’ll even start dropping hints to my husband about the possibility for a Christmas getaway next year. Why not?

Published December 2010

Keeping it Real with a Fake Tree

Here's Sammy before his '09 Christmas dance. You can't even tell the tree behind him is fake!

I have been accused of being a Scrooge. Not because I don’t have Christmas spirit. I have plenty. My house is attractively decorated. It has been since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In fact, every year I am the only one who willingly puts up the Christmas decorations. There are helpers, but they have to be shamed or coerced into helping. My house is festive and full of Christmas cheer. I give and receive presents with a minimal amount of griping and make my annual white Chex mix not only for friends, but my family as well. So why am I called a Scrooge? It’s because we have an artificial Christmas tree. I don’t know when it became taboo to have a tree that doesn’t grow in the ground. I grew up with artificial trees and don’t really see what the big deal is. I’ve heard all of the reasons. One is that you don’t have the pine smell. Honestly, I prefer the cinnamon smell to pine which I can get from pinecones at Joann’s and from candles. One friend said that the trees look different every year. Mine looks different every year too, depending on which way I bend the branches. I don’t have to tromp through the snow to find a tree. My tree always comes from the same place…the attic and I never even have to put my boots on. I have tried real trees so I know what I’m missing. When we built this house with our high ceilings, I stated that I wanted a huge, tall, real tree. It was huge all right and low to the ground. What I found out was that there are special conditions that go along with the smell and beauty of a real tree. It has to be watered. No one braved being poked in the eye by razor sharp needles to crawl under the tree with a jug of water (only to dump ½ of it on the floor) but me. I found that a tree dries out quickly and the needles tinkle off the tree like a Charlie Brown tree every time you bump it. The final reason I was not satisfied with my beautiful real tree was the sap. After taking our tree down that year I was not only met with left over needles impaling my feet, but with my socks sticking to the sap globs in my brand new carpet. After a Christmas lesson on the down sides of having a real tree, my husband and I stumbled upon the best after-Christmas sale we had ever been to. Artificial trees were 75% off!  Right there in Lowe’s I had found my little slice of heaven. It’s a glorious and festive 7 foot artificial tree that may or may not melt if put too close to the fireplace.  And from the road, it looks real to everyone driving by. Nobody but Scrooge could tell it’s a fake.

Published December, 2011