Christmas Wrapped

Time’s just about out — hopefully the shopping is done, the presents are wrapped, the cookies are baked and the cards are in the mail.

Ha!

Sure, ideally, you’re sitting pretty, sipping rum while enjoying the satisfaction of a perfectly organized and executed holiday. But, really, how many of us are there? I would wager that most of us are still wracking our brains over a last-minute gift or lamenting some other holiday detail we’ve overlooked. 

You know what? It’s okay. You have official “Christmas Wrapped” permission to let go of the stress and the worry that sneak into the season. No one will mind if the cookies come from the bakery. Or some if your presents are lovingly-worded IOUs. Or if your holiday party turns into a holiday potluck. Or if you send New Year’s (or Valentine’s or electronic) cards.

You do not have to sacrifice the next two days to the illusion of holiday perfection. Banish the Norman Rockwell (and Pottery Barn) images from your mind and remember that the holidays are about celebration, not presentation. You deserve to enjoy this time with your friends and family, or with your dog, or your Netflix, or whatever else fills you with joy and peace at this time of year.

I just had the wonderful and eye-opening experience of talking to a long-distance family member who I haven’t spoken to in a long time. Her family’s going through a rough patch right now, and, after we caught up on all that has happened in our lives, she told me that the best gift I could have given her was my phone call. So simple. I felt the same way.

So, if you’re considering spending the next couple days on a marathon shopping/cooking/wrapping/crafting/worrying session — unless that’s what you enjoy — try this instead: warm up a mug of egg nog, stoke the fire, grab and/or call your favorite person, and look around at all that you have to be grateful for.