You know, it’s kind of hard to get excited about Christmas when money is tight. My heart feels big and generous while my wallet keeps shrinking, and it doesn’t help that Amazon, LivingSocial, and Groupon (to name a few retailers) keep flooding my IN box with offers. Delete, delete, delete. I don’t even open those … Continue reading
Tagged with holidays …
Just For Now: Coping With Holiday Pressures
I was listening to this song the other day and thinking about all the stress and anxiety we often feel around the holidays. Pressure to create a festive, happy, loving atmosphere when budgets might be stretched and relationships might be strained can cause us to feel anything but festive, loving, or happy. In Just For … Continue reading
Greeting A New Year and Each New Day
It’s New Year’s Eve and I am thinking about what that means to me. To be honest, as I grow older, I am coming to realize that holidays are like a double-edged sword. While there is a joyful, celebratory side to look forward to, holidays seem to come with a lot of stress and anxiety. … Continue reading
‘Tis the Season to be Jolly? Getting Into the Holiday Spirit
“Deck the halls with boughs of holly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la! ‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la!” …or, at least that’s how the song goes. While the holidays are a time for celebration and socializing, gift-giving and indulging, for many of us they are a time for worry, anxiety, and depression. There are pressures to … Continue reading
‘Tis the Season: The Joys of Giving and Receiving
As we approach the holidays, our thoughts become more focused on the spirit of giving. There is a joy in wanting to bring joy to others. It feels good. There is also a joy in receiving, too. What follows is a re-posting of an article I wrote earlier this year. In the spirit of the … Continue reading
‘Tis the Season: Appreciating Each Season in the Moment
With October’s pumpkins faded, Thanksgiving almost one week past, and the festive holiday month of December beginning tomorrow, I am in need of a reminder that it is still autumn. Everywhere I look right now, I see commercial ads depicting winter wonderlands and happy folks bundled up in heavy winter weather gear. But I’m not … Continue reading
A Simple Gift Idea for the Holidays
I don’t usually promote products, but I thought I’d share an inexpensive idea for a party favor or small gift. Purchased for $1 at the *Store Which Shall Not Be Named, these 3 oz. scented jar candles are affordable and come in a variety of fragrances. I have placed them on my Thanksgiving table as … Continue reading
‘Tis The Season for Socialist Santa!
Depending on where you are from, you have probably, at some time, participated in the holiday gift-giving tradition of “Secret Santa”, “Kris Kringle”, or “Pollyanna”, either at work or with a group of friends. It’s that system of randomly (and secretly) selecting the name of a person in the group for whom to give a … Continue reading
Thanksgiving Day Traditions: What Do You Do?
In my latest post, I shared a new Thanksgiving Day tradition that I created for my family (see New Thanksgiving Day Traditions). I would love to hear about your Thanksgiving Day traditions. Maybe your family has a unique way to celebrate or a delicious recipe that’s brought out once a year. Share your thoughts and … Continue reading
Simple Pleasures 