Friday, November 28, 2008

Christmas is Coming!

Christmas is coming! I love Christmas!


During the Victorian era people complained that Christmas was too commercial. Hasn’t changed much has it? I love the commercialism of it all, but I also realize that that is not what Christmas is about. If it wasn’t for the birth of Jesus there would no Christmas no matter how commercial it has become. Come to think of it Easter would be out of the running as well if Jesus didn’t rise from the grave. Anyway, I love all of the tradition and family customs that go with any holiday. Christmas is one big birthday party with lots and lots of decorations.


I love the shopping. My wife and I usually take one or two days where we treat the shopping as a date. Our "shopping date" originated when the kids were small and my parents babysat them for the day. This was one of those rare times that we had the whole day together. It was a date by default. We continue our "shopping date" now by choice. Making it a date it takes away the dread of Christmas shopping and turns it into an experience that is fun.

We start around 9:00 A.M. hitting various malls and stores, stopping for a coffee and rest, and then off again to do more shopping. We will stop for lunch, go over lists and then on again. It is tiring, I won’t say it isn’t, but it is fun and I look forward to it each year. One tradition is to stop at a book store (sometimes several) and browse. It is very relaxing to stop for the moment and enjoy some time to slow down and look for something that we might like. By the time we get home around 5:00 or 6:00 P.M. we are exhausted. All of the shopping is not done in these shopping safaris; there are always the jaunts off here and there for various gifts and also the ones that we just remembered that we had forgotten to put on the list. As you know it does all get done.

Enjoy your pre-Christmas shopping, decorating, and parties with friends and family.

No comments: