It’s that time again!” is a common lament as Christmas approaches. For many, the holiday has become a burden as they struggle putting together an endless shopping list, baking nonstop, writing and addressing hundreds of cards, hanging lights and shopping until they drop from exhaustion. Here is a list — from A to Z — of ways to make Christmas a blessing rather than a burden.
Audit. Conduct an audit of your past Christmas habits. Ask yourself what needs to be changed in order for the holiday to be meaningful. Let the words of the prophet Micah become your audit prayer: “What does the Lord require?” (Mic. 6:8).
Back. Go back to when Christmas was especially significant to you. Examine what made the holiday so pleasant. Then work to recapture that spirit for this year’s holiday.
Carols. Don’t become so busy that you don’t have time to hear and sing Christmas carols. Enhance your holiday by listening to Christmas music. Take advantage of the many concerts offered during this time of year. Music soothes the soul and calms the spirit.
Decide. Make a decision about how much you will spend on the holiday and stick to it.
Encourage. Offer words of appreciation and encouragement to store clerks. Remember that the holiday season is especially stressful for them as they deal with all sorts of people, some of whom are very irritable. Make store clerks happier because you were the customer who spoke a word of encouragement.
Friends. Christmas is the time to be with friends — people whom you love and respect and, in turn, who love and respect you. Your “family” can be blood relatives as well as good, trusted friends. Make time to enjoy the company of people you enjoy. They are your “family.”
Good. Do good works and encourage those around you to do so. The Bible tells us to be considerate of others “in order to stir up love and good works” (Heb. 10:24).
Heart. Develop a generous heart. The holiday is an excellent time to accelerate this process. The poet Robert Burns noted, “The heart generous and kind most resembles God.”
Insulate. As much as possible, insulate yourself from holiday activities that simply drain you and that you do not enjoy. Creating a richer and more meaningful holiday may mean saying “no” to some people and some involvements. Give yourself permission to do this.
Joy. As you move through the holiday season, be mindful of these words from John Greenleaf Whittier: “The joy that you give others is the joy that comes back to you.”
Kindness. One way to make the world a better place is to be a little kinder than is necessary. Be kind and promote kindness. An excellent example comes from a father who was teaching his 16-year-old daughter how to drive. The teen motioned another driver to go ahead of her, which the motorist did without bothering to acknowledge the girl’s courtesy. “I’ll never do that again,” she said in disgust. “Yes, you will,” said her father. He emphasized that kindness isn’t done because one expects acknowledgement. “You do it because it’s the right thing to do.”
Love. Make an effort to reach out and touch, with love, everyone you encounter during the holiday.
Mercy. There are too many people who are short on the quality of mercy. They lack the ability or desire to show kindness, helpfulness and courtesy. In the busy holiday season, don’t forget to be a person of mercy. Through the prophet Hosea, God declared, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” (Hos. 6:6).
Nourish others. If the holiday is a time of great stress for you, then consider reaching out and nourishing others. Spend some time with someone who is lonely or drive an older person to do his or her Christmas shopping.
Observe children. Watch them carefully during the holiday season. Joy, happiness and laughter come easily to children. Observing them can help you recapture childhood exuberance.
Peace. This is a season of peace and goodwill toward all. Do your part to make the planet more peaceful by thinking peace, speaking peace and acting peacefully. Let the hope of peace be an important part of your thinking and living.
Quiet. Make some time — daily, if possible — during the holiday to be alone and in silence. Use those moments to pray, meditate and reflect. A few quiet moments will recharge your batteries.
Recognize. The holiday season is a good time to reflect on this wisdom from writer Frederick Koenig: “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.”
Strangers. Let the generosity of your heart and spirit extend to some people you don’t know well or don’t know at all. The Bible reminds us, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing we have unwittingly entertained angels” (Heb. 13:2).
Tradition. Don’t be a slave to tradition, and don’t let the holiday put you into deep debt. Consider new and creative approaches to gift giving, such as drawing names or providing handmade gifts to those on your list. You might even decide with friends that you will just go out for a meal and spend time together as your gift to one another, forgoing the actual presents.
Understanding. Use the holiday to do some work on your inner self. Cultivate a greater ability to be understanding, especially of people whose lifestyles or personalities you do not appreciate. Seek to be more understanding, accepting and loving.
Vision. Allow the holiday to expand your vision so that you clearly see the way things ought to be — people at peace with each other and treating others kindly, lovingly and generously. Helen Keller wrote, “Worse than not having sight is having no vision.”
Words. Choose and speak your words carefully. “Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter and wrathful words make them wrathful,” noted Blaise Pascal, French mathematician and religious philosopher. “Kind words … soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer.”
Xs and Os. Place these at the bottom of every Christmas card you send out. People never receive enough expressions of love and affection. Your Xs and Os will be sunshine to their spirits.
Yield. Let Christmas be a time when you drop all expectations and demands to have it your way or to do it your way. Be flexible, yielding and accommodating of others’ wishes, desires and needs. This will reduce holiday stress considerably.
Zero in on the best way for you to celebrate Christmas. If that means changing traditions, spending less or volunteering more, then do it. You know better than anyone how to make your holiday a blessing rather than a burden.
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