Posts Tagged ‘holidays’

You know who you are. You’re the one who must make your red velvet cake look like the professionally decorated masterpiece gracing the cover of Southern Living. You’re the one who must ensure each wrapped gift under the tree resembles a work of art. You’re the one who goes into the woods in search of the perfect tree, who bakes 4500 cookies to distribute to each year, who wakes the family at exactly 6:30 a.m. on Christmas morning.

You are the holiday perfectionist.

But it’s okay if your cake has more icing on one side than another, if your gifts have stick-on bows, if you pick up a tree at the supermarket, grab some cookies at the bakery while you’re there, and if your family sleeps in. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to impress people during the holidays … as Martha Stewart discovered during her 2004 incarceration on a stock-trading case.

Small and homey

According to People magazine, while serving her five-month term at West Virginia’s Alderson Federal Prison, Stewart led a team of fellow inmates in the holiday decorating contest. The theme was “Peace on Earth,” and each team was given $25 worth of glitter, ribbons, construction paper, and glue. But only one had a secret weapon: America’s Queen of Domesticity, the woman who published magazines offering step-by-step instructions on how to decorate for the holidays.

Stewart’s display included paper cranes that hung from the prison ceiling. But when the prize was awarded, judges preferred a “small and homey” offering from the firefighting unit—a Nativity scene with pictures of snow-covered hills, sleds, and clouds.

Sometimes simple things are simply impressive … and far less time-consuming.

‘Tis the season for spending time with family and friends, for renewing acquaintances, for cookies and cocoa and Christmas stockings.

But for many people it’s a season to be reminded that you’ve lost loved ones with whom you once shared the holidays, another year has passed and your life isn’t where you’d hoped it would be, you’re unemployed or in debt and unable to shop with the abandon you’d like, or maybe you’re just lonely and depressed.

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Holidays bring families together … and to hear some tell it, the more is not the merrier. Many times I’ve listened silent and bug-eyed as friends have discussed the horrors of trying to plan gatherings for their parents and in-laws. It’s amazing how the offspring of such divergent clans managed to mate. These people have nothing in common beyond the marriage of their children and the fact that they share—and compete for the affection of—common grandchildren. No wonder my friends approach the holiday dinner as though they’re planning a summit meeting between the United States and North Korea.

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As we head into the year-end holidays, we look forward to our family traditions. We eat the same dishes, hang the same decorations, see the same people, listen to the same music, engage in the same activities we’ve enjoyed for years or even generations. Humans find comfort in familiarity, and resist change.

At least we resist change suggested by others. If it’s our idea, we can’t figure out why everyone makes such a fuss about trying something new.

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These are treacherous times in the United States … for those trying to watch their weight. For a week they’ve been scraping themselves off the ceiling—either from the sugar high of sneaking into the Halloween stash, or from the frustration of trying to back away from the candy. And now that the jelly beans are finally gone, it’s time to start planning the annual Thanksgiving gluttony-fest.

So how can we enjoy the holiday food season without reaching January in the shape of a Butterball?

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When my brother and I were kids—in the pre-Internet days—our mom used to hand us a catalog from some department store, turn to the toy section, and ask us to show her what we hoped Santa would bring. It’s a tradition we continue as adults. My brother, sister-in-law, and I create Internet wish lists, including links, that we share with each other and my mom to make shopping easier for all concerned. We give everyone a variety of choices, so we’ll have no idea what we’re getting, but we’ll all be sure to get something we like.

That’s the nice thing about gift-giving among family members. We can be honest about our likes and dislikes. I’m not embarrassed to e-mail my sister-in-law and say, “Do not get me any pink football jerseys.” Ewww. But we can’t be quite so blunt with friends—which is why regifting was born.

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Since each is without funds, Jim secretly decides to sell his watch to pay for the combs. And Della decides to cut and sell her hair to pay for the watch chain.

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