Are you starting to get stressed out lately? Are you feeling like there just isn’t enough time in the day and it seems as if the monotony of “Jingle Bells” is constantly ringing in your ears? If so, then Christmas must be right around the corner! Unfortunately as we grow older, this is how a lot of us start approach Christmas: with stress and anxiety that the holidays will bring nothing but frivolous purchases and generic Christmas cards. With all the consumerism thrown at us during this season, we tend to forget what Christmas is really all about.
It’s about picking out a Christmas tree (or unpacking the fake one that’s been buried in your basement for the last twelve months). It’s about gathering with your loved ones, whether they are your friends or family, and decorating the tree, putting up lights, hanging a wreath. It’s about watching corny Christmas movies like The Family Stone, or classic ones like It’s A Wonderful Life. It’s about singing loudly along to the Christmas songs while driving to the airport to pick up visiting family members. Because no matter how annoying the Christmas tunes get, we miss them as soon as the radios switch back to the top 100.
It’s about getting together with people who you don’t need to see or speak to everyday to know that you love one another. It’s about huddling next to the fireplace, drinking eggnog, eating cookies, and reminiscing on times when things were simpler. It’s about smiling at people in the line at Starbucks, complimenting your aunt on her sweater, and holding hands to muster up some warmth in these coldest of weeks.
Or maybe, it’s just about remembering that no matter what troubles we go through during the year, ending on Christmas is a promise that we will always end on a good note. Sure, it’s great to exchange gifts and all that good stuff, but just spending some extra time with the people you care most about is what really makes Christmas so great. In fact, that is exactly what makes it the most wonderful time of the year.
Here in St. Louis, there are tons of fun holiday activities to get you in the spirit. Try ice skating in Forest Park, take your family to the Christmas Candlelight Concert ,or go see How the Grinch Stole Christmas The Musical at the Peabody Opera House.
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